Bowl Games
This was the first season that both the Pac-8 and Big Ten conferences allowed their teams to play in bowl games other than the Rose Bowl Game. Thus, USC, who actually finished 5th in the Pac-8, was invited to the Liberty in what would be coach John McKay's final game before going to the NFL to coach the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. California, who tied UCLA for the Pac-8 title (UCLA got the Rose Bowl berth due to their win over Cal) was left out of any bowls, as were Washington and Stanford, all of whom beat and finished ahead of USC. Michigan, the Big 10 runner up, was invited to play Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.
In the Liberty Bowl in late December, USC sent McKay out a winner, as they shut out an uninspired Texas A&M team was still reeling from being upset by Arkansas and losing out on the Cotton Bowl bid. The day after Christmas, Arizona State, the WAC champion, won arguably the biggest game to date in their history over Big 8 runner up Nebraska, 17-14. Arizona State was one of two Division 1 teams to finish undefeated and untied as they completed a 12-0-0 season. Arkansas State University also finished unbeaten and untied. New Year's Eve saw Alabama beat Penn State 13-6 in the Sugar Bowl. On New Years Day, Arkansas beat SEC runner up Georgia in the Cotton Bowl 31-10. The Rose Bowl was a rematch between #1 Ohio State and #11 UCLA; Ohio State had beaten UCLA in Los Angeles on October 4, 41-20. After that game, Ohio State coach Woody Hayes was so impressed by UCLA in defeat, he predicted that his Buckeyes would be playing the Bruins again in the Rose Bowl. This time, the 11th ranked Bruins (8-2-1) handed the previously undefeated and #1 ranked Buckeyes a 23-10 loss. UCLA was the only team to score more than 14 points on Ohio State all season, and they did it twice. Seeing that Ohio State was upset, #2 Oklahoma (10-1) got inspired and defeated #4 Michigan (8-1-2), in the Orange Bowl to claim the national title. The final rankings were 1.Oklahoma 2. Arizona State 3.Ohio State 4.Alabama 5.UCLA
| BOWL | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROSE | #11 UCLA Bruins | 23 | #1 Ohio State Buckeyes | 10 |
| ORANGE | #2 Oklahoma Sooners | 14 | #4 Michigan Wolverines | 6 |
| SUGAR | #3 Alabama Crimson Tide | 13 | #7 Penn State Nittany Lions | 6 |
| COTTON | #18 Arkansas Razorbacks | 31 | #12 Georgia Bulldogs | 10 |
Other bowls:
| BOWL | Location | Winner | Loser |
|---|---|---|---|
| FIESTA | Tempe | #6 Arizona State Sun Devils 17 | #5 Nebraska Cornhuskers 14 |
| SUN | El Paso | Pittsburgh 33 | Kansas 19 |
| LIBERTY | Memphis | USC 20 | #8 Texas A&M 0 |
| GATOR | Jacksonville | Maryland 13 | Florida 0 |
| TANGERINE | Orlando | Miami (Ohio) 20 | South Carolina 7 |
| ASTRO-BLUEBONNET | Houston | Texas 38 | Colorado 21 |
| PEACH | Atlanta | West Virginia 13 | N.C. State 10 |
Read more about this topic: 1975 College Football Season
Famous quotes containing the words bowl and/or games:
“Fill high the bowl with Samian wine!
Our virgins dance beneath the shade—
I see their glorious black eyes shine;
But gazing on each glowing maid,
My own the burning tear-drop laves,
To think such breasts must suckle slaves.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“As long as lightly all their livelong sessions,
Like a yardful of schoolboys out at recess
Before their plays and games were organized,
They yelling mix tag, hide-and-seek, hopscotch,
And leapfrog in each other’s way all’s well.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)