The 1962 Bluebonnet Bowl was an American
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 ...
bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...
played on December 22, 1962 at
Rice Stadium in
Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
. The game pitted the
Missouri Tigers
The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the Fighting Tigers of Columbia who, in 1864, protected Columbia fro ...
and the
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), located in Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Ramblin' Wrec ...
.
Background
After a 1-1 start (with a tie to Minnesota that dropped them from #10 to unranked), the Tigers won six straight games, rising to #6 in the rankings before a matchup with Oklahoma, the eventual
Big Eight Conference champion. A 13-0 loss dropped them out permanently, with a tie to rival Kansas ending their season, though it was their sixth straight winning season. Missouri was invited to their third bowl game in four seasons. Georgia Tech won their first two games to rise to #5 in the polls, before a 10-7 loss to LSU at home dropped them out. The Yellow Jackets went 5-1-1, with a 7-6 win over #1 ranked Alabama being a highlight win. The Yellow Jackets were invited to their third bowl game in four seasons.
Game summary
*Missouri – Johnson 21 yard touchdown run (Leistritz Kick)
*Georgia Tech – Auer 6 yard touchdown run (Lothridge Kick)
*Missouri – Tobin 77 yard touchdown run (Leistritz Kick)
*Georgia Tech – Lothridge 26 yard field goal
In a game where Missouri did not complete a single pass, it was halfback Bill Tobin who led the Tigers on the rushing attack with 117 yards (while the rest of the Tigers had 141 yards), with Tobin scoring the go-ahead touchdown from 77 yards out with 5:54 to go in the third quarter. Georgia Tech had 13 first downs to Missouri's 10 and 68 passing yard to Missouri's 0, though they were outrushed 258 to 169. Both teams had four turnovers (Georgia Tech had four passes intercepted while Missouri had two passes intercepted and two fumbles).
Aftermath
Neither team reached the Bluebonnet Bowl ever again. Both teams reached bowl games twice in the remainder of the decade.
References
{{Missouri Tigers bowl game navbox
Bluebonnet Bowl
The Bluebonnet Bowl was an annual college football bowl game played in Houston, Texas. A civic group was appointed by the Houston Chamber of Commerce Athletics Committee in 1959 to organize the bowl game. It was held at Rice Stadium from 19 ...
Bluebonnet Bowl
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football bowl games
Missouri Tigers football bowl games
December 1962 sports events in the United States
Bluebonnet Bowl
The Bluebonnet Bowl was an annual college football bowl game played in Houston, Texas. A civic group was appointed by the Houston Chamber of Commerce Athletics Committee in 1959 to organize the bowl game. It was held at Rice Stadium from 19 ...