1964 Sugar Bowl

The 1964 Sugar Bowl was the thirtieth edition of the college football bowl game, played at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Wednesday, January 1. Part of the 1963–64 bowl game season, it matched the seventh-ranked Ole Miss Rebels and the #8 Alabama Crimson Tide, both of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), although the two teams had not met in years.

1964 Sugar Bowl
30th edition
Alabama Crimson Tide Ole Miss Rebels
(8–2) (7–0–2)
SEC SEC
12 7
Head coach: 
Bear Bryant		 Head coach: 
Johnny Vaught
APCoaches
89
APCoaches
77
1234 Total
Alabama 3630 12
Ole Miss 0007 7
DateJanuary 1, 1964
Season1963
StadiumTulane Stadium
LocationNew Orleans, Louisiana
MVPTim Davis (Alabama PK)
FavoriteOle Miss by 7½ points[1]
RefereeE.D. Cavette (SEC)
Attendance80,785[2]
United States TV coverage
NetworkNBC
AnnouncersRay Scott, Frankie Albert

The matchup was the first between the flagship universities of these neighboring states in almost two decades (1944), and only the second in over thirty years. In a defensive struggle, Alabama upset the Rebels 12–7 without scoring a touchdown.[1][3]

New Orleans received a rare substantial snowfall of 3.6 inches (9 cm) the previous day,[3] and cleared snow lay in large banks around the edges of the field.

Teams
Main article: 1963 NCAA University Division football season

Alabama
Main article: 1963 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

This was Bear Bryant's sixth season as head coach at Alabama. The Crimson Tide lost to Florida and long-time rival Auburn en route to an 8–2 regular season.[4] Originally wanting to pit Navy against Ole Miss, the Sugar Bowl extended the invitation to Alabama with two weeks remaining in the regular season.[5] This was their seventeenth bowl appearance and the fourth in the Sugar Bowl.

On December 9, several days prior to the regular season finale against Miami, junior quarterback Joe Namath was suspended for the remainder of the season by Bryant.[6][7][8] Sophomore Steve Sloan started at quarterback for the Crimson Tide in the final two games.[6]

Mississippi
Main article: 1963 Ole Miss Rebels football team

The 1963 squad was Johnny Vaught's seventeenth as head coach at Ole Miss. The Rebels did not lose a regular season game, but tied Memphis State and long-time rival Mississippi State en route to a 7–0–2 record. This was their twelfth bowl appearance and the seventh in the Sugar Bowl.

Game summary

The Sugar Bowl kicked off at 1 pm CST, as did the Cotton and Orange Bowls.[9] The temperature was 40 °F (4 °C).[3]

The game was a defensive slugfest, with thirteen turnovers and nine punts. Alabama scored its first points on a 31-yard field goal by Tim Davis.[1][3][10] In the second quarter, Davis kicked field goals of 46 and 22-yards to give Alabama a 9–0 lead at halftime.[3][10]

In the third quarter, Davis had a 48-yard field goal to extend the Alabama lead to 12–0.[3][10] Early in the fourth quarter, Ole Miss scored the only touchdown of the game when Perry Lee Dunn threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Larry Smith.[3][10] Alabama then held their lead and won the game 12–7.[1][3][10] For his four field goal performance, Tim Davis was named the Sugar Bowl MVP.[11]

Scoring
Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP Alabama Ole Miss
1 1:16 71 Alabama 31-yard field goal by Tim Davis 3 0
2 13:57 4 1 Alabama 46-yard field goal by Davis 6 0
2 0:13 Alabama 22-yard field goal by Davis 9 0
3 1:18 Alabama 48-yard field goal by Davis 12 0
4 11:57 10 74 Ole Miss Larry Smith 5-yard touchdown reception from Perry Lee Dunn, Billy Irwin kick good 12 7
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 12 7

Statistics
StatisticsAlabamaOle Miss
First downs149
Rushing58–16527–77
Passing3–11–111–21–3
Passing yards29171
Total offense69–19448–248
Punts–avg.5–36.84–44.0
Fumbles–lost6–311–6
Turnovers49
Penalties–yards3–155–45
Source:[1][3][10]

See also

References
  1. "Four field goals boost Bama past Rebels, 12-7". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. January 2, 1964. p. 10A.
  2. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). "Bowl/All-Star Game Records" (PDF). 2011 NCAA Division I Football Records. NCAA.org. p. 37. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
  3. Land, Charles (January 2, 1964). "Crimson Tide, Davis surprise Rebels 12–7". Tuscaloosa News. (Alabama). p. 11.
  4. University of Alabama Athletics Media Relations Office (October 1, 2011). "1963 Schedule & Results". RollTide.com.
  5. "How Alabama and Ole Miss met in the 1964 Sugar Bowl". Allstate Sugar Bowl. October 1, 2011.
  6. Land, Charles (December 10, 1963). "Namath suspended, to miss Miami and bowl". The Tuscaloosa News. p. 1. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  7. "'Bama drops QB Joe Namath". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. December 10, 1963. p. 44.
  8. "Bear boots quarterback". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. December 10, 1963. p. 10.
  9. "Nation's top teams face each other in bowl tilts". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. January 1, 1964. p. 7.
  10. "30th Annual Sugar Bowl Classic ~ January 1, 1964". Allstate Sugar Bowl. October 1, 2011.
  11. "Davis top player". Tuscaloosa News. (Alabama). Associated Press. January 2, 1964. p. 11.
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