The 1968 Gator Bowl, part of the 1968 bowl game season, took place on December 28, 1968, at the Gator Bowl Stadium in

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

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 ...

. The competing teams were the

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the Fighting Tigers of Columbia who, in 1864, protected Columbia fro ...

, representing the Big Eight Conference, and the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a me ...

, representing 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 o ...

(SEC). The game featured two eventual College Football Hall of Fame coaches,

Dan Devine Daniel John Devine (December 23, 1924 – May 9, 2002) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Arizona State University from 1955 to 1957, the University of Missouri from 1958 to 1970, and the Universi ...

at Missouri and Bear Bryant at Alabama. Missouri won the game, 35–10.

Teams

Missouri

Missouri finished the regular season with a record of 7–3, with losses to

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 ...

, Oklahoma and

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

. Following the team's loss against Oklahoma, Missouri accepted an invitation to play in the Gator Bowl on November 18. The appearance marked the third for Missouri in the Gator Bowl, and the school's 11th overall bowl game.

Alabama

The 1968 Alabama squad finished the regular season with an 8–2 record, with its two losses coming by a combined three points to Ole Miss and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. Following the team's victory over

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, Alabama accepted an invitation to play in the Gator Bowl on November 20. The appearance marked the first for Alabama in the Gator Bowl, and the school's 22nd overall

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 ...

Game summary

The Missouri Tigers scored first, with a Terry McMillan 4-yard touchdown run to complete an eleven-play, 71-yard drive to take a 7–0 lead. In the second quarter, Alabama scored their only touchdown of the game after Donnie Sutton intercepted a McMillan pass and returned it 38 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 7–7. Missouri retook the lead late in the second when McMillan scored from five yards out to give the Tigers a 14–7 lead at the half. After a scoreless third quarter, the Crimson Tide scored their final points of the game on a 28-yard field goal by Mike Dean to cut the Missouri lead to 14–10. Missouri responded with three touchdowns to put the game out of reach. The first score was set up after Roger Wehrli intercepted a Neb Hayden pass and returned it to the Bama 21 yard line. Four plays later, McMillan scored his third touchdown of the game on a two-yard run. Greg Cook scored next on a 35-yard touchdown run and Dennis Poppe had the final points after returning a Scott Hunter pass 47 yards for a touchdown. For the game, Missouri completed zero passes, but they rushed for 402 yards and they outgained the Crimson Tide 402 yards to 132. The 25-point loss was the worst for Alabama in its 22 bowl game history, and the 35 points Missouri scored were the most Alabama had ever surrendered in a bowl game.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gator Bowl, 1968 1968–69 NCAA football bowl games

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. * Janu ...

20th century in Jacksonville, Florida 1968 in sports in Florida December 1968 sports events in the United States