1922 San Diego East-West Christmas Classic
The 1922 San Diego East-West Christmas Classic was a college football postseason bowl game between the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
| 1922 San Diego East-West Christmas Classic | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 25, 1922 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1922 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Balboa Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | San Diego, California | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 15,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
Background
This was West Virginia's first bowl appearance as they tried to have their first ever 10 win season. The Bulldogs were on a four game winning streak, with four of those win in the state of Washington.
Game summary
West Virginia took a lead on Nick Nardacci's 12 yard touchdown run, the only score in the first quarter. Russ Meredith returned an interception 80 yards to make the score 14-0 at halftime. Jack Simons caught a touchdown pass from Nardacci in the third to make it 21-0. The Bulldogs narrowed the lead on two touchdown from Matt Bross (one reception and one run), but it only made it 21-13 as the Mountaineers held on to win their first bowl game and have a 10 win season.
Aftermath
West Virginia would not make another bowl game until 1938. This was Gonzaga's only bowl game. It is widely criticized that the Mountaineers were not invited to the Rose Bowl and did not receive a share of the National Championship.