1976 Liberty Bowl
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| 1976 Liberty Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 18th Liberty Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 20, 1976 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1976 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Memphis, Tennessee | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Barry Krauss, Alabama LB | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 52,736 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ABC | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Keith Jackson and Ara Parseghian | ||||||||||||||||||||
The 1976 Liberty Bowl, part of the 1976 bowl game season, took place on December 20, 1976, at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. The competing teams in the 18th edition of the Liberty Bowl were the Alabama Crimson Tide, representing the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and the UCLA Bruins, representing the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8). Alabama won the game, 36–6.
Alabama
The 1976 Alabama squad finished the regular season with a 9–3 record. The Crimson Tide opened the season ranked #6 only to lose to Ole Miss in their opening game, to eventual conference champion Georgia and to Notre Dame. Following their victory over Auburn, Alabama accepted an invitation to play in the Liberty Bowl.[1] The appearance marked the third for Alabama in the Liberty Bowl, and their 30th overall bowl game appearance.[1]
UCLA
Entering their final regular-season game against rival USC, the Bruins were ranked #2 with their only blemish on the season coming in a tie against Ohio State. With a berth in the Rose Bowl Game at stake, UCLA was upset 24–14 resulting in the Bruins accepting a bid to play in the Liberty Bowl.[2] The appearance marked the first for UCLA in the Liberty Bowl, and both their 8th overall bowl game and their first away from the Rose Bowl. (the Pacific-8 repealed its "Rose Bowl or no bowl" rule in 1975).[2]