The 1974 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 ...

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

Mississippi State Bulldogs Mississippi State Bulldogs is the name given to the athletic teams of Mississippi State University, in Mississippi State, Mississippi. The university is a founding member of the Southeastern Conference and competes in NCAA Division I. Sports sp ...

and the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...

Background

Mississippi State tied for fourth 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 ...

while the Tar Heels tied for second in 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 ...

. This was the first Sun Bowl for the Bulldogs and the first bowl game since

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

. The Tar Heels had appeared in the Sun Bowl just two years earlier. A freak winter storm the night before the game left frost on the field. The morning warmth of the sun created a rising steam from the field during the first half, thus inspiring the game to be one of three football games to be nicknamed the "Fog Bowl".

Game summary

On the first play, Terry Vitrano ran for 55 yards, which set the tone for the rest of the game. *Mississippi State – Packer 1 yard touchdown run (Nickels kick) *North Carolina – Betterson 1 yard touchdown run (Alexander kick) *Mississippi State – Nickels 24 yard field goal *North Carolina – Betterson 6 yard touchdown run (Alexander kick) *Mississippi State – Packer 16 yard touchdown run (Nickels kick) *North Carolina – Jerome 29 yard touchdown pass from Kupec (Alexander kick) *Mississippi State – Nickels 32 yard field goal *North Carolina – Alexander 26 yard field goal *Mississippi State – Vitrano 2 yard touchdown run (kick failed) Terry Vitrano rushed for 164 yards on 20 carries with one touchdown en route to being named MVP of the game. His teammate Walter Packer ran for 183 yards on 24 attempts, for two touchdowns. The 455 yards of rushing by the Bulldogs established a new Sun Bowl record.

Aftermath

The Bulldogs returned to the Sun Bowl in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

while the Tar Heels reappeared in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

Statistics

References

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. ...

Sun Bowl North Carolina Tar Heels football bowl games Mississippi State Bulldogs football bowl games December 1974 sports events in the United States

Nicknamed sporting events {{Collegefootball-bowl-stub