1954 Gator Bowl (January)

The 1954 Gator Bowl was an American college football bowl game played on January 1, 1954, at Gator Bowl Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. It was the ninth annual playing of the Gator Bowl. The game pitted the Texas Tech Red Raiders against the Auburn Tigers

1954 Gator Bowl
1234 Total
Texas Tech 071414 35
Auburn 7600 13
DateJanuary 1, 1954
Season1953
StadiumGator Bowl Stadium
LocationJacksonville, Florida
MVPRB Bobby Cavazos (Texas Tech)
QB Vince Dooley (Auburn)
RefereeE.D. Cavette (SEC;
split crew: SEC, Border)
Attendance28,641
Gator Bowl
 < 1953  1954 (Dec)

Background

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The Red Raiders finished as champions of the Border Conference for the fifth time in eleven years while winning ten games for the first time since 1938, with a 27–14 loss to Texas A&M being the only blemish. This was their first-ever Gator Bowl appearance. As for Auburn, they started the season 2-1-1, with two victories (including a victory over #15 Ole Miss), a tie to #13 Mississippi State, and a loss to #8 Georgia Tech. The Tigers would promptly win their next five games to rise to #16 in the rankings leading into the Iron Bowl matchup with Alabama, which they lost 10–7, as Auburn finished third in the Southeastern Conference. This was Auburun's first bowl game since 1938.

Game summary

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  • Auburn – Bobby Duke, 1-yard touchdown run (Joe Davis kick)
  • Texas Tech – Bobby Cavazos, 6-yard touchdown run (Jack Kirkpatrick kick)
  • Auburn – Vince Dooley, 10-yard touchdown run (kick failed)
  • Texas Tech – Paul Erwin, 52-yard touchdown pass from Kirkpatrick (Kirkpatrick kick)
  • Texas Tech – Don Lewis, fumble recovery in end zone (Kirkpatrick kick)
  • Texas Tech – Cavazos, 59-yard touchdown run (Kirkpatrick kick)
  • Texas Tech – Cavazos, 2-yard touchdown run (Kirkpatrick kick)

Texas Tech outrushed the Tigers 226 to 195, outthrew them 145 to 72 while forcing two four turnovers. Bobby Cavazos ran for 141 yards on 13 carries. Vince Dooley went 4-of-8 for 49 yards while rushing for 56 yards on 14 carries. Both were named MVP.[1][2]

Statistics

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Statistics Texas Tech Auburn
First downs 11 12
Rushing yards 226 195
Passing yards 145 72
Total offense 371 267
Passing 6–12–1 6–16–32
Fumbles–lost 0–0 2–2
Penalties–yards 6–83 5–66
Punts–average 6–33.1 6–30.5

Aftermath

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As for Tech, they finished champions of the conference for two more seasons before becoming independent in 1957 and member of the Southwest Conference in 1960. They reached the Gator Bowl five years later in 1965. Tech did not win a bowl game again until 1973. Auburn would finish 8–3 the following year, while competing in the Gator Bowl once again, played on December 31, 1954, becoming the first school to play the same bowl twice in the same year. This time, they won, beating Baylor 33–13.

References

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  1. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 5, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "Auto PDF p hotos s chools text sports m footbl auto PDF 05mediaguide bowlhistory".