1977 Orange Bowl
Encyclopedia
The 1977
1976 college football season
The 1976 college football season ended with a championship for the Panthers of the University of Pittsburgh. Coached by Johnny Majors , the Pitt Panthers brought a college football championship to the home of the defending pro football champions, the Steelers. Pitt also had the Heisman Trophy...

 Orange Bowl
Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935 and celebrated its 75th playing on January 1, 2009...

 featured a matchup between the Colorado Buffaloes
Colorado Buffaloes football
The Colorado Buffaloes football program represents the University of Colorado at Boulder in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The team is currently a member of the Pacific-12 Conference, having previously been a charter member of the Big 12 Conference. Before joining the Big 12,...

 and the Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State Buckeyes football
The Ohio State Buckeyes football team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of The Ohio State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the NCAA, playing at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, level. The team nickname is derived from the state...

. The #12 Buffaloes came into the game from the Big Eight
Big Eight Conference
The Big Eight Conference, a former NCAA-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football, was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association by its charter member schools: the University of Kansas, University of Missouri, University...

 with a 8–3 record. The Buckeyes came out of the Big Ten
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...

 with an 8-2-1 record, ranked 11th in the nation.

Colorado scored quickly, jumping out to an early 10-0 lead. However, Rod Gerald, who had not played since the seventh game of the season due to a bone chip in his lower back, came off the bench to lead the Bucks to its ninth win of the season.

Gerald rushed 14 times for 81 yards, including 17 on his first carry setting up a 36-yard scoring run by Jeff Logan
Jeff Logan
Jeff Logan starred as a running back at Hoover High School in North Canton, Ohio establishing numerous scoring records. Logan went to Ohio State University in 1974 and played on four Big Ten Conference Championship football teams. Logan backed up two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin for...

. Ohio State was on the scoreboard with 3:11 to go in the first quarter.

The Buckeyes scored on their next two possessions with Tom Skladany
Tom Skladany
Thomas Edward Skladany was an American football punter with a six-year career in the National Football League from 1978 to 1983. Skladany was a three-time All-American at The Ohio State University—. He was selected to the Pro Bowl after the 1981 season.Simmons....

’s 28-yard field goal with 9:33 left in the half and Pete Johnson
Pete Johnson (American football)
Pete Johnson is a former college and professional American football running back. He spent 8 seasons in the NFL, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals. Before his NFL career, Johnson played for the Ohio State Buckeyes.-College career:Johnson played fullback for Ohio State from 1973 through 1976...

’s 3-yard run with 24 seconds remaining before halftime. That capped a 99-yard drive after a blocked Colorado field goal attempt, and gave Ohio State the lead for good. Gerald ended the scoring with a 4-yard run with a minute left in the fourth quarter, and was named the back of the game.

Ohio State with 271 yards rushing, outgained Colorado 330-271.

This was the first Orange Bowl played on natural grass in seven years, since January 1970. Poly Turf, similar to AstroTurf
AstroTurf
AstroTurf is a brand of artificial turf. Although the term is a registered trademark, it is sometimes used as a generic description of any kind of artificial turf. The original AstroTurf product was a short pile synthetic turf while the current products incorporate modern features such as...

, was installed for the 1970 season
1970 college football season
The 1970 college football season was marked by tragedy, due to two airplane crashes. On October 2, one of the planes carrying the Wichita State football team crashed on the way to a game against Utah State, killing 31 people on board, including 14 players...

 and removed in early 1976, following Super Bowl X
Super Bowl X
Super Bowl X was an American football game played on January 18, 1976 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1975 regular season....

.

First quarter

CO - Zettenberg 26 field goal, 9:04

CO - Moorehead 11 pass from Knapple (Zettenberg kick), 3:54

OSU - Logan 36 run (Skladany kick), 3:11

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