With a surprising fourth-place finish in the Big Eight Conference, the Jayhawks had a highlight victory over eventual national champion Oklahoma (breaking the Sooners' 37-game unbeaten streak), and walloped Missouri 41-24 to clinch the Sun Bowl bid.
Soon after, fullback Elliot Walker caught a pitchout and broke three tackles for sixty yards on his way to a touchdown to make it 7–0 Pittsburgh with 2:11 in the 1st.
A penalty on Kansas during a punt return and a Cromwell fumble led to two Tony Dorsett touchdowns, the latter occurring with :26 left in the second quarter.
By the time Kansas scored on a Scott McMichael pass to Skip Sharp from 38 yards out, there was only 2:02 left as Pittsburgh won their first bowl game since 1937.
Kansas started 4-0 in 1976 and earned a #7 national ranking before Cromwell suffered a season-ending knee injury and the Jayhawks slid to a 6-5 finish.