So oklahoma is showing up for a participation trophy and a fat pay check...cool.
Can we sub in another team who'd like to bring their full roster?
en.wikipedia.org
The
1978 Orange Bowl was a
college football bowl game played on January 2, 1978, featuring the
Arkansas Razorbacks against the heavily-favored
Oklahoma Sooners.
[1][2][3][4]
The sixth-ranked Razorbacks were 10–1, but were heavy underdogs to the #2 Sooners. Earlier in the day, top-ranked
Texas and their
Heisman Trophy-winning
running back Earl Campbell had lost the
Cotton Bowl 38–10 to #5
Notre Dame (led by quarterback
Joe Montana). Oklahoma now had the inside track to the national championship, if they beat Arkansas. In the regular season, Texas defeated Oklahoma and Arkansas on consecutive weekends en route to its 11–0 record.
To complicate matters for Arkansas, first-year head coach Lou Holtz suspended three players prior to the game for team violations.[1] Two of those players, running backs Ben Cowins and Donny Bobo, had together accounted for 78% of their points.[5] Oklahoma was led by
redshirt sophomore halfback
Billy Sims, a future Heisman Trophy winner, and on defense by
safety Darrol Ray and
linebacker Daryl Hunt.
Although the suspended Arkansas players protested, Holtz refused to back down and the suspensions stood. Already considered a heavy underdog to Oklahoma, with the loss of those starters Arkansas was expected to give little competition in the game.
Arkansas was an 18-point underdog prior to the suspensions. After the suspensions, they were given as 24-point underdogs by Las Vegas oddsmakers.[6] The Orange Bowl would likely decide the national championship; it did, but not in the way that most expected.[7]
Backup running back
Roland Sales started for Arkansas in the place of Cowins. With Sales doing most of the running of the ball, Arkansas out-rushed Oklahoma 126 yards to 116 yards in the first half, with Sims fumbling the ball early in the first quarter causing the Razorbacks to recover on the Oklahoma 9 yard line. That resulted in a Sales touchdown (followed by a PAT kicker
Steve Little). Another Oklahoma fumble by Kenny King resulted in another Arkansas touchdown rushed in by Hog quarterback
Ron Calcagni in the first quarter. In the second half, Sales rushed for another touchdown, Brian White rushed for a touchdown and Little kicked a
field goal. A ferocious Arkansas defense, led by
defensive tackle Dan Hampton, built a 24–0 lead after three quarters. Oklahoma scored early in the fourth, but the
two-point conversion attempt failed.
[5]
Sales rushed 22 times for 205 yards, an Orange Bowl record; he also caught four passes for 52 yards and rushed for two
touchdowns.
Arkansas defeated Oklahoma 31–6.