| 1985 Orange Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 51st Orange Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 1985 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1984 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Orange Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Miami,Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Jacque Robinson (UW TB) Ron Holmes (UW DT) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Oklahoma by 6 points[1][2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Jimmy Harper (SEC) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 56,294 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Don Criqui,Bob Trumpy, andBill Macatee | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | 16.9 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The1985 Orange Bowl was the 51stedition of thecollege footballbowl game, played at theOrange Bowl inMiami,Florida, on Tuesday, January 1. Part of the1984–85 bowl game season, it matched thefourth-rankedWashington Huskies of thePacific-10 Conference and the #2Oklahoma Sooners of theBig Eight Conference. Underdog Washington ralliedto win 28–17.[2][3][4][5][6][7]
Orange Bowl organizers envisioned the game as anational championship game, discounting the undefeated record ofBYU due to their perceived inferior schedule.[8]
Brigham Young's opponents as a group have a losing record; how can a team like that be the national champion? As far as the Orange Bowl is concerned, we think ours is a national championship game.
— Nick Crane, Orange Bowl team selection committee chairman[8]
The Huskies (10–1) had risen back from a loss atUSC on November 10 that knocked them from the top spot inboth polls to fourth(#3 UPI), and cost them the Pac-10 title and the accompanying berth in theRose Bowl. This was the first appearance by a Pac-10 team in the Orange Bowl and remains the Huskies' onlyappearance.
The Sooners (9–1–1) tiedrivalTexas but were upset atKansas.[9] They won the Big Eight title for the ninth time in twelve seasons and were making their fifth Orange Bowlappearance in eight seasons; they were favored in this game by six points.[1][2]
Danny Greene gave the Huskies an early lead on his 29-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Paul Sicuro, and tailbackJacque Robinson made it14–0 after one quarter on his touchdown plunge. Sooner quarterbackDanny Bradley cut the lead with a touchdown sneak, andDerrick Shepard tied the game before halftime on his 61-yard catch from Bradley for a touchdown.
The third quarter was scoreless, andTim Lashar's 35-yard field goal gave Oklahoma a17–14 lead with under nine minutes remaining. After Sicuro was intercepted for a third time,Hugh Millen took over at quarterback for Washington in the fourth quarter. He guided the Huskies on a74-yard drive in seven plays, capped by a twelve-yard pass toMark Pattison in the end zone for a four-point lead with less than six minutes to go.[4][10][11] The Sooners muffed the ensuing kickoff return and started at their own two; Washington intercepted a tipped Bradley pass deep in Oklahoma territory and soon scored again on a touchdown run by fullbackRick Fenney to make thefinal score 28–17.[6][12]
With the score tied early in the fourth quarter, Oklahoma attempted a short field goal, from 22 yards out. It was good, and theSooner Schooner rode out onto the field, as was tradition for Sooner scores. However, the play was nullified due to an illegal procedure penalty on Oklahoma due to a player not reporting his temporary jersey number to the officials, which he was required to do before the ball was snapped.
Pulled by twoShetland ponies, the wagon got stuck on the wet grass, ending up in front of the Huskies' sideline, and the Sooners were assessed a 15-yard penalty forunsportsmanlike conduct. Lashar's ensuing 42-yard kick was blocked, keeping the game tiedat fourteen.[13][14][15][16]
The Orange Bowl had returned to natural grass nine years earlier in 1976; the Sooners'home field inNorman hadartificial turf from1970 through1993.
| Statistics | Washington | Oklahoma |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 17 | 17 |
| Rushes–yards | 43–192 | 54–162 |
| Passing yards | 119 | 124 |
| Passes (C–A–I) | 9–21–3 | 6–21–1 |
| Total Offense | 64–311 | 75–286 |
| Punts–average | 6–37.7 | 7–34.6 |
| Fumbles–lost | 3–1 | 6–2 |
| Turnovers | 4 | 3 |
| Penalties–yards | 5–25 | 8–60 |
| Time of possession | 28:52 | 31:04 |
Washington finished second inboth final polls;[19][20] undefeatedBrigham Young won the national title after they rallied for a24–17 victory over unrankedMichigan(6–6) in theHoliday Bowl onDecember 21.[21][22] Oklahoma fell to sixth.
This remains Washington's sole Orange Bowl appearance; Oklahoma returned in each of the next three seasons. The next Pac-10 team at the Orange Bowl was eighteen years later, theUSC Trojans in January2003.
Brigham Young's opponents as a group have a losing record; how can a team like that be the national champion?" said Nick Crane, chairman of the team selection committee. "As far as the Orange Bowl is concerned, we think ours is a national championship game (between No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 4 Washington).