1966 Orange Bowl
The 1966 Orange Bowl was the 32nd edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Saturday, January 1. The final game of the 1965–66 bowl season, it matched the third-ranked and undefeated Nebraska Cornhuskers of the Big Eight Conference and the #4 Alabama Crimson Tide of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). This was the second year that the Orange Bowl was played at night on New Year's Day, after the other college football bowl games. Due to losses by both #1 Michigan State in the Rose Bowl and #2 Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl earlier in the day, the game had turned into a de facto national championship game, as the AP would be taking a final post-bowl vote for the first time ever. Slightly favored, Alabama won, 39–28. Teams Alabama Nebraska Game summary Alabama scored first on a 32-yard touchdown pass from Steve Sloan to Ray Perkins. In the second quarter, Nebraska's Bob Churchich threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Tony Jeter to tie the game at seven. Alabama's Les Kelly scored on a four-yard touchdown run as the Crimson Tide regained the lead at 14–7. Sloan and Perkins connected again from