| 1981 Orange Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 47th Orange Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 1981 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1980 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Orange Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Miami, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | J. C. Watts (Oklahoma QB) Jarvis Coursey (FSU DE) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Oklahoma by 5½ points [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Gene Calhoun (Big Ten) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 71,043 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Don Criqui and John Brodie | ||||||||||||||||||||
The 1981 Orange Bowl was the 47th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Thursday, January 1. Part of the 1980–81 bowl game season, it matched the fourth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners of the Big Eight Conference and the independent #2 Florida State Seminoles.[2][3]
Favored Oklahoma rallied to win by a point, 18–17.[4][5][6][7][8]
- ^ "Latest line". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 1, 1981. p. 25.
- ^ "Seminoles, Oklahoma looking for opening". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. January 1, 1981. p. 46.
- ^ Axelrod, Phil (January 1, 1981). "Layoff worries Oklahoma". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 24.
- ^ Axelrod, Phil (January 2, 1981). "Sooners nip Florida St". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 13.
- ^ "Watts rates Sooners 3rd". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. January 2, 1981. p. 20.
- ^ "Sooners shock Florida State, 18-17". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 2, 1981. p. 3D.
- ^ "Two-point conversion caps comeback for Oklahoma". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. January 2, 1981. p. 20.
- ^ Eidge, Frank (January 2, 1981). "Sooners rally to 18-17 win". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. p. 14.