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1956 Orange Bowl

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1956 Orange Bowl
22nd Orange Bowl
National Championship Game[1]
1234 Total
Maryland 0060 6
Oklahoma 00146 20
DateJanuary 2, 1956
Season1955
StadiumBurdine Stadium
LocationMiami, Florida
FavoriteOklahoma by 7 points[2]
RefereeJohn Waldorf (Big Seven;
split crew: Big Seven, ACC)
Attendance76,561[3]
United States TV coverage
NetworkCBS
AnnouncersTom Harmon (play-by-play)
Chris Schenkel (color)
Orange Bowl
 < 1955  1957
College Football Championship Game
 < 1933 1963

The 1956 Orange Bowl was a college football bowl game between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Maryland Terrapins. It was played on January 2, because New Year's Day was a Sunday.[2][4] The game was a de facto national championship game, as both teams would be playing for the FWAA’s Grantland Rice Trophy.[1]

Background

[edit]

Oklahoma and Maryland were the respectives champions of the Big Seven Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference; both were undefeated and ranked in the top three. (The Rose Bowl matched up #2 Michigan State and #4 UCLA.) This was Oklahoma's ninth consecutive conference title under Wilkinson and tenth straight overall, with a 30-game winning streak. Maryland shared the ACC title with Duke, though the Terrapins reached the Orange Bowl for the first time since January 1954, which was also against Oklahoma. Tatum had coached the Sooners in 1946 before departing for Maryland. Oklahoma entered the game favored by a touchdown.[2]

Game summary

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Maryland scored on a 15-yard touchdown run by Ed Vereb and led 6–0 at halftime. The Sooners took over in the second half, starting with Tommy McDonald's 32-yard punt return that gave them the ball at the Terrapin 46. Seven plays later, McDonald score on a four-yard touchdown run, the highlight being the Sooner offense running 3 plays in 38 seconds. The next Sooner possession used the hurry-up offense again, leading to a Jay O'Neal touchdown sneak to make it 14–6. Maryland tried to narrow the lead, but Jerry Tubbs intercepted a pass at the Sooner 26. Maryland tried to score again in the fourth, even reaching Oklahoma's 30. However, Carl Dodd intercepted Lynn Beightol's pass and returned it 82 yards for the touchdown, sealing the victory for the Sooners; they had already sealed the national championship as both final polls were released in late November, at the end of the regular season.

1956 Orange Bowl
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 3 Maryland 0 6 006
No. 1 Oklahoma 0 0 14620

at Burdine StadiumMiami, Florida

Game information
First quarter
No scoring
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter

Statistics

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Statistics UMD OKLA
First downs 9 16
Plays–yards 233 255
Rushes–yards 187 202
Passing yards 46 53
Passing: compattint 3-10-3 4-10-1
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Maryland Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Oklahoma Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Aftermath

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The Terrapins did not return to the Orange Bowl for 46 years, until January 2002, also a defeat. Oklahoma again went undefeated in 1956 and repeated as consensus national champions, but did not play a bowl game. At the time, the Big Seven had a no-repeat policy for the postseason, so the Sooners did not play in bowl games after the 1954 and 1956 seasons. They returned to the Orange Bowl the following season in January 1958 and won, but their win streak had been ended at 47 by Notre Dame in mid-November with a 7–0 shutout in Norman.

References

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  1. ^ a b Jenkins, Dan (September 11, 1967). "THIS YEAR THE FIGHT WILL BE IN THE OPEN". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 12, 2024. Because of their discontent with all polls, especially those of the wire services, the Football Writers Association of America set about naming the national champion in 1954, also after the bowl games.
  2. ^ a b c "Eight of top 11 teams play". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 2, 1956. p. 48.
  3. ^ "Sooners surge from behind a 6-point deficit at half-time to overpower Maryland, 20 to 6, in Orange Bowl". tulsaworld.com. January 3, 1956.
  4. ^ "Oklahoma rallies to beat Maryland, 20-6". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 3, 1956. p. 18.