| Year Game Played: | 1955 |
| Game Name: | Orange Bowl |
| Subheader: | 21st Orange Bowl |
| Football Season: | 1954 |
| Visitor Name Short: | Duke |
| Visitor Nickname: | Blue Devils |
| Visitor School: | Duke University |
| Home Name Short: | Nebraska |
| Home Nickname: | Cornhuskers |
| Home School: | University of Nebraska |
| Visitor Record: | 7–2–1 |
| Visitor Conference: | ACC |
| Home Record: | 6–4 |
| Home Conference: | Big 7 |
| Visitor Coach: | William D. Murray |
| Home Coach: | Bill Glassford |
| Visitor Rank Ap: | 14 |
| Visitor Rank Coaches: | 14 |
| Home Rank Ap: | NR |
| Home Rank Coaches: | NR |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 14 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 6 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 14 |
| Home 1Q: | 0 |
| Home 2Q: | 0 |
| Home 3Q: | 7 |
| Home 4Q: | 0 |
| Date Game Played: | January 1 |
| Stadium: | Burdine Stadium |
| City: | Miami, Florida |
| Odds: | Duke by 14 points[1] |
| Referee: | Cliff Ogden (Big Seven; split crew: Big Seven, ACC) |
| Attendance: | 68,750 |
| Us Network: | CBS |
| Us Announcers Link: | List of announcers of major college bowl games |
| Us Announcers: | Bob Neal |
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] and won, 34–7.[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] an alumnus of Duke's law school.
See main article: 1954 college football season. Both teams were making their first Orange Bowl appearance.
See main article: 1954 Duke Blue Devils football team. 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.
See main article: 1954 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team. 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]
| 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 |