Since 1935, the Orange Bowl has been a part of the lore in college football. Some of the best teams in the land have played in Miami over the course of the years here in South Beach, and this year is really no exception, as the Virginia Tech Hokies are going to take on the Stanford Cardinal in one of the biggest games of the bowl season.Check�SBR Odds�for up to date and live�NCAAF betting odds.This isn't just a football game, though. The Orange Bowl brings out some of the best and brightest athletes, both of the male and female variety. A tremendous cheerleading competition kicks off the festivities, followed up by several youth football games starting two weeks before the big game kicks off.The next weekend, the men of the hardwood are going to go at it. This year, the Miami Hurricanes will take on the UCF Knights, while the Florida Gators will face the Kansas State Wildcats. In a tradition that was only started relatively recently, these basketball games almost always feature squads from the Sunshine State, and the Hurricanes almost always partake.However, when everyone flocks to Miami at the beginning of January, all eyes are going to be on the big game on Monday, January 3rd, when V-Tech Hokies will face Stanford in arguably the most intriguing bowl game of the season.The first team ever invited to the Orange Bowl, formerly known as the Orange Bowl Classic, were the Bucknell Bison, who ultimately won the first of these great games against the home squad, the Miami Hurricanes 26-0.Unfortunately for Bucknell, this was its only appearance in the Orange Bowl, while Miami went on to make eight more appearances. The Hurricanes have gone 6-3 in nine games here playing in its home bowl game, the third most appearances and wins in the history of the Orange Bowl.The Nebraska Cornhuskers have been here 17 times, the second most ever, while the Oklahoma Sooners have been here 18 times. The Sooners are 12-6 and easily have the most wins in the history of this illustrious game, while Nebraska has eight wins, easily the second most wins.There are only seven teams that have won this game at least three times, and only 14 in total that have won it more than once. The Hokies have played in this one three times in their history, going 1-2. This is the first time that Stanford Cardinal has played here in South Beach, making them the 22nd different team that has played in this game just once. There have been 50 different teams that have played in the Orange Bowl, with Stanford becoming No. 51.The BCS National Championship was decided here in 2005, and unfortunately, it was one of the most lopsided games in the history of the Orange Bowl. The USC Trojans came all the way to the East Coast to take on the Oklahoma Sooners, and the end result was not nearly one that was desired. USC dropped a whopping 55 points on the Sooners and ended up with a 55-19 victory to easily claim the BCS Championship.The 34 point margin of victory was matched two other times since 1953. The Nebraska Cornhuskers beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 1973, while the Sooners took care of the Arkansas Razorbacks 42-8 in 1987.However, by far, the biggest margin of victory came in 1953, when the Alabama Crimson Tide took care of the Syracuse Orange 61-6. The 61 points was easily the most in the history of the Orange Bowl, while the 55 point MOV was also easily the most in the history of this game.The good news for Syracuse backers is that this wasn't nearly the lowest point total in a game in Miami. Eight different teams have been shut out, while the Florida State Seminoles were beaten by the Oklahoma Sooners 13-2 in 2001.That game in '01 was one of the most interesting in the history of the Orange Bowl. The Noles were heavily favored in that game, as they had gone wire to wire on the campaign going into the Orange Bowl, which was the BCS Championship Game that year. However, one of the most dynamic offenses in the country, that of the defending champs, was kept off of the board, save for a meaningless safety. This was the game that largely put the Sooners on the map in the Bob Stoops era as well, as this defined Stoops' legacy as one of the best head coaches in the country, as it won Oklahoma its first National Championship during this generation.The National Championship was also handed out in 1994, 1995, and 1998 in a decisive game here in South Beach. The aforementioned Seminoles won their first ever National Championship here in the Orange Bowl, and quite ironically, they did so by a The words marred Florida State for years, as field goal attempts that were missed to the left against the Miami Hurricanes probably cost Head Coach Bobby Bowden's team a number of National Championships.However, on this day in 1994, those words were fantastic for the garnet and gold. FSU only made it into this game due to the fact that the Notre Dame Fighting Irish were beaten by the Boston College Eagles in the final week of the regular season. A field goal with less than two minutes to play for the Seminoles gave them a lead that they would not relent, though the Cornhuskers lost out on a shot for the title by missing a field goal as time expired. The next year, the Cornhuskers came back to the Orange Bowl and beat the Miami Hurricanes 24-17 to win the National Championship.In '98, these same Huskers knocked off the Tennessee Volunteers 42-17 to claim glory.Perhaps the most interesting Orange Bowl came in 1984. Nebraska, clearly a storied program in the history of these games, was the undisputed No. 1 team in the country. It scored a touchdown with just 48 seconds left on the clock to move within one point of the No. 4 team in the land. An extra point would have probably let this game end in a tie, which would have ensured the Huskers winning their first title. Instead, Tom Osborne elected to go for two and the win. His conversion attempt was batted away, and went on to win the game.There wasn't overtime back in those days, but since that point, the games in 2000 and 2006 both did go to an extra session.In 2000, the Michigan Wolverines beat the Alabama Crimson Tide 35-34. Six years later, two of the most storied head coaches in the history of college football, Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno played in an epic three overtime battle that ended with the Penn State Nittany Lions beating the Florida State Seminoles 26-23.In this duel in 2010, the ACC Champions from Virginia tech will play for the third time in four years in the Orange Bowl. Pac-10 representatives have only played in this game three times in the history of the game. The Washington Huskies won here in 1985, while the USC Trojans won in both 2003 and 2005. Stanford now makes the third different team to play here in Miami for this illustrious bowl game.The Orange Bowl will be played on January 3rd this year, and you can bet that the Hokies and Cardinal are going to want to make a big statement for their individual programs. You certainly won't want to miss this clash!
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