1964 Orange Bowl

1964 Orange Bowl
30th Orange Bowl
Nebraska CornhuskersAuburn Tigers
(9–1)(9–1)
Big EightSEC
137
Head coach: 
Bob Devaney		Head coach: 
Ralph Jordan
APCoaches
65
APCoaches
56
1234Total
Nebraska1030013
Auburn00707
DateJanuary 1, 1964
Season1963
StadiumMiami Orange Bowl
LocationMiami, Florida
FavoriteAuburn by 3[1]
RefereePat Haggerty (Big Eight)
Attendance72,647
United States TV coverage
NetworkABC
AnnouncersCurt Gowdy, Paul Christman, Jim McKay
Nielsen ratings11.0
Orange Bowl
 ← 1963  1965 → 

The 1964 Orange Bowl was the thirtieth edition of the college football bowl game, played on January 1, 1964 at the Miami Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. Part of the 1963–64 bowl season, it featured the sixth-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers of the Big Eight Conference and the fifth-ranked Auburn Tigers of the SEC. In a game billed as a battle between Nebraska's strength and Auburn's speed, the Cornhuskers jumped out to an early lead and held on to win 13–7.

Teams

Nebraska

Nebraska won its first Big Eight title in over twenty years under second-year head coach Bob Devaney. The Cornhuskers entered 9–1, falling to Air Force before winning five consecutive games, including a 29–20 victory over sixth-ranked Oklahoma in a de facto conference championship game. NU was led by a strong offensive line and ground attack, which led the country in rushing at 263 yards per game.[2]

Nine Nebraska players had been selected in the 1964 NFL draft a month earlier, including No. 2 overall pick Bob Brown, but they were not permitted to meet with professional teams or discuss contracts until after the Orange Bowl.[3]

Auburn

Auburn finished second in the SEC, losing to Mississippi State before a strong season-ending stretch that included a 10–8 victory over rival Alabama. The team was led by quarterback Jimmy Sidle, the SEC's Player of the Year who finished second nationally with 1,006 rushing yards.[2] This was Auburn's first bowl appearance since 1955 and first Orange Bowl since 1938.

Game

Quarterback Dennis Claridge gave the Cornhuskers a 7–0 lead on the game's second play from scrimmage, when NU's powerful offensive line sprung him on an Orange Bowl-record 68-yard touchdown run.[2] Claridge finished with 108 rushing yards after combining for just 179 across NU's ten regular season games. Dave Theisen added two field goals to give NU a 13–0 halftime lead.

Nebraska's offense, prolific in the first half, stalled in the latter stages, allowing Sidle a chance to stage a comeback. Near the end of the third quarter, he scored from thirteen yards out to bring Auburn within six.[4] The Tigers drove into the Nebraska red zone in the closing minutes, passing 200 yards of offense in the second half after managing just 72 in the first, but a fourth-down pass was batted down by NU linebacker John Kirby.[3][4] It sealed Nebraska's first major bowl win, and gave the Big Eight its first Orange Bowl victory over the SEC in five tries.[5]

Scoring summary

QtrTeamTimeDetail[6]NUAU
1NU13:47Dennis Claridge 68-yard run (Dave Theisen kick)70
NU5:26Thiesen 31-yd field goal100
2NU13:05Thiesen 36-yd field goal130
3AU3:32Jimmy Sidle 13-yd run (Woody Woodall kick)137

Team statistics

Statistic[6]NebraskaAuburn
First downs1117
Rushes–yards46–20435–126
Comp.–att.–yards4–9–3014–27–157
Total offense234283
Turnovers12
Punts–average7–38.36–35.2
Penalties–yards6–655–39

Aftermath

In a postgame interview, Devaney noted that his team "wanted to justify being down here," referencing the SEC's dominant victories over the Big Eight in the previous two Orange Bowls.[7] In the early 1960s, the Orange Bowl had grown hesitant about its partnership with the Big Eight, hoping to expand its selection pool, but later decided to renew the agreement.[4][2]

Most audio from the telecast survives, but video footage is lost. The telecast on ABC was in direct competition with the Cotton Bowl on CBS and the Sugar Bowl on NBC.[8] The following year, the Orange Bowl's broadcast rights transferred to NBC, which moved kickoff to 8 p.m. to make it the finale of the network's New Year's Day tripleheader of major bowl games.[9]

The 1964 game was the second of seventeen Orange Bowl appearances by the Cornhuskers. Auburn has yet to return to the game.

References

  1. ^ "Sidle faces big Nebraska in Miami clash". St. Petersburg Times. Associated Press. January 1, 1964. p. 1C.
  2. ^ a b c d Mike Babcock (August 14, 2012). "Instant Replay: The 1964 Orange Bowl". Hail Varsity. Archived from the original on October 7, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Nebraska muscle subdues Auburn". The Register-Guard. Eugene, Oregon. Associated Press. January 2, 1964. p. 2D.
  4. ^ a b c Wally Provost (January 2, 1964). "NU Prestige Glows After Sharp Victory In Dramatic Battle". Omaha World-Herald. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  5. ^ Sean Callahan (July 7, 2016). "16 for '16: Nebraska earns first major bowl win vs. Auburn". Rivals. Archived from the original on May 3, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Claridge's gallop sparks Huskers in Orange Bowl". HuskerMax. Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  7. ^ "Nebraska Speed, Agility Impresses Auburn Coach". The Victoria Advocate. Associated Press. January 2, 1964. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  8. ^ "Teams from South, Southwest lead in post-season football contests". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. December 31, 1963. p. 14.
  9. ^ "300,000 to see four major bowl games". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 1, 1965. p. 40.

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