The 1954 Orange Bowl was a postseason American college football bowl game between the first-ranked Maryland Terrapins and the fourth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners. It was the twentieth edition of the Orange Bowl and took place at the Orange Bowl stadium in Miami, Florida on January 1, 1954.
The game was the first Orange Bowl to feature tie-ins between the Big Seven Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) champions. It was the first-ever meeting of the two teams. Maryland and Oklahoma were head coached by former colleagues Jim Tatum and Bud Wilkinson, respectively, who had previously coached together at the United States Navy's Iowa Pre-Flight School and the University of Oklahoma.
Pre-game buildup
The game was the first postseason bowl game in which the players were required to play on both the offense and defense. This was a result of the NCAA's newly instituted "one-platoon" rules that limited player substitutions. It also featured the Orange Bowl's first conference tie-in between the Big Seven and the ACC.
Maryland
Maryland's head coach was Jim Tatum, who had compiled a record of 56–11–3. Before coming to Maryland, he spent one year as the Oklahoma head coach in 1946, where Bud Wilkinson had served as his assistant coach. The Maryland team was ranked first in the nation in the final rankings of both the Associated Press (AP) Poll and the United Press Coaches' Poll. Maryland finished the regular season with a perfect 10–0 record with the narrowest win being a 20–6 victory over Don Faurot's Missouri. They also recorded shutout wins over 11th-ranked Mississippi, 38–0, and 11th-ranked Alabama, 21–0. Tatum said, "this is the greatest team I ever coached."
During the regular season, the Maryland defense allowed opponents to score 31 points in ten games and recorded six defensive shut-outs. Only Georgia scored more than seven points. No ACC team has since held opponents to an equal or lesser number of points. Maryland's rushing defense (83.9 yards allowed per game) and scoring defense (3.1 points allowed per game) ranked first in the nation. Maryland outscored its opponents 298–31. No ACC team scored more total points until 1967. Maryland's star quarterback, Bernie Faloney, was injured midseason and saw limited game action for the remainder of the year. Back-up quarterback Charlie Boxold filled in for the majority of the Orange Bowl.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma was led by seventh-year head coach Bud Wilkinson. He assumed the position after Tatum resigned to leave for Maryland. The two had also served as assistant coaches in the U.S. Navy for the Iowa Pre-Flight football team under Don Faurot. Faurot pioneered the split-T offense that both Tatum and Wilkinsons' teams employed. Since taking over at Oklahoma, Wilkinson had a 62–8–3 record. Oklahoma entered the game on an eight-game winning streak with a single loss in the season-opener to Notre Dame and a tie in week 2 against Pittsburgh. Oklahoma also had an injured quarterback; second-stringer Pat O'Neal separated his sternum at Miami and missed the game.
Wilkinson reportedly compiled fake playbooks and had them distributed where they would be discovered by Maryland personnel. Wilkinson later admitted that he had indeed used the ruse on occasion, without specifically stating it was employed before the 1954 Orange Bowl.
Game summary
In the first quarter, Maryland started with the wind to their backs. Bill Walker kicked a punt that pinned Oklahoma on their own one-foot line. Oklahoma quarterback Gene Calame rushed twice to gain some breathing room before the Sooners punted it away. Maryland took over on the Oklahoma 37-yard line. Quarterback Charlie Boxold completed a nine-yard pass to Dick Nolan. Halfback Chet Hanulak then connected with Nolan again. That was followed by a first down by fullback Ralph Felton on the Oklahoma four-yard line. Hanulak rushed to pick up two yards. Nolan then ran to the left but was stopped by Oklahoma back Larry Grigg for no gain. Hanulak rushed again to pick up one more yard. Felton rushed from the one-yard line, but was stopped six inches shy of the end zone, and Maryland turned over on downs. Maryland again drove inside the Oklahoma 10-yard line. Wilkinson sent in the alternate line-up and Oklahoma again stopped Maryland short. The Sooners fumbled at their own 20-yard line, but the Terrapins again failed to capitalize.