The 1979 edition of the Orange Bowl featured the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Oklahoma Sooners. This matchup was something of an anomaly, as it featured a rare rematch of two conference foes that had already played during the regular season. Nebraska had upset #1 ranked Oklahoma 17–14 on November 11 in Lincoln, and appeared headed towards a national championship showdown with Penn State. But unranked Missouri then stunned the #2 ranked Huskers 35–31 the following week, dropping the Huskers into a tie with Oklahoma for the Big Eight championship and knocking them out of the national championship picture.