| 1988 Orange Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 54th Orange Bowl National championship game | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 1988 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1987 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Orange Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Miami, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Bernard Clark (Miami LB) Darrell Reed (Oklahoma DE) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Oklahoma by 3 points[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Bill McDonald (CIFOA) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 74,760[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Don Criqui,Bob Trumpy, andTom Hammond | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The1988 Orange Bowl was the 54thedition of thecollege footballbowl game, played at theOrange Bowl inMiami,Florida, on Friday, January 1. Part of the1987–88 bowl game season, it matched undefeated teams: theindependent andsecond-rankedMiami Hurricanes and the #1Oklahoma Sooners of theBig Eight Conference.
Miami was led by head coachJimmy Johnson and Oklahoma byBarry Switzer.[2] A slight underdog on their home field,[1] Miami won 20–14.[3][4]
To date, it is the only time the opposing head coaches from a college national championship football game each later served as head coach of the same professional football team, and won theSuper Bowl with that team, theDallas Cowboys.
The 1988 Orange Bowl featured "Game of the Century"-type billing[citation needed] as the undefeated and top-rankedOklahoma Sooners faced off against undefeated and second-ranked Miami for the national championship.[5] Adding to the hype was the recent on-field history between the teams. Oklahoma was a dominant force in college football, winning the national championship in 1985 and losing just one game in each of the preceding two years. Miami, though, had proven to be the thorn in Oklahoma's side, as the Sooners' losses in '85 and '86 had both come at the hands of Miami. Now, with the national championship on the line, Miami sought to make it three-losses-in-three-years for Oklahoma, and also their first postseason bowl win under Jimmy Johnson after three straight bowl losses, two in which they struggled and lost their chances to win the national championships. Further fuel for the fire was provided by the growing personal animosity between former Arkansas player Johnson and Oklahoma head coachBarry Switzer, who was also a former Arkansas player.
Miami's vaunted defense set the tone early, forcing the Sooners topunt on their first five possessions. Meanwhile, Walsh settled into a nice rhythm, putting Miami on the board first with a 30-yard touchdown pass to fullback Melvin Bratton, who caught 9 passes for 102 yards for the game. Oklahoma got on the board with a second-quarter touchdown to tie things up, but Miami responded with 10 unanswered third quarter points, coming on a 56-yardfield goal by kicker Greg Cox and a 23-yard touchdown pass from Walsh to Irvin. Oklahoma would add a fourth-quarter touchdown to trim the score to 20-14, but Miami held on for the win and the national championship. Johnson received aGatorade bath, which messed his trademark impeccably coiffed hair, and was carried off the field, having finally won "the big one" at Miami.
The Hurricane defense held Oklahoma to just 255 yards of offense, while Walsh's efficient play (18 of 30, 209 yards, 2 touchdowns) paced the Hurricane offense. Middle linebacker Bernard "Tiger" Clark- a backup middle linebacker who was forced to start after starting MLB George Mira Jr. was suspended for failing a drug test- was named the MVP of the Orange Bowl after recording 14 tackles (12 unassisted).
With the win, Miami completed its first ever undefeated season. In winning their second national championship, the Canes once again had to go through the nation's top-ranked team at the Orange Bowl, just as they had donefour years earlier.
MOP:Bernard Clark (Miami LB),Darrell Reed (Oklahoma DE)
| Statistics | Miami | Oklahoma |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 15 | 13 |
| Rushes-Yards | 38–72 | 53–179 |
| Passing Yards | 209 | 76 |
| Passes (C–A–I) | 18–30–1 | 5–13–0 |
| Total Offense | 68–281 | 66–255 |
| Return yards | 7 | 22 |
| Punts–Avg. | 6–44.7 | 8–39.0 |
| Fumbles–Lost | 0–0 | 4–2 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Penalties–Yards | 8–85 | 5–39 |
| Time of possession | 32:08 | 27:52 |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)