By Tony Cocco
Cold, Hard Football Facts lamenter of stadiums
Listing the greatest moments in the history of the Orange Bowl is a totally subjective and probably hopeless exercise – there was probably some amazing high school and college games back in the 1930s and 40s that we’ve never seen and have been all but forgotten over the years.
But any retrospective on the steel and concrete artifice on NW 3rd Street in Miami has to include some kind of “best of” or “most memorable moments” list. So here is my best shot at listing the 10 greatest football games held inside the Orange Bowl. Hard to believe so many great and legendary games unfolded all in one place.
We can't pick one over the other, so we list them in chronological order.
1. Super Bowl II: Packers 33, Raiders 14
This wasn’t a great game. Heck, it wasn’t even a competitive game. But it WAS the last game Vince Lombardi ever coached for the Packers, and that makes it a significant game in NFL history. The Packers, after surviving the famous “Ice Bowl” against Dallas to win the NFL title, cruised to an easy win over the Raiders in the much-warmer Miami temperatures to secure their second straight Super Bowl title.
2. Super Bowl III: Jets 16, Colts 7This was simply one of the most important games in pro football history. Before Joe Namath tried to kiss Suzy Kolber, he saw to it that the NFL establishment could no longer kiss-off the AFL upstarts as inferior. His Jets offense controlled the clock and the Jets defense held the high-scoring Colts to just 7 points in the greatest upset in pro football history.
3. 1975 Orange Bowl: Notre Dame 13, Alabama 11
This game has faded into obscurity over the past 30-plus years, but it shouldn’t. Irish coach Ara Parseghian had announced his retirement effective after the 1974 season, and his Notre Dame squad—a heavy underdog against No. 1-ranked and undefeated Alabama—sent him riding off into the Miami night with a huge upset win. Fans in Norman and Los Angeles smiled at the sight of Parseghian being carried off the field at game’s end, for the Alabama loss elevated Oklahoma and USC into a tie for the national championship.
4. Super Bowl XIII: Steelers 35, Cowboys 31A star-studded affair featuring the two most dominant teams of the 1970s. Future Hall of Famers dotted each roster, but Dallas Hall of Fame tight end Jackie Smith became “the sickest man in America” when he dropped a potential game-tying TD pass in the third quarter. MVP Terry Bradshaw proved that not only could he spell “cat”—contrary to the opinion of Cowboys’ LB Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson—but that he also was one cool cat when it came time to play well big games.
5. 1981 AFC Divisional Playoff: Chargers 41, Dolphins-38 (overtime)
The game that made Kellen Winslow Sr. famous. Air Coryell jumped out to a 24-0 lead and Don Shula was forced to bench starting QB David Woodley in favor of ancient back-up Don Strock. Mayhem ensued, as the Dolphins reeled off 24 straight points (including a famous “hook and lateral” play for a touchdown on the final play of the first half) to tie the game. The Chargers went ahead again, fell behind, and then forced a late turnover which enabled Dan Fouts to drive them down the field for the tying touchdown. San Diego survived two game-winning field goal attempts by Miami—one of them blocked by Winslow, who did everything but sell popcorn that day—before Rolf Benirschke (who had missed a chip shot earlier in O.T.) nailed the game winner late in the extra session. A dehydrated Winslow was practically carried off the field by his teammates, providing NFL Films with one of its greatest clips ever.
6. 1984 Orange Bowl: Miami 31, Nebraska 30
Nebraska averaged 52 points per game during the 1983 season and was thought to be unbeatab. But upstart Miami dazzled the mediocre Cornhuskers’ defense with their sophisticated pro-style passing attack led by freshman Bernie Kosar, and 70,000 of the Hurricanes’ closest friends cheered them on in the annual Orange Bowl classic. UM withstood a late Nebraska rally and rode off with the first of their five national titles.
7. November 10, 1984: Maryland 42, Miami 40
Ten months removed from their thrilling national championship upset of Nebraska, the Hurricanes were struggling with a bad defense and had already lost two games under new coach Jimmy Johnson. But the ‘Canes came out of the gate like gangbusters on this day and jumped out to a 31-0 lead over the Terps.
Enter Frank Reich. Eight years before Reich led the Buffalo Bills to the NFL’s greatest comeback against the Houston Oilers, he led Maryland to the greatest comeback in NCAA history. Reich began completing passes; Maryland began scoring touchdowns; and Miami’s collars began to tighten. As a friend of mine who was there told me later: “It was 31-0, and none of us were paying any attention, and then the next thing I know, UM is lining up for a 2-point conversion to try to tie the game at 42!” They didn’t make it, and the Terps had made more history at the Orange Bowl.
8. November 23, 1984: Boston College 47, Miami 45
Boston College had alreadyy lost two games and was committed to playing in the Cotton Bowl; Miami, just two weeks removed from their devastating loss to Maryland, was looking at no better than a Fiesta Bowl berth. But the insignificance of the game in the national title picture did nothing to diminish the greatness of it, as All-American QBs Doug Flutie and Bernie Kosar hooked up in a classic shootout. It was also played on the Friday after Thanksgiving, back in the era when the networks still dominated TV and broadcast only a few games each day. So everybody watching college football that day watched this game.
You know how it all ends, with probably the most famous individual play in football history: Flutie scrambles with no time on the clock and heaves a pass about 65 yards through the rainy Miami sky while Gerard Phelan somehow gets behind the wall of Miami defenders, all of whom leap too early to reach the ball. BC radio announcer Dan Davis nearly has a heart attack describing the scene. Flutie, already a superstar and a Heisman Trophy shoo-in, is elevated to legend.
ESPN did a great retrospective on the play a couple years ago, and includes the Davis call:
9. December 2, 1985: Dolphins 38, Chicago 24
The mighty 1985 Bears are remembered as one of the most fearsome teams in NFL history. They marched into the Orange Bowl that night with a 12-0 record and destined to surpass the 1972 Dolphins (who played 14 regular-season games) with a perfect 16-0 season.
But in front of a rocking Orange Bowl crowd, not to mention several members of the 1972 Dolphns, Dan Marino, in his finest hour, shredded the mighty Chicago defense to lead a 38-24 Miami win and preserve the proudest legacy of one of the NFL's great franchises.
Folks who were there that night insist that the electricity in the air was unprecedented, and that the Bears never stood a chance from the moment the Dolphins ran out of their tunnel and onto the field.
Plenty of people around the country witnessed the intensity. To this day, the 1985 Chicago-Miami game remains the most watched regular-season sporting event in American history (based on Nielsen figures), drawing a 46 share and 29.6 rating (according to the NFL Record & Fact Book).
Basically, half of all the people in the nation who were watching television that evening had the tube turned to an event at the mighty Orange Bowl.
10. 1994 Orange Bowl: Florida State 18, Nebraska 16
FSU was a huge 17-point favorite but Tom Osborne’s No. 1-ranked Cornhuskers pulled ahead, 16-15, with less than 2 minutes to go in this showdown for the 1993 national title. The Dynamic Duo of Heisman winner Charlie Ward and Warrick Dunn drove the Seminoles into short field goal range, and then the craziness ensued. When the dust cleared, Bobby Bowden and FSU had their first national title, and Osborne had more Orange Bowl heartbreak. He would get even the next year, when the Huskers shredded Warren Sapp and the Hurricanes defense to claim the national championship.
