College football game
The 1955 Orange Bowl was the 21st edition of the college football bowl game , held in Miami , Florida , on Saturday, January 1. It matched the Duke Blue Devils of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Nebraska Cornhuskers of the Big Seven Conference . Duke, ranked fourteenth in both polls , was favored by two touchdowns,[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] [ 4]
Unranked Nebraska was the Big Seven runner-up to undefeated Oklahoma , the defending Orange Bowl champions. The Sooners were not invited due to the conference's no-repeat rule for the postseason.[ 1] [ 3] [ 5]
Included in the record attendance was Vice President Richard Nixon ,[ 2] Duke's law school .
Teams
Both teams were making their first Orange Bowl appearance.
Duke
The Blue Devils won all four of their conference games; they tied Purdue and lost to both Army and Navy . This was Duke's fourth bowl game appearance , and the first in ten years .
Nebraska
The unranked Huskers were making their second bowl appearance , the other was fourteen years earlier . Nebraska had four losses in the regular season, the last was a 55–7 drubbing at #3 Oklahoma .[ 5]
Scoring summary
First quarter
No scoring Second quarter
Duke – Bob Pascal 7-yard run (Jim Nelson kick)
Duke – Jerry Kocourek 5-yard pass from Jerry Barger (Nelson kick) Third quarter
Nebraska – Don Comstock 3-yard run (Bob Smith kick)
Duke – Sonny Sorrell 5-yard pass from Barger (kick failed) Fourth quarter
Duke – Nick McKeithan 1-yard run (Nelson kick)
Duke – Sam Eberdt 3-yard run (Nelson kick) Source: [ 6] [ 7]
Statistics
Statistics
Duke Nebraska
First Downs
23
6
Rushes–yards
64–288
34–84
Passing yards
82
26
Passes (C–A–I)
7–13–0
1–9–2
Total Offense
77–370
43–110
Punts–average
5–26.6
7–28.9
Fumbles–lost
2–1
0–0
Turnovers
1
2
Penalties–yards
2–30
2–20
Source: [ 6] [ 7]
References
^ a b c "Busy scoreboard eyed as Duke, Nebraska tangle" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 1, 1955. p. 8.^ a b "Duke loses to Huskers 34-7 in Orange Bowl" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). Associated Press. January 1, 1955. p. 1C.^ a b Funk, Ben (January 2, 1955). "Duke rips Huskers 34-7" . St. Petersburg Times . (Florida). Associated Press. p. 1C. ^ "The 1950s | Orange Bowl" .^ a b "Oklahoma tramples Nebraska, 55 to 7" . Pittsburgh Press . United Press. November 21, 1954. p. 2, section 3.^ a b "Game-by-game recaps: 1955" (PDF) . 2019 Capital One Orange Bowl media guide. January 2019. p. 29.^ a b "Bowl games: 1955 Orange Bowl" (PDF) . 2005 Nebraska Cornhuskers football media guide. (supplement). 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 23, 2020.
History & conference tie-ins Games Notes
The game was also the national title game (Bowl Coalition , Bowl Alliance , or Bowl Championship Series ) in 1994, 1995, 1998, 2001, and 2005.
There was an Orange Bowl in January and December in 1996, 2014, and 2021.
The 2015, 2018, 2021 (December), and 2025 editions were College Football Playoff semifinals.
Pound sign (#) denotes national championship game.
