1966 Gator Bowl
The 1966 Gator Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game that featured the Tennessee Volunteers and the Syracuse Orangemen.
| 1966 Gator Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 31, 1966 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1966 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Gator Bowl Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Jacksonville, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Dewey Warren (QB, Tennessee) & Floyd Little (HB, Syracuse)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 60,312 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ABC | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Chris Schenkel Bud Wilkinson Bill Flemming | ||||||||||||||||||||
Background
The Volunteers had finished fifth in the Southeastern Conference, with an 11–10 loss to #3 Alabama being especially damaging. Nevertheless, they were invited to their second straight bowl appearance, the first time they had made consecutive bowls since 1956–57. As for the Orangemen, this was their fourth bowl appearance in the decade. This was the first Gator Bowl for either team.
Game summary
Gary Wright kicked two 38 yard field goals to make it 6–0, and Dewey Warren threw touchdown passes to Austin Denney and Richmond Flowers to make it 18–0 at halftime. On the first drive of the second half, Larry Csonka scored on an 8-yard touchdown plunge to make it 18–6 (after a failed conversion play). With only 46 seconds left in the game, Floyd Little made it 18–12 on a 3-yard touchdown plunge (with another failed conversion play), but it wasn't enough. Little (216 on 29 carries) and Csonka (114 on 18 carries) combined for 330 yards rushing in losing efforts. Warren 17-of-29 for 244 yards.[2]
Aftermath
The Orangemen did not play in a bowl game again for 13 years. They returned to the Gator Bowl 30 years later. The Vols returned to the Gator Bowl three years later.
Statistics
| Statistics | Syracuse | Tennessee |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 20 | 14 |
| Rushing Yards | 348 | 85 |
| Passing Yards | 16 | 244 |
| Total Yards | 364 | 329 |
| Passes Intercepted | 3 | 1 |
| Punts-Average | 2/39.5 | 3/43 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 3-1 | 2-2 |
| Penalties-Yards | 7-79 | 4-44 |
References
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 1, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- http://cuse.com/sports/2006/1/26/1966gatorbowl.aspx