1968 Grantland Rice Bowl

Last updated

1968 Grantland Rice Bowl
1234Total
Akron076013
Louisiana Tech21001233
DateDecember 14, 1968
Season 1968
Stadium Horace Jones Field
Location Murfreesboro, Tennessee
MVP Terry Bradshaw (QB, La. Tech)
Attendance2,500 [1]
Grantland Rice Bowl
 < 1967   1969 > 

The 1968 Grantland Rice Bowl was an NCAA College Division game following the 1968 season, between the Akron Zips and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. [2] This was the last time that the Grantland Rice Bowl was played in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Contents

Notable participants

Louisiana Tech quarterback Terry Bradshaw was selected first in the 1970 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. His teammates Larry Brewer and Tommy Spinks were also drafted. Bradshaw and Spinks are inductees of their university's athletic hall of fame, as is head coach Maxie Lambright. [3] Bradshaw is an inductee of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Akron squad has been designated a Team of Distinction by their university's sports hall of fame; head coach Gordon K. Larson was inducted to the hall in 1975, running back John "Jack" Beidleman was inducted in 1980, and quarterback Don Zwisler was inducted in 1981. [4]

Scoring summary

Scoring summary
QuarterTime Drive TeamScoring informationScore
Plays Yards TOP AkronLa. Tech
18:00441La. Tech Terry Bradshaw 16-yard touchdown run, Richie Golmon kick good07
13:23667La. Tech Tommy Spinks 36-yard touchdown reception from Terry Bradshaw, Richie Golmon kick good014
11:1710La. TechBuster Herren 2-yard touchdown run, Richie Golmon kick good021
21:5048AkronJohn Vargo 1-yard touchdown run, John Harrison kick good721
35:3819809:30AkronJohn Beidleman 13-yard touchdown run, John Harrison kick no good (blocked)1321
41062La. TechLarry Brewer 6-yard touchdown reception from Terry Bradshaw, Richie Golmon kick no good1327
49:45546La. TechTerry Bradshaw 8-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass failed1333
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.1333

[1]

Statistics

1234Total
Zips076013
Bulldogs21001233
StatisticsAkronLa. Tech
First Downs1421
Total offense, yards196347
Rushes-yards (net)54–11836–86
Passing yards (net)78261
Passes, Comp-Att-Int6–21–319–33–2
Time of Possession
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
AkronPassingDon Zwisler
RushingRon Lemon18 car, 75 yds
ReceivingDan Ruff4 rec, 56 yds
La. TechPassing Terry Bradshaw 19/33, 261 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
RushingTerry Bradshaw12 car, 35 yds, 2 TD
Receiving Tommy Spinks 12 rec, 167 yds, 1 TD

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The 1969 Grantland Rice Bowl was an NCAA College Division game following the 1969 season, between the East Tennessee State Buccaneers and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. This was the first time that the Grantland Rice Bowl was played in Baton Rouge, Louisiana – prior games had been played in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

The 1969 East Tennessee State Buccaneers football team was an American football team that East Tennessee State University (ETSU) as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) in the 1969 NCAA College Division football season. East Tennessee State completed an undefeated season, going 10–0–1 and capturing the OVC championship. This is the only undefeated season and the last conference championship for the program up until 2018. The team capped off the season by defeating Louisiana Tech and future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw in the Grantland Rice Bowl.

The 1967 Grantland Rice Bowl was an NCAA College Division game following the 1967 season, between the Eastern Kentucky Colonels and the Ball State Cardinals. Eastern Kentucky quarterback Jim Guice was named the game's most outstanding player.

The 1966 Grantland Rice Bowl was an NCAA College Division game following the 1966 season, between the Tennessee State Tigers and the Muskingum Fighting Muskies. Tennessee State quarterback Eldridge Dickey was named the game's most valuable player.

The 1965 Grantland Rice Bowl was an NCAA College Division game following the 1965 season, between the Ball State Cardinals and the Tennessee A&I Tigers. Ball State quarterback Frank Houk was named the game's most outstanding player.

The 1964 Grantland Rice Bowl was an NCAA College Division game following the 1964 season, between the Muskingum Fighting Muskies and the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. This was the inaugural playing of the bowl.

The 1970 Grantland Rice Bowl was an NCAA College Division game following the 1970 season, between the Tennessee State Tigers and the Southwestern Louisiana Bulldogs.

The 1971 Grantland Rice Bowl was an NCAA College Division game following the 1971 season, between the Tennessee State Tigers and the McNeese State Cowboys.

The 1972 Grantland Rice Bowl was an NCAA College Division game following the 1972 season, between the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles. Louisiana Tech quarterback Denny Duron was named outstanding offensive player, while his teammate linebacker Joe McNeely was named outstanding defensive player.

The 1973 Grantland Rice Bowl was an NCAA Division II game following the 1973 season, between the Grambling Tigers and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. This was the first year that the game served as a national semifinal for Division II – in prior years it had been the Mideast regional championship for the College Division. This was the last time that the game was played at BREC Memorial Stadium.

The 1974 Grantland Rice Bowl was an NCAA Division II game following the 1974 season, between the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens and the UNLV Rebels. This was the first time that the game was played at Tiger Stadium on the campus of LSU. Delaware running back Vern Roberts was named the game's outstanding offensive player, while his teammate defensive back Mike Ebersol was named the game's outstanding defensive player.

The 1975 Grantland Rice Bowl was an NCAA Division II game following the 1975 season, between the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and the New Hampshire Wildcats. This was the second and last time that the game was played at Tiger Stadium on the campus of LSU. WKU defensive tackle Sam Fields was named the game's outstanding defensive player, while his teammate running back Lawrence Jefferson was named the game's outstanding offensive player.

The 1976 Grantland Rice Bowl was an NCAA Division II game following the 1976 season, between the Montana State Bobcats and the North Dakota State Bison. This was the first time that the game was hosted by one of the participants – in prior years the game had been played at a fixed location; first Murfreesboro, Tennessee and later Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The 1977 Grantland Rice Bowl was an NCAA Division II game following the 1977 season, between the North Dakota State Bison and the Jacksonville State Gamecocks. The game was played in Anniston, Alabama at Memorial Stadium as the Gamecocks' normal venue – Paul Snow Stadium – was being renovated. Jacksonville State defensive tackle Jesse Baker was named most valuable defensive player, and his teammate quarterback Bobby Ray Green was named most valuable offensive player. This was the last playing of the Grantland Rice Bowl, as the NCAA discontinued use of bowl names for the Division II semifinals after 1977.

The 1968 Akron Zips football team represented Akron University in the 1968 NCAA College Division football season as an independent. Led by eighth-year head coach Gordon K. Larson, the Zips played their home games at the Rubber Bowl in Akron, Ohio. They finished the regular season with a record of 7–2–1, ranked No. 17 in the nation, and were invited to play in the Grantland Rice Bowl, functionally the Mideast regional championship game for the NCAA's College Division, against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.

References

Program cover for 1968 game GrantlandRiceBowl-Program1968.jpg
Program cover for 1968 game
  1. 1 2 McIntyre, Bill (December 15, 1968). "Bradshaw Takes Zip Out of Akron In Frigid Grantland Rice Bowl Tilt". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana . Retrieved January 27, 2017 via newspapers.com.
  2. "Louisiana Tech Season Schedule - databaseFootball.com/NCAA". Archived from the original on November 30, 2015. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  3. "LA TECH ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME". latechsports.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  4. "The University of Akron's Sports Hall of Fame". gozips.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.

Further reading