1950 Orange Bowl

College football game

1950 Orange Bowl

16th Orange Bowl
| Kentucky Wildcats | Santa Clara Broncos

|

(9-2) | (7-2-1)
SEC | Independent
13 | 21
Head coach:
Bear Bryant | Head coach:
Len Casanova
| AP

| AP

|  | 1| 2| 3| 4 | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Kentucky | 0| 7| 0| 6 | 13
Santa Clara | 0| 0| 14| 7 | 21
Date| January 2, 1950
Season| 1949
Stadium| Burdine Stadium
Location| Miami, Florida
Favorite| Kentucky (–5½)[1]
Referee| Fred Koster (SEC;
split crew: SEC, Pacific Coast)
Attendance| 64,816
|  Orange Bowl

< 1949 |  1951 >

1950 Orange Bowl was the sixteenth edition of the bowl game, played at Burdine Stadium in Miami, Florida, on Monday, January 2, 1950.[2] The game featured the Kentucky Wildcats of the Southeastern Conference and the Santa Clara Broncos, an independent from northern California.

Santa Clara (7–2–1) was ranked fifteenth in the final AP poll, released in early December.[3] Kentucky (9–2, 4–1 SEC) had been ranked as high as sixth in the AP poll during the season but was ranked eleventh entering the game.[4]

## The Game

[edit]

The game was scoreless until the second quarter, following a Santa Clara turnover, as Kentucky's John Netoskie recovered a fumble near midfield.[1][5][6] A 14-play, 51-yard drive ended with a touchdown from two yards out by Wilbur Jamerson; Bobby Brooks' point after gave Kentucky a 7–0 lead, a score that stood at the half after a 45-yard Babe Parilli-to-Bill Leskovar pass put Kentucky on the Santa Clara 3-yard line with Santa Clara stopping two rushing attempts as time expired.[6] Kentucky coach Bear Bryant later said he should have called a passing play in order to allow for a field goal attempt if a touchdown was not scored.[6]

In the third quarter, a poor 9-yard Kentucky punt gave Santa Clara possession on their own 46-yard line.[6] John Pasco threw 25 yards to Larry Williams, which led to a one-yard touchdown run by Pasco to tie the game at seven.[6] A second Santa Clara touchdown came after a pass interference call against Kentucky helped set up a 4-yard touchdown run by Hall Haynes.[6]

Early in the fourth quarter, Parilli threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to Emery Clark but Brooks missed the point after, and Santa Clara retained a one-point lead at 14–13 with twelve minutes remaining.[6] With less than one minute left, Santa Clara's Bernie Vogel scored on a 16-yard run for the final score and a 21–13 win for the Broncos.[1][6]

Bill Leskovar had 83 rushing yards (on 22 carries) for Kentucky.[7]

## Aftermath

[edit]

Reportedly, part of the reason the Wildcats lost was from fatigue of being overworked in two-a-day practices every day from the moment the team got off the plane in Cocoa Beach two weeks prior up until the day before the game (with the exception of Christmas Eve and Day). Bryant later admitted it wasn't the greatest coaching move of his career and refused to lay any blame on his players for the loss.

It was Santa Clara's third and final bowl win; they later played in Division II, then dropped the football program after the 1992 season.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Santa Clara upsets Kentucky, 21-13". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. January 3, 1950. p. 4, part 2.
2. ^ "Santa Clara rallies to outpoint Kentucky". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. January 3, 1950. p. 9, part 2.
3. ^ Final 1949 AP poll at AP Poll Archive.com Archived 2008-09-25 at the Wayback Machine}. Accessed 2009-07-25.
4. ^ Kentucky in the 1949 AP poll at AP Poll Archive.com Archived 2012-03-28 at the Wayback Machine
5. ^ "Two coaches explain Orange Bowl upset". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. January 3, 1950. p. 32.
6. ^ a b c d e f g h 2002 Kentucky football media guide, p.175
7. ^ 2002 Kentucky football media guide, p.177

* v
* t
* e

1949–50 NCAA football bowl game season

* Refrigerator (Dec. 3)
* Glass (Dec. 3)
* Junior Sugar (Dec. 9)
* Junior Rose (Dec. 10)
* Gold Dust (Dec. 16)
* Silver (Dec. 17)
* Raisin (Dec. 31)
* Rose (Jan. 2)
* Sugar (Jan. 2)
* Orange (Jan. 2)
* Cotton (Jan. 2)
* Sun (Jan. 2)
* Oleander (Jan. 2)
* Pineapple (Jan. 2)
* Gator (Jan. 2)
* Salad (Jan. 2)
* Tangerine (Jan. 2)

* All-Star Games: North–South Shrine Game (Dec. 26)
* Blue–Gray Football Classic (Dec. 26)
* East–West Shrine Game (Dec. 31)
* Senior Bowl (Jan. 7)

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Orange Bowl

History & conference tie-ins|

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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, and 2021 (December) editions were College Football Playoff semifinals.

* v
* t
* e

Kentucky Wildcats bowl games

* 1947 Great Lakes Bowl
* 1950 Orange Bowl
* 1951 Sugar Bowl
* 1952 Cotton Bowl Classic
* 1976 Peach Bowl
* 1983 Hall of Fame Classic
* 1984 Hall of Fame Classic
* 1993 Peach Bowl
* 1999 Outback Bowl
* 1999 Music City Bowl
* 2006 Music City Bowl
* 2007 Music City Bowl
* 2009 Liberty Bowl
* 2009 Music City Bowl
* 2011 BBVA Compass Bowl
* 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl
* 2017 Music City Bowl
* 2019 Citrus Bowl
* 2019 Belk Bowl
* 2021 Gator Bowl
* 2022 Citrus Bowl
* 2022 Music City Bowl
* 2023 Gator Bowl

* v
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* e

Santa Clara Broncos bowl games

* 1937 Sugar Bowl
* 1938 Sugar Bowl
* 1950 Orange Bowl

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