The 1947 Gator Bowl was a

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

postseason bowl game between the Oklahoma Sooners and the

NC State Wolfpack The NC State Wolfpack is the nickname of the athletic teams representing North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for college footb ...

Background

Oklahoma was co-champion of the Big Six Conference in Tatum's first season. It was their first since 1944. The Wolfpack finished 3rd in the Southern Conference, with a 6–1 record. This was NC State's first bowl game appearance and Oklahoma's second. This was the first Gator Bowl for either team.

Game summary

In the first two minutes, the Sooners took the lead on an Eddie Eavis touchdown run. Howard Turner threw a 58-yard pass to Al Phillips to tie the score at 7 in the second period. But the Sooners went on a 20-point rampage from three rushing touchdowns (one each from Davis, Dave Wallace and Joe Golding) in the quarter to take a 27–7 lead at halftime. The Wolfpack narrowed the lead in the fourth with a 67-yard march that ended with an eight-yard touchdown run by

Les Palmer Leslie or Les Palmer may refer to: * Leslie Palmer (water polo) (1910–1997), British water polo player * Leslie "Teacher" Palmer (born 1943), Trinidadian community activist, writer and teacher * Les Palmer (American football) (1923–2006), Amer ...

to make it 27–13. Charlie Sarratt threw a touchdown pass to make it 34–13. Golding went for 91 yards on 12 rushes. This was the Sooners' first bowl win.

Aftermath

Tatum left for Maryland after this game, but the Sooners went to 8 bowl games in 17 season, won 14 Big Six Conference titles, and 3 national championships under their next head coach,

Bud Wilkinson Charles Burnham "Bud" Wilkinson (April 23, 1916 – February 9, 1994) was an American football player, coach, broadcaster, and politician. He served as the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1947 to 1963, compiling a record of ...

. The Wolfpack would not reach another bowl game until 1963. Oklahoma would make two more appearances in the Gator Bowl while NC State made two more appearances, winning their first in 2003.

Statistics

References

Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, operated by Gator Bowl Sports. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised natio ...

Gator Bowl Oklahoma Sooners football bowl games NC State Wolfpack football bowl games

January 1947 sports events {{Collegefootball-bowl-stub