1976 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl
| 1976 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 31, 1976 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1976 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Astrodome | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Houston, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 48,618 | ||||||||||||||||||
The 1976 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl was a college football postseason game between the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Nebraska started the season ranked #1 in the polls, but a tie to LSU dropped them to #8. Five straight victories made them rise back to #3 before a matchup with #17 Missouri at home. A 34-24 loss made them fall to #9, with victories over Kansas and #13 Oklahoma State doing nothing to make them rise nor fall. Losses to Iowa State and #8 Oklahoma made them fall to #13, with a win over Hawaii ending the season on a high note, as they finished tied for 2nd in the Big Eight Conference (with Iowa State) in a year where Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Colorado all won a share of the conference title. This was Nebraska's sixth bowl game of the decade along with their seventh straight bowl appearance.
Texas Tech won their first eight games, rising from unranked to #5 in the nation with wins over #17 Texas A&M and #15 Texas being highlight wins. However, a loss to #9 Houston at home cost them a chance at an undefeated season, though wins at Arkansas and #18 Baylor meant that the Red Raiders won a share of the Southwest Conference, their first conference title since 1955. This was Texas Tech's fifth bowl game of the decade. For both teams, this was their first ever Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl appearance.
Texas Tech had 24 first downs to Nebraska's 21, while outrushing them 191 to 164. However, Nebraska outpassed them 232 to 193. Reg Gast recovered a Red Raider fumble with 1:34 left in the game to seal the game for Nebraska, who rallied from being down 10 points on two occasions.
Nebraska continued to go to bowl games for the rest of Osbourne's tenure, while Texas Tech only reached three bowl games combined in rest of the decade and the next one. Neither returned to the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl after this game.
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