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    Saturday, December 09, 2006

    Nole Bowls: 1980 Orange Bowl


    1980 Orange Bowl,Miami,Oklahoma 18 Florida State 17

    This was the second year in a row that FSU (10-1) and Oklahoma squared off in the Orange Bowl. The first bowl game was won handily by the Sooners but this game was exciting to the end.

    Oklahoma wishbone quarterback J.C. Watts went to the air in the fourth quarter to defeat Florida State, 18-17, in an exciting finish.

    Florida State held a 17-10 lead with 3:19 remaining and Watts, who had fumbled four times and lost three, had been stymied by the Seminoles' number one-ranked defense.

    But in the final minutes, he passed for 74 yards on a 78-yard Sooner drive, including a 1-yard touchdown to split end Steve Rhodes at the 1:33 mark. With the Seminoles guessing rush, Watts lofted a two-point conversion pass to tight end Forrest Valora for the lead.

    The Seminoles had one last shot to win, but Bill Capece's 62-yard field goal attempt just missed.

    This game was the beginning of the great Florida State football teams that would catapult FSU into the elite of the college football world. From 1982-1995, the Noles would win 13 bowl games and have one tie among that streak.

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