1973 Orange Bowl
| 1973 Orange Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 1973 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1972 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Miami Orange Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Miami, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 80,010 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Jim Simpson and Kyle Rote | ||||||||||||||||||
The 1973 edition of the Orange Bowl featured Nebraska and Notre Dame, and their two hall of fame coaches, Bob Devaney and Ara Parseghian.
Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers scored on an 8-yard touchdown run as Nebraska took the lead at 7-0. In the second quarter, Gary Dixon scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to increase the score to 14-0. I-back Rodgers then found split end Frosty Anderson for a 52-yard touchdown pass and the Huskers led 20-0 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Rodgers scored on runs of 4 and 5 yards as Nebraska built a 33-0 lead. Quarterback Dave Humm threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Rodgers as Nebraska led 40-0 after three quarters. Notre Dame managed six points on a touchdown from Tom Clements to Demmerle against the Husker reserves to avoid a shutout.
Although 1972 was a letdown season after two consecutive national championships, the Huskers were the first to three-peat in the Orange Bowl. Johnny Rodgers scored four touchdowns and threw for another in his final collegiate game.