The 1974 Liberty 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 ...

played on December 16, 1974, in

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 ...

. In the 16th 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 ...

, the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity college athletics, intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in NCAA Division I, ...

defeated 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 ...

, 7–3.

Background

Maryland won eight games for the second straight year, but this time they were champions of the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

. Losses to #3 Alabama and Florida dropped them out of the rankings to start the season, but they won the next five games to rise back to #15 heading into a game with #10 Penn State. A 24–17 loss was their last loss of the regular season as they won the next three games to finish with a perfect conference record and a #10 ranking heading into their first ever Liberty Bowl and second straight bowl appearance. As for Tennessee, they won less games than the previous season for the second straight season while finishing tied for 7th 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 were 0–1–1 against ranked opponents (tying #12 UCLA and losing to #4 Alabama), but they managed to be invited to their fifth bowl game of the decade, with their first Liberty Bowl appearance since

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

Game summary

A Bob Smith punt return for 63 yards set up a Steve Mike-Mayer field goal from 28 yards out to give Maryland a 3–0 lead in the first half. Tennessee attempted to tie the game with eight minutes remaining on a field goal by Ricky Townsend, but a juggled snap by QB

Condredge Holloway Condredge Holloway Jr. (born January 25, 1954) is a former quarterback for the University of Tennessee and later in the Canadian Football League. Holloway was one of the first African-American quarterbacks to receive national exposure. His nickna ...

(later knocked out of the game) led to a blocked kick by Randy White. On a Maryland punt, center Marion Koprowski's snap went over Phil Wangenheim, falling at the Tennessee 7 where the Vols recovered the ball. On third down, backup quarterback Randy Wallace threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to

Larry Seivers Larry Seivers (born March 30, 1954) is a former American football wide receiver who played college football at the University of Tennessee. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL) in the fourth round of the ...

with 2:38 remaining to give the Vols the 7–3 lead. Maryland drove down the field, reaching the Tennessee 20 with less than a minute to go after Frank Russell caught an option pass from Louis Carter. With nine seconds to go, Ernie Ward intercepted

Bob Avellini Robert Hayden Avellini (born August 28, 1953) is a former National Football League quarterback. For most of his career, he played for the Chicago Bears before finishing with the New York Jets. His nickname was "Slow-Mo." Professional career Ave ...

's pass at the two yard line to seal the game. Maryland won the first down total (16–15), the passing total (158–65), but they were outrushed by Tennessee (173–108) and they gave up the ball five times, including three fumbles, while the Vols gave up the ball just twice.

Aftermath

Tennessee wouldn't go back to a bowl game until 1979, while not returning to the Liberty Bowl again until

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

. Maryland would reach four more bowl games in the decade while winning the conference twice. They have not returned to the Liberty Bowl since this game.

References

{{Tennessee Volunteers bowl game navbox

Liberty Bowl Maryland Terrapins football bowl games Tennessee Volunteers football bowl games

December 1974 sports events in the United States