It was the 2nd of 4 straight years for the Sugar Bowl on NYE

In the 1960s, NBC aired the Sugar Bowl right after the Rose Parade and as the lead-in to the Rose Bowl. From 1965-1969, it was part of a tripleheader, once NBC got the Orange Bowl and moved it to nighttime. In 1970, ABC got the Sugar Bowl rights and kept the game in its early afternoon slot -- which was bad timing, since it went head-to-head against two ND-Texas showdowns in the Cotton Bowl. ABC moved the Sugar Bowl to New Year's Eve in 1972, making it the first Sunday night bowl game that year (PSU-Oklahoma). Because the 1973 game was for the national championship, ABC added Howard Cosell to the booth with Chris Schenckel and Bud Wilkinson (fitting, since New Year's Eve was on Monday night that year). But the next two Sugar Bowls were lesser matchups, and by 1977 ABC had moved it back to New Year's Day. it bounced around time slots -- early afternoon, prime time, late afternoon, and back to prime time once ABC got the Rose Bowl rights. It wasn't until the College Football Playoff that the Sugar Bowl was suddenly viewed as having a sacrosanct hold on the prime time slot on New Year's Day.