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Betting on the Orange Bowl 2007

Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Game

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Orange Bowl 2007 Game Details

Location: Miami, Florida
Date: 2 January 2007, 8:00 PM EST
Teams: Louisville vs. Wake Forest
Televised on: FOX

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As much as they tried to make the 2006 Orange Bowl about the players, legendary coaches Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden knew they would be the pre-game story in Miami.

But once the game got going, it was all about the players. And missed opportunities. And three overtimes. Penn State finally won after four hours and two missed field goal attempts, when Kevin Kelly made a 29-yarder for a 26-23 win over Florida State.

The 2007 edition of the Orange Bowl will again pit the ACC champion against a BCS at-large school.

Penn State shared the Big Ten title with Ohio State but earned the BCS bid by beating the Buckeyes earlier in the year. The Nittany Lions had been simply awesome during the season and only a last-second touchdown by Michigan prevented them from going undefeated. Penn State covered six games when favored by five points or more. Many suggested Joe Paterno should step down as head coach after guiding the Nittany Lions to a 7-17 record in their last 24 games prior to this season. Penn State also had not won a bowl game since the 1999 season.

But such pessimism changed after Penn State started the season with a six-game winning streak. The Nittany Lions were led by a defense that held opponents to less than 20 points seven times. Florida State offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden was charged with the task of trying to figure out ways to slow down linebacker Paul Posluszny and defensive end Tamba Hali. Posluszny won the Butkus Award as the nation's best linebacker and the Bednarik Award, given to the best defensive player. His season included 111 tackles - 11 for losses - and three sacks.

The Nittany Lions are far from a one-dimensional team. Despite losing talented freshman wide receiver Derrick Williams for the season in the Michigan game, quarterback Michael Robinson kept producing big numbers. Robinson threw for 2,097 yards and ran for another 785.

Head coach Bobby Bowden tops the list of coaches with 359 wins but he's seen better years. With an 8-4 record, the Seminoles benefited from playing in the weaker Atlantic Division of the ACC. How else do you explain a team with four losses playing in a big-money BCS game? Florida State had impressive wins against Miami in the opening week and Virginia Tech in the ACC championship game, but in between the season was a struggle. The Seminoles were only 6-5 against the spread this season and 3-3 when they were underdogs.

The Seminoles lost three straight games before upsetting the Hokies on Dec. 3. They also lost three games to unranked opponents. Part of Florida State's problem was starting a freshman quarterback with an inexperienced offensive line in front of him. Predictably, Drew Weatherford had his ups and downs. He threw for 17 touchdown passes but was also picked off 17 times. To make matters worse for Jeff Bowden, the Seminoles' running game ranked 109th in the country, only averaging 99 yards per game.

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About the Orange Bowl 2007

The Orange Bowl is a post-season college football game that has been played in Miami, Florida since 1935.

The 2006 Orange Bowl was played on 3 January 2006 at the 75,000-seat Dolphins Stadium in Miami. The Florida State Seminoles, champions of NCAA football's Atlantic Coast Conference, met the Penn State Nittany Lions of the Big Ten Conference.

It was the sixth Bowl Championship Series (BCS) appearance for Florida State in eight years, and the first-ever for Penn State, who were 9-point favorites to handle the Seminoles. In the end, it took three overtimes to decide a hard-fought game. Kevin Kelly, who earlier missed two makeable field goals, hit from 29 yards to send Penn State to a 26-23 victory and the Orange Bowl title.

Orange Bowl Prior Results

Date Winning Team Score Losing Team Score
3 Jan. 2006 Penn State 26 Florida State 23
4 Jan. 2005 USC 55 Oklahoma 19
1 Jan. 2004 Miami 16 Florida State 14
2 Jan. 2003 USC 38 Iowa 17
2 Jan. 2002 Florida 56 Maryland 23
3 Jan. 2001 Oklahoma 13 Florida State 2
1 Jan. 2000 Michigan 35 Alabama 34
2 Jan. 1999 Florida 31 Syracuse 10
2 Jan. 1998 Nebraska 42 Tennessee 17
31 Dec. 1996 Nebraska 41 Virginia Tech 21
1 Jan. 1996 Florida State 31 Notre Dame 26
1 Jan. 1995 Nebraska 24 Miami 17
1 Jan. 1994 Florida State 18 Nebraska 16
1 Jan. 1993 Florida State 27 Nebraska 14
1 Jan. 1992 Miami 22 Nebraska 0
1 Jan. 1991 Colorado 10 Notre Dame 9
1 Jan. 1990 Notre Dame 21 Colorado 6
2 Jan. 1989 Miami 23 Nebraska 3
1 Jan. 1988 Miami 20 Oklahoma 14
1 Jan. 1987 Oklahoma 42 Arkansas 89
1 Jan. 1986 Oklahoma 25 Penn State 10
1 Jan. 1985 Washington 28 Oklahoma 17
2 Jan. 1984 Miami 31 Nebraska 30
1 Jan. 1983 Nebraska 21 LSU 20
1 Jan. 1982 Clemson 22 Nebraska 15
1 Jan. 1981 Oklahoma 18 Miami 17
1 Jan. 1980 Oklahoma 24 Miami 7
1 Jan. 1979 Oklahoma 31 Florida State 24
2 Jan. 1978 Arkansas 31 Oklahoma 6
1 Jan. 1977 Ohio State 27 Colorado 10
1 Jan. 1976 Oklahoma 14 Michigan 6
1 Jan. 1975 Notre Dame 13 Alabama 11
1 Jan. 1974 Penn State 16 LSU 9
1 Jan. 1973 Nebraska 40 Notre Dame 6
1 Jan. 1972 Nebraska 38 Alabama 6
1 Jan. 1971 Nebraska 17 LSU 12
1 Jan. 1969 Penn State 15 Kansas 14
1 Jan. 1968 Oklahoma 26 Tennessee 24
2 Jan. 1967 Florida 27 Georgia Tech 12
1 Jan. 1966 Alabama 39 Nebraska 28
1 Jan. 1965 Texas 21 Alabama 17
1 Jan. 1964 Nebraska 13 Auburn 7
1 Jan. 1963 Alabama 17 Oklahoma 0
1 Jan. 1962 LSU 25 Colorado 7
2 Jan. 1961 Missouri 21 Navy 14
1 Jan. 1960 Georgia 14 Missouri 0
1 Jan. 1959 Oklahoma 21 Syracuse 6
1 Jan. 1958 Oklahoma 48 Duke 21
1 Jan. 1957 Colorado 27 Clemson 21
2 Jan. 1956 Oklahoma 20 Maryland 6
1 Jan. 1955 Duke 34 Nebraska 7
1 Jan. 1954 Oklahoma 7 Maryland 0
1 Jan. 1953 Alabama 61 Syracuse 6
1 Jan. 1952 Georgia Tech 17 Baylor 14
1 Jan. 1951 Clemson 15 Miami 14
2 Jan. 1950 Santa Clara 21 Kentucky 13
1 Jan. 1949 Texas 41 Georgia 28
1 Jan. 1948 Georgia Tech 20 Kansas 14
1 Jan. 1947 Rice 8 Tennessee 0
1 Jan. 1946 Miami 13 Holy Cross 6
1 Jan. 1945 Tulsa 26 Georgia Tech 12
1 Jan. 1944 LSU 19 Texas A&M 14
1 Jan. 1943 Alabama 37 Boston College 21
1 Jan. 1942 Georgia 40 TCU 26
1 Jan. 1941 Mississippi State 14 Georgetown 7
1 Jan. 1940 Georgia Tech 21 Missouri 7
2 Jan. 1939 Tennessee 17 Oklahoma 0
1 Jan. 1938 Auburn 6 Michigan State 0
1 Jan. 1937 Duquesne 13 Mississippi State 12
1 Jan. 1936 Catholic University 20 Mississippi 19
1 Jan. 1935 Bucknell 26 Miami 0

History of the Orange Bowl

On New Year's Day 1935, Bucknell and Miami met in the first college football game to be known as the Orange Bowl. Between 1968 and 1997, the game featured the champion of the now-defunct Big Eight Conference (members of the Big Eight went on to form the basis of the current Big 12 Conference).

Since 1998, with the creation of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), the Orange Bowl has played host once every four years to the National Championship Game of NCAA football. That format changes for the 2006-2007 season when a designated BCS title game is added to the bowl lineup.

From 1935 to 1995, the game was played at Orange Bowl Stadium in Miami. In 1996 the game was moved to Pro Player Stadium, now known as Dolphins Stadium. With the sponsorship of the courier company FedEx (formally Federal Express) in 1989, the game became officially known as the FedEx Orange Bowl.

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