Orange Bowl

When tiny Bucknell defeated hometown Miami in the inaugural Orange Bowl, way back in 1935, few of the 5,134 fans in attendance could’ve predicted the game’s importance to college football in the years to come. By 1965, when Bear Bryant led a 10-0 Alabama team against 9-2 Texas, millions of viewers across America watched the Longhorns tip the Crimson Tide 21-17 in the first bowl game broadcast nationally on prime-time television.

Between 1938 and 1996, the game was held at the University of Miami’s Orange Bowl stadium, before shifting to what’s now known as Hard Rock Stadium, home of the NFL’s Dolphins. In the penultimate game at the Orange Bowl, the hometown Hurricanes had a chance to win the national championship, but Miami fell 24-17 to Nebraska.

The Cornhuskers have long been associated with the Orange Bowl, appearing 17 times in total (8-9), but Nebraska’s last appearance was in 1998. That year, the undefeated Huskers won a share of the national title by beating Tennessee in a 42-17 blowout, covering the 7.5-point spread in the process.

Underdogs won outright in the game four years in a row from 2013 to 2016, however, with Florida State beating Michigan 33-32 as 6.5-point dogs in 2016.

The year before it was Clemson defeating Oklahoma 37-17 in the CFP semifinals as 3.5-point underdogs. Georgia Tech overcame a 6-point spread to blast Mississippi State 49-34 in 2014, and the year before Clemson beat Ohio State 40-35 facing a 2.5-point edge.

This year’s Orange Bowl pits the No. 6-ranked Wisconsin Badgers vs the No. 10-ranked Miami Hurricanes. Both teams are coming off losses in their most recent games, and in the Hurricanes’ case, they’ve dropped two straight games by double digits. Miami has also been on a spread covering drought, covering just two spreads in its last eight games. Read our Orange Bowl betting preview here.

For updated lines and great Props for all Bowl games head over to Bovada today.