The 1966 Sun 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 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 ...

between the

Wyoming Cowboys The Wyoming Cowboys and Cowgirls are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Wyoming, located in Laramie, Wyoming, Laramie. Wyoming is a member of the Mountain West Conference (MW) and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 17 ...

and the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivis ...

, played on December 24 at

Background

The Cowboys were champions of the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

(WAC) for the first time and were in the

Sun Bowl The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose Bowl. ...

for the third time in ten years. Florida State was an independent and in the Sun Bowl for the first time in a dozen years.

Game summary

Wyoming junior halfback

Jim Kiick James Forrest Kiick (; August 9, 1946 – June 20, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a running back. He played for the Miami Dolphins in the American Football League (AFL) from 1968 to 1969 and in the National Footba ...

rushed for 135 yards on 25 carries, caught four passes for 42 yards, and scored twice (first and third quarters). Florida State quarterback Kim Hammond threw two touchdowns, one to

Ron Sellers Ronald "Jingle Joints" Sellers (born February 5, 1947) is a former American football player. He played college football for Florida State University, where he was a two-time All-American ( 1967, 1968). Despite being limited to a total of 30 g ...

for 49 yards and four minutes later a 59-yard pass to to give the Seminoles a at halftime. Cowboy

Jerry Marion Jerry Richard Louis Marion (born August 7, 1944) is a former American football wide receiver who played one season with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the tenth round of the 1 ...

caught a 39-yard pass from quarterback Rick Egloff to tie the score at fourteen each. Kiick's touchdown of 43 yards reclaimed the lead for Wyoming at In the fourth quarter, Egloff added a rushing touchdown to make Hammond and Ron Sellers connected for another touchdown reception to narrow the margin to eight, but the Seminoles failed to

Aftermath

The Cowboys have yet to return to the Sun Bowl. While Eaton won three consecutive conference titles (1966,

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

, and

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

), he was fired four years later. The Cowboys struggled in his last sixteen games: they went in the final six games of the

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

and through the 1970 season, after getting rid of 14 players for wanting to wear armbands in protest. The Seminoles have also not returned to the Sun Bowl since this game, but have had better success in the time since.

References

Sun Bowl Florida State Seminoles football bowl games Wyoming Cowboys football bowl games

December 1966 sports events in the United States {{Collegefootball-bowl-stub