The 1973 Tangerine 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 ...

that featured the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...

and the

Miami Redskins The Miami RedHawks are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Miami is a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Divis ...

(located in

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...

and now nicknamed the RedHawks). Played in

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gaine ...

, this game is the only time that the Tangerine Bowl (now the Citrus Bowl) was not played in

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

Background

Teams

Miami completed a perfect regular season with a

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

championship, their first since 1965. This was their first bowl game appearance since the

1962 Tangerine Bowl The 1962 Tangerine Bowl was an American college football bowl game played on December 22, 1962, at the Tangerine Bowl stadium in Orlando, Florida. The Miami Redskins (based in Oxford, Ohio and now the Miami RedHawks) with a record of 8–1–1 p ...

. Florida's season started with two wins, but they lost their next four games (two to ranked opponents), before a five-game winning streak gave the Gators their first season over .500 since 1970. While they finished tied for fifth in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

, they appeared in their first bowl game since the 1969 Gator Bowl.

Venue

In early 1973, construction improvements were planned for the game's normal venue, the Tangerine Bowl stadium in Orlando, to expand from 17,000 seats to 51,000 seats. However, construction was stalled in the summer due to legal concerns. Miami (Ohio) and

East Carolina East Carolina University (ECU) is a public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a teacher training school, East Carolina has grown from its orig ...

were planned to be the two teams invited, but East Carolina declined. Officials decided to move the game to the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

's stadium in Gainesville and invite them, which they accepted. Participants were greeted with a near-record low temperature on game day of at kickoff and by the end of the game.

Game summary

After little scoring, and with Miami ahead 6–0 late in the third quarter, Florida fumbled a kickoff, which Miami recovered deep in Florida territory. Two plays later, Miami scored a touchdown, which proved to be the deciding score. Chuck Varner of Miami rushed for 157 yards on 28 carries and was named the game's outstanding back, while teammate Brad Cousino was named outstanding lineman.

Scoring summary

Aftermath

The Redskins went to three straight Tangerine Bowls while winning four straight MAC titles, going 42–1–1 in that 4-year span. The Gators began a bowl streak, qualifying for a bowl for the next three seasons. The Tangerine Bowl returned to Orlando the following year, with renovations approved.

Statistics

References

Tangerine Bowl Citrus Bowl (game) Florida Gators football bowl games Miami RedHawks football bowl games Tangerine Bowl Tangerine Bowl {{Collegefootball-bowl-stub