The 1966 Liberty Bowl was a post-season American college football

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 Subdivi ...

between the VPI Gobblers (now the

Virginia Tech Hokies The Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams representing the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in intercollegiate athletics. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 22 v ...

) and the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

, both

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

programs. The eighth edition of the

Liberty Bowl The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic City ...

, it was played on December 10, 1966, at

Memphis Memorial Stadium Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium (originally named Memphis Memorial Stadium, and later Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium) is a football stadium located at the former Mid-South Fairgrounds in the Midtown area of Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The st ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. The game was the final contest of the

1966 NCAA University Division football season The 1966 University Division football season was marked by some controversy as the year of "The Tie", a famous 10–10 game between the two top-ranked teams, Michigan State and Notre Dame on November 19. Both teams were crowned national champions ...

for both teams, and ended in a 14–7 victory for Miami. A then-record 39,101 tickets were sold for the game, but due to temperatures at game time, only 25,012 spectators attended.

Teams

This was the second time that the two programs had faced each other. The previous meeting, held in 1953, ended in a 26–0 shutout victory for Miami.Opponent History: Miami
Opponent history database, Hokiesports.com. Accessed January 23, 2008.

VPI

VPI was led on defense by

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

safety

Frank Loria Frank Loria (1947 – November 14, 1970) was an American football defensive back. He was born in the town of Clarksburg, West Virginia in Harrison County and was a three sport athlete at Notre Dame Catholic High School. He played college foo ...

, who caught three interceptions and returned three punts for touchdowns as a junior during the 1966 season. In addition,

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

George Foussekis was named to the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

second-team All-America team, and helped keep the Hurricanes' offense in check for most of the game. On offense, fullback Tommy Groom served as the third of the team's three team captains during the game. VPI was coached by

Jerry Claiborne Jerry David Claiborne (August 26, 1928 – September 24, 2000) was an American college football player and coach. He was the head football coach at Virginia Tech (1961–1970), the University of Maryland, College Park (1972–1981), and his alma m ...

, who was in his sixth year as head coach. Under Claiborne, the team had amassed a strong 8–1–1 record with wins over

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

, and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and a 70–12 blowout win over traditional rival VMI in the final game of the season. VPI's sole loss came in the first game of the season against

Tulane Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

, and the team had a 13–13 tie against

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

. The game marked just the second time that VPI had played in a bowl game since they first fielded a football team in 1892, following the 1947 Sun Bowl. Future Virginia Tech head football coach

Frank Beamer Franklin Mitchell Beamer (born October 18, 1946) is a retired American college football coach, most notably for the Virginia Tech Hokies, and former college football player. He is the father of current South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shan ...

participated in the game as a backup

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

for VPI.

Miami

The ninth-ranked Hurricanes boasted a 7–2–1 regular-season record, including wins over three teams that played in New Year's bowl games--

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

(

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

(

Cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

), and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

(

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

). The Hurricanes were led on the field by three-time

n lineback

Ted Hendricks Theodore Paul Hendricks (born November 1, 1947), nicknamed "the Mad Stork", is a former professional football player who played as an outside linebacker for 15 seasons with the Baltimore Colts, Green Bay Packers, and the Oakland/Los Angeles R ...

,2006 MPC Computers Bowl Media Guide
University of Miami Athletics Department, Miami, Florida. Page 80. Accessed February 20, 2008. who would later go on to a Hall of Fame career in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. Off the field, the Hurricanes were coached by

Charlie Tate Charles William Tate (February 20, 1919 – June 10, 1996) was an American football player and coach. Tate served as the head coach of the University of Miami for six seasons during the 1960s and two games during the 1970 season. Early life Ch ...

, who would head the Hurricanes football team until 1970.Coaches
Libertybowl.org, Accessed March 12, 2008.

Game summary

The game kicked off in frigid weather, and from the beginning, defense dominated. In the first half, VPI held Miami to just 16 yards of

total offense Total offense (or total offence) is a gridiron football statistic representing the total number of yards rushing and yards passing by a team or player. Total offense differs from yards from scrimmage, which gives credit for passing yardage to the ...

. On the opposite side of the ball, Miami set bowl game records for fewest rushing yards allowed and fewest first downs allowed. VPI got the first big break of the game after blocking Miami's first punt of the game. Taking over at the Miami 21-yard line, it took VPI just five plays to march into the

end zone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field. ...

for an early 7–0 lead.1966 Liberty Bowl
Virginia Tech Sports Information Department, Blacksburg, Virginia. Accessed February 20, 2008. The teams battled to a stalemate for the rest of the first half, and VPI went into

halftime In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in ...

still clinging to a 7–0 lead. In the second half, VPI's fortune turned. Late in the third quarter, their defense stopped Miami's offense again, but instead of receiving the punt cleanly, VPI committed a roughing the kicker penalty that allowed Miami to retain possession of the ball with a first down. A few plays later, Miami scored its first touchdown of the game. In the fourth quarter Miami finally took the lead on a 10-play, 70-yard drive. VPI was unable to answer the Hurricanes' score, and Miami won the game, 14–7.

Statistics

Miami's Jimmy Cox was named the game's most valuable player after catching five passes for 77 yards—accounting for nearly half of Miami's total offensive output. Miami earned just three rushing first downs during the game, setting a Liberty Bowl record that has yet to be broken.Team Records
Libertybowl.org, Accessed March 12, 2008. Each team had two players pass the ball. VPI's Tommy Stafford finished the game having completed four 13 passes for 59 yards and one interception. Several times during the game, VPI had also played with Barker passing the ball. He finished having completed two of his three passes for 13 yards. On the Miami side of the ball, Miller completed nine of 26 passes for 99 yards and Olivo completed one pass for nine yards. On the ground, VPI's Tommy Francisco led all runners with 21 carries for 55 yards. Backing up Francisco was Sal Garcia, who finished with three carries for 15 yards. Miami's leading rusher was McGee, who carried the ball 12 times for 36 yards. Backing up McGee was Acuff, who finished with six carries for 25 yards.

Notes

References

{{Miami Hurricanes bowl game navbox

Liberty Bowl Miami Hurricanes football bowl games Virginia Tech Hokies football bowl games December 1966 sports events in the United States 1966 in sports in Tennessee