Bluegrass Bowl Bluegrass Bowl was played only once , on 13 December 1958 in Louisville , Kentucky . Oklahoma State University defeated Florida State University 15 - 6 . Background of the Bluegrass Bowl . Game organizers expected the Bluegrass Bowl to be an annual bowl game in Louisville , with the 1958 contest being the first . The bowl organizers ' first choices for the game were the University of Kentucky and the University of Alabama , which went 5 - 4 - 1 in its first season under Bear Bryant , who previously coached at UK for eight seasons . Kentucky was given an invitation to play in the game but the team ' s lettermen voted 18 - 12 to refuse the bid . ( Kentucky ' s players also voted to turn down bowl bids , including one to the Gator Bowl , in 1953 despite a 7 - 2 - 1 record in Bryant ' s final season in Lexington , and in 1954 after going 7 - 3 . ) One reason that Kentucky declined was that the Wildcats had received poor treatment from the Louisville crowd during a 51 - 0 win over the University of Hawaii at Cardinal Stadium in their season opener . Oklahoma State University and Florida State University eventually accepted invitations . Bowl organizers successfully negotiated a national television contract with ABC , with a 100 - mile blackout . A crowd of 15 , 000 was expected for the inaugural game . Tickets were priced at $ 6 . 50 each , though due to unenthusiastic demand they were being sold for $ 1 . 50 on the day of the game . ( Parking cost 25 cents . ) 1958 Bluegrass Bowl . Oklahoma State entered the game ranked # 19 in the AP poll and # 19 in the UPI poll ; Florida State was unranked . Florida State was an independent with a 7 - 3 regular season record ; Oklahoma State was also 7 - 3 as an independent , having left the Missouri Valley Conference after the 1956 season and not joining the Big Eight Conference until 1960 . Florida State was playing in their third ever bowl game , under head coach Tom Nugent who was in his final season as Florida State ' s coach . Oklahoma State , coached by Cliff Speegle , was appearing in its fourth ever bowl game . The game was played at Cardinal Stadium on the grounds of the Kentucky Exposition Center , just behind Freedom Hall where that year ' s NCAA basketball championship had been played . Kickoff was at 1 : 30 p . m . and at that time the temperature for the game was 20 degrees below freezing , and falling . The playing field was icy and slippery . Field conditions caused the players to wear tennis shoes . Attendance was low due to the cold weather ; crowd estimates were in the 5 , 000 to 10 , 000 range and many accounts state that just over 7 , 000 attended the game . In the first quarter Florida State took two drives into Oklahoma State territory but missed 16 and 23 yard field goal attempts . Early in the second quarter Oklahoma State halfback Duane Wood had a 17 yard touchdown run putting the Cowboys up 7 - 0 . Late in the second quarter Oklahoma State again drove deep into Florida State territory but on fourth and 5 Florida State defender Ron Hinson stripped the ball from Oklahoma State ' s Forrest Campbell just a foot from the goalline . Florida State fumbled twice in the third quarter . Oklahoma State took the second fumble for a 10 play , 39 yard touchdrown drive capped by another Duane Wood touchdown run . Wood then caught a pass for a two - point conversion to give Oklahoma State a 15 - 0 lead . Florida State scored a fourth quarter touchdown without a successful conversion , leaving Oklahoma State as the only Bluegrass Bowl champions with a final score of Oklahoma State 15 , Florida State 6 . Media coverage . The Bluegrass Bowl was nationally broadcast on ABC . The Bluegrass Bowl was the last broadcast of Harry Wismer and the first national telecast to feature Howard Cosell . The game was the first ever national broadcast of a Florida State football game . Due to the cold weather , the press covering the game deserted the windowless press box and all crowded into a single enclosed , heated room with windows for the game . Aftermath . In January 1959 officials stated that paid attendance for the game was 3 , 152 and actual income was $ 18 , 132 . The Bluegrass Bowl organizers proclaimed the game a success despite the low attendance and stated that the game would be played again in 1959 , but it was not . Statistics . Scoring Summary Team Statistics ( Florida State , Oklahoma State ) Individual Statistics " Rushing : " Florida State : Pickard 14 - 44 , Prinzi 7 - 30 , Renn 2 - 13 , Majors 3 - 12 , Whitehead 1 - 1 , McCormack 1 - 0 Oklahoma State : Campbell 26 - 130 , D . Wood 17 - 81 , Wiggins 12 - 59 , Banfield 7 - 34 , Rundele 3 - 7 , Sewell 4 - 3 , Wagner 1 - 1 , Cross 1 - ( - 5 ) , Soergel 1 - ( - 12 ) " Passing : " Florida State : Majors 5 - 9 - 1 - 116 , Prinzi 3 - 8 - 3 - 44 , McCormack 1 - 4 - 0 - 25 , Renn 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 Oklahoma State : Soergel 6 - 12 - 1 - 77 " Receiving : " Florida State : Romeo 3 - 62 , Espenship 2 - 22 , Renn 2 - 48 , Meyer 1 - 39 , Pasqual 1 - 14 Oklahoma State : Wiggins 2 - 38 , D . Wood 2 - 23 , Harkey 1 - 7 , J . Wood 1 - 9 Further reading . Hill , Bob , " 1958 saw birth and death of 2 bowl ideas " , ' Louisville Courier - Journal ' , December 31 , 2005 , page B1 , online at http : / / www . courier - journal . com / apps / pbcs . dll / article ? AID = / 20051231 / COLUMNISTS05 / 512310375 / 1008 / NEWS01 Rice , Russell , " The Wildcats : Kentucky Football " , a book about University of Kentucky football history