| 1966 Sugar Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 32nd Sugar Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Tulane Stadium inNew Orleans, Louisiana, hosted the Sugar Bowl. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 1966 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1965 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Tulane Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | New Orleans,Louisiana | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Steve Spurrier (Florida QB) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Missouri by 2½ points[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Earl Jansen (Big 8; split crew: Big Eight,SEC) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 67,421 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Jim Simpson,Bud Wilkinson | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The1966 Sugar Bowl was the 32ndedition of thecollege footballbowl game, played atTulane Stadium inNew Orleans,Louisiana, on Saturday, January 1. As a part of the1965–66 bowl game season, it matched thesixth-rankedMissouri Tigers of theBig Eight Conference and the unrankedFlorida Gators of theSoutheastern Conference (SEC). Missouri was slightly favored[1] and won 20–18.[2]
The Tigers entered the game with a 7–2–1 record; but they lost by two points to undefeated #5Nebraska in the Big Eight.
The Gators had three losses during the regular season.
The Sugar Bowl was the first game of a major bowl tripleheader (Rose,Orange) onNBC, and kicked off at 1 pmCST.[3]
After a scoreless first quarter, Missouri went on a tear in the second quarter.Charlie Brown scored on a 16-yard touchdown run giving the Tigers a 7–0 lead. Defensive backJohnny Roland came in on offense and threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Earl Denny as the Tigers extended their lead to 14–0. Bill Bates kicked a 27-yard field goal and Missouri led 17–0 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Bates kicked a 34-yard field goal as Missouri led 20–0 at the end of three. Florida attempted to make a furious comeback in the fourth quarter; quarterbackSteve Spurrier threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to halfbackJack Harper as Florida got within 20–6. Spurrier threw another 21-yard touchdown pass to end,Charles Casey, as Florida got within 20–12. Spurrier scored himself from two yards out, as the score became 20–18.[2] Florida failed on three consecutive two-point conversion attempts and had they just kicked the extra points, they may have ended with a win.[4]
Despite playing on the losing team, Spurrier was named theMost Valuable Player for the game.
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
| Statistics | Missouri | Florida |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 18 | 18 |
| Rushing | 62–257 | 16–(-2) |
| Passing | 5–14–1 | 27–46–1 |
| Passing yards | 50 | 352 |
| Total offense | 76–307 | 62–350 |
| Punts–avg. | 5–44.0 | 6–32.5 |
| Fumbles–lost | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 2 |
| Penalties–yards | 2–30 | 3–25 |
This was the sixth major bowlappearance for Missouri, and their second Sugar Bowl (1942). Their only major bowl since wasfour years later in theOrange Bowl. Missouri honored the 1965 Tigers in the2015 season, bringing the team to midfield at halftime of their 24–10 win overSouth Carolina, then coached by Spurrier.[5]
This was Florida's firstappearance in a major bowl; their first victory came thefollowing year in theOrange Bowl. The Gators' next Sugar Bowl was in December1974 and their first win came in January1994.