1996-97 Bowl Games

Listed by bowls matching highest-ranked teams as of final regular season AP poll (released Dec. 8, 1996). Attendance figures indicate tickets sold.

Bowl		Winner	Regular Season		Loser	Regular Season	Score	Date	Attendance
Sugar	#3	Florida	11-1-0	#1	Florida St.	11-0-0	52-20	Jan. 2	78,344
Rose	#4	Ohio St.	10-1-0	#2	Arizona St.	11-0-0	20-17	Jan. 1	100,645
Cotton	#5	Brigham Young	13-1-0	#14	Kansas St.	9-2-0	19-15	Jan. 1	71,928
Orange	#6	Nebraska	10-2-0	#10	Virginia Tech	10-1-0	41-21	Dec. 31	51,212
Fiesta	#7	Penn St.	10-2-0	#20	Texas	8-4-0	38-15	Jan. 1	65,106
Holiday	#8	Colorado	9-2-0	#13	Washington	9-2-0	33-21	Dec. 30	54,749
Citrus	#9	Tennessee	9-2-0	#11	Northwestern	9-2-0	48-28	Jan. 1	63,467
Gator	#12	North Carolina	9-2-0	#25	West Virginia	8-3-0	20-13	Jan. 1	52,103
Outback	#16	Alabama	9-3-0	#15	Michigan	8-3-0	17-14	Jan. 1	53,161
Peach	#17	LSU	9-2-0		Clemson	7-4-0	10-7	Dec. 28	63,622
Carquest	#19	Miami-FL	8-3-0		Virginia	7-4-0	31-21	Dec. 27	46,418
Alamo	#21	Iowa	8-3-0		Texas Tech	7-4-0	27-0	Dec. 29	55,677
Liberty	#23	Syracuse	8-3-0		Houston	7-4-0	30-17	Dec. 27	49,163
Independence		Auburn	7-4-0	#24	Army	10-1-0	32-29	Dec. 31	41,366
Aloha		Navy	8-3-0		California	6-5-0	42-38	Dec. 25	30,411
Copper		Wisconsin	7-5-0		Utah	8-3-0	38-10	Dec. 27	42,122
Las Vegas		Nevada	8-3-0		Ball St.	8-3-0	18-15	Dec. 19	10,118
Sun		Stanford	6-5-0		Michigan St.	6-5-0	38-0	Dec. 31	42,741

Favorites:

Sugar (Florida by 3 points); Rose (Ohio St. by 2); Cotton (Kansas St. by 3¹/2); Orange (Nebraska by 16¹/2); Fiesta (Texas by 1); Holiday (Colorado by 5); Citrus (Tennessee by 8); Gator (North Carolina by 6¹/2); Outback (Michigan by 1); Peach (LSU by 6¹/2); Carquest (Miami by 3¹/2); Alamo (Texas Tech by 3¹/2); Liberty (Syracuse by 16¹/2); Independence (Auburn by 9); Aloha (Navy by 1); Copper (Wisconsin by 7 1/2); Las Vegas (Nevada by 5); Sun (Michigan St. by 7).

Per Team Payouts:

Nokia Sugar ($8.736 million); FedEx Orange and Tostitos Fiesta ($8.486 million); Rose ($8.25 million); CompUSA Florida Citrus ($3 million); Southwestern Bell Cotton ($2 million); Outback ($1.5 million) and Toyota Gator ($1.5 million); Plymouth Holiday ($1.4 million); Peach ($1.3 million); Builders Square Alamo and Sun ($1 million); Poulan/Weed Eater Independence and St. Jude's Liberty ($800,000); Carquest, Jeep Eagle Aloha and Weiser Lock Copper ($750,000); Las Vegas ($150,000).