1962 Orange Bowl

The 1962 Orange Bowl was the 28th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Monday, January 1. Part of the 1961–62 bowl game season, the No. 4 LSU Tigers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) defeated the No. 7 Colorado Buffaloes of the Big Eight Conference, 25–7.^[3][4][5]

1962 Orange Bowl
28th Orange Bowl
The Miami Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, hosted the Orange Bowl.
Colorado Buffaloes LSU Tigers (9–1) (9–1) Big Eight SEC 7 25 Head coach:  Sonny Grandelius Head coach:  Paul Dietzel AP Coaches 7 7 AP Coaches 4 3
1 2 3 4 Total Colorado 0 7 0 0 7 LSU 5 6 14 0 25
Date	January 1, 1962
Season	1961
Stadium	Orange Bowl
Location	Miami, Florida
Favorite	LSU by 13 points[1][2]
Referee	Cliff Ogden (Big 8) (split crew: Big 8, SEC)
Attendance	62,391
United States TV coverage
Network	ABC
Announcers	Curt Gowdy, Paul Christman
Orange Bowl  ← 1961  1963 →

Teams

Main article: 1961 college football season

Colorado

Main article: 1961 Colorado Buffaloes football team

LSU

Main article: 1961 LSU Tigers football team

LSU implemented their "three-platoon system." which included the "Chinese Bandits" defensive unit.^[6]

Game summary

The game kicked off at 1 pm and was played in a drizzle, the first rain at an Orange Bowl.^[4]

Scoring

First quarter

• LSU - FG-Wendell Harris 30 yds; 3–0 LSU
• LSU - Safety—punt blocked out of end zone; 5–0 LSU

Second quarter

• Colo - TD-Loren Schweninger 59-yard interception return (Hillebrand kick); 5–7 Colorado
• LSU - TD-Charles Cranford 1-yard run (2-point conversion failed); 11–7 LSU

Third quarter

• LSU - TD-Jimmy Field 9-yard run (Harris kick); 18–7 LSU
• LSU - TD-Gene Sykes recovered blocked punt in end zone (Harris kick); 25–7 LSU

Fourth quarter

No scoring

Source:^[3][4][5][7]

Aftermath

It was the final game for both head coaches: Colorado's Sonny Grandelius was fired in March in the wake of numerous NCAA rule violations,^[8][9] and Paul Dietzel left for Army, then returned to LSU as athletic director in 1978.

The next season, Colorado won just two games under interim head coach Bud Davis (who later served as LSU's Chancellor), who was succeeded by Eddie Crowder in January 1963. The program's next appearance in a major bowl was after the 1976 season, also in the Orange.

LSU's next major bowl appearance was the following year, with a shutout win in the Cotton; their next Orange Bowl was in January 1971. Charles McClendon, Dietzel's top assistant, ascended to head coach and remained through the 1979 season, compiling a 137-59-7 record. McClendon remains LSU winningest coach as of 2023.