The 1970 Liberty Bowl, part of the 1970 bowl game season, took place on December 12, 1970, at

Memphis Memorial Stadium Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium (originally named Memphis Memorial Stadium, and later Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium) is a football stadium located at the former Mid-South Fairgrounds in the Midtown area of Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The st ...

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 ...

. The competing teams in the 12th 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 ...

were the

Tulane Green Wave The Tulane Green Wave are the athletic teams that represent Tulane University, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Tulane competes in NCAA Division I as a member of the American Athletic Conference (The American). There are 14 Green Wave intercol ...

, competing as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

, and the

Colorado Buffaloes The Colorado Buffaloes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Colorado. The university sponsors 17 varsity sports teams. Both the men's and women's teams are called the Buffaloes (Buffs for short) or, rarely, the Golden Buffalo ...

, representing the Big Eight Conference. Tulane won the game, 17–3. This was the last Liberty Bowl played on a Saturday until the 1978 edition.

Teams

Colorado

Entering the 1970 bowl season, Colorado finished the regular season with a record of 6–4. Following the completion of their regular season, the Buffaloes accepted a bid to play in the Liberty Bowl for the second consecutive year. The appearance in the game marked Colorado's second in the Liberty Bowl and their sixth overall bowl appearance.

Tulane

Entering the 1970 bowl season, Tulane finished the regular season with a record of 7–4. Following a 26–14 defeat to the

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associat ...

, the Green Wave accepted a bid to play in the Liberty Bowl. The appearance in the game marked Tulane's first since the

1940 Sugar Bowl The 1940 Sugar Bowl featured the top-ranked Texas A&M Aggies, and the fifth-ranked Tulane Green Wave. The game was played at Tulane's home field, Tulane Stadium. Background Texas A&M entered the game with an undefeated record and a ranking of #1 ...

and their fourth overall bowl appearance.

Game summary

In an early defensive struggle, Tulane threatened to score first after

Rick Kingrea Richard Owen Kingrea (born July 18, 1949) is a former American football linebacker who played eight seasons in the National Football League for the Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills, and the New Orleans Saints. He played college football at Tulane ...

intercepted a Paul Arendt pass an returned it to the Colorado six-yard line. Four plays later the Green Wave scored first on a 19-yard Lee Gibson field goal. Colorado evened the score 3–3 in the second quarter on a 32-yard David Haney field goal to cap a 15-play, 63-yard drive. In the second half the Green Wave scored touchdowns on a pair of David Abercrombie runs to win the game 17–3. For his 124 yards rushing and two touchdowns, Abercrombie was named the game's Most Valuable Player.

References

Liberty Bowl Colorado Buffaloes football bowl games Tulane Green Wave football bowl games 1970 in sports in Tennessee December 1970 sports events in the United States {{Collegefootball-bowl-stub