The top two teams in the country meet in Oklahoma on Thanksgiving, with the Big 8 conference and a trip to the Orange Bowl on the line. Nebraska, coached by Bob Devaney, was ranked number one, while Oklahoma, led by Chuck Fairbanks, was ranked second. The Thanksgiving game set a record with 55  million television viewers as the Cornhuskers beat the Sooners 35-31 in a back-and-forth battle that was decided on a two-yard touchdown run by Jeff Kinney with 98 seconds left. The win extended Nebraska’s unbeaten streak to 30 games as they won a second consecutive National Championship.