The 1948 Gator Bowl was the third edition of the

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 ...

and featured the

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divis ...

representing the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

and the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...

representing the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

. It was the first-ever meeting of the two teams. In the second quarter, Maryland scored first with a 35-yard touchdown run by running back

Lu Gambino Lucien Anthony "Lu" Gambino (September 21, 1923 – July 16, 2003) was an American football running back. He played college football for Indiana University, and after military service in the Second World War, the University of Maryland, College Pa ...

. On the first possession of the second half, Georgia quarterback

John Rauch John Rauch (August 20, 1927 – June 10, 2008), also known by his nickname Johnny Rauch, was an American football player and coach. He was head coach of the Oakland Raiders in the team's loss to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl II in earl ...

engineered an 87-yard drive culminating in a one-yard

quarterback keeper A quarterback keeper or keeper in American football is a designed play in which the quarterback does not pass or hand off the ball to another player and instead rushes forward with it in an effort to gain yardage. The play typically is run in ins ...

for a touchdown. Maryland responded with an 80-yard drive of their own and another Gambino touchdown. Georgia fumbled on their own 40-yard line and Maryland recovered. The Terrapins capitalized with a 24-yard John Barone pass to Gambino for a third touchdown. In the fourth quarter, Georgia running back

Joe Geri Joe Geri (October 20, 1924 – April 20, 2002) was an American Football quarterback-running back who played four seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chicago Cardinals from 1949 to 1952 in the National Football League. He was a two time Pr ...

ran it from the one-yard line for a score. Rauch threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to John Donaldson, but Georgia missed the extra point. The final result was a 20–20 stalemate.The 3rd Annual Gator Bowl - Historical Box Scores
, The Gator Bowl Association, retrieved January 18, 2009. Lu Gambino was named the 1948 Gator Bowl Most Valuable Player. He rushed for 165 yards and recorded all three of Maryland's touchdowns. His rushing yardage would stand as a school bowl game record for 60 years, until broken in 2008. John Rauch's 58-yard pass to Billy Henderson remained a Gator Bowl record for over 60 years.Magill: Rauch's dedication to game never waned
, ''

Athens Banner-Herald The ''Athens Banner-Herald'' is a daily newspaper with less than 20,000 circulation located in Athens, Georgia, USA, and owned by Gannett. The paper has a Sunday special and publishes online under the name ''Online Athens''. It has been through ...

'', June 17, 2008, retrieved January 18, 2009.

References

Gator Bowl Georgia Bulldogs football bowl games Maryland Terrapins football bowl games

20th century in Jacksonville, Florida January 1948 sports events in the United States {{Collegefootball-bowl-stub