1976 TANGERINE BOWL 

12.18.76 San Diego, California (37,812) 

Powerful Oklahoma State, sparked by All-American Terry Miller (173 yards rushing on 23 carries), used four pass interceptions and a fumble recovery to capture the 31st annual Tangerine Bowl contest. Defensively, the Cowboys yielded only 46 yards rushing. The Cougars, however, stayed close in the first half, which ended 28-14. Dave Lowry returned the second-half kickoff 102 yards (a Tangerine Bowl record) to move the Cougars to within seven at 28-21. From there, it was all Cowboys. BYU’s Gifford Nielsen completed 23 of 34 passes for 209 yards and one touchdown, but the Cougars could only roll up 255 yards to Oklahoma State’s 402. BYU entered the game with a 9-2 record, while Oklahoma State came in after tying for the Big 8 title. The Cowboys missed out on the Orange Bowl because of the conference tie-breaking formula. Later, the stadium was expanded and the name changed to the Florida Citrus Bowl.