1970 Sugar Bowl

The 1970 Sugar Bowl was the 36th edition of the college football bowl game, played at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Thursday, January 1. It featured the third-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks of the Southwest Conference (SWC) and the #13 Ole Miss Rebels of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).[1] Ole Miss upset Arkansas, 27–22.[2][3][4]

1970 Sugar Bowl
36th edition
Arkansas Razorbacks Ole Miss Rebels
(9–1) (7–3)
Southwest Southeastern
22 27
Head coach: 
Frank Broyles		 Head coach: 
Johnny Vaught
APCoaches
33
APCoaches
1313
1234 Total
Arkansas 01237 22
Ole Miss 141030 27
DateJanuary 1, 1970
Season1969
StadiumTulane Stadium
LocationNew Orleans, Louisiana
MVPArchie Manning (Ole Miss QB)
FavoriteArkansas by 3 points[1]
RefereeCharles Bowen (SEC)
(split crew: SEC and SWC)
Halftime showBenjamin Rickman &
The Heartwoods
Attendance80,096
United States TV coverage
NetworkABC
AnnouncersChris Schenkel, Bud Wilkinson

Teams
Main article: 1969 NCAA University Division football season

Arkansas entered the game with a 9–1 record and #3 national ranking and Ole Miss was at 7–3. The two neighboring states had developed a rivalry, with a yearly series ending in 1961, and had met in the Sugar Bowl seven years earlier.

Arkansas
Main article: 1969 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

The Razorbacks were making a return trip to the Sugar Bowl, following up a victory in the 1969 Sugar Bowl.[5] Starting 9–0, the Razorbacks ended the regular season with a loss to the Texas Longhorns in The Big Shootout, watching a 14–0 lead evaporate into a 15–14 loss when Texas scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.[6] This loss to the #1 Longhorns cost the Hogs, ranked #2 at the time by the Associated Press and #3 by United Press International, a Southwest Conference championship and a chance at the national championship.

Mississippi
Main article: 1969 Ole Miss Rebels football team

Ole Miss, led by coaching great Johnny Vaught and quarterback Archie Manning entered the game at 7–3. The Rebels were invited to the Sugar Bowl on the strength of November victories over SEC powers LSU (26–23) and Tennessee (38–0), both at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson.

Game summary

Ole Miss running back Bo Bowen scampered 69 yards to open the scoring, with Archie Manning adding another 18-yard TD run. Down 14–0, Arkansas responded with a 12-yard TD run by Bill Burnett, but the extra point was missed, and after a Rebel field goal and Archie Manning 30-yard TD strike, were down 24–6. Before halftime, Chuck Dicus hauled in a 47-yard pass from Bill Montgomery, but the two-point conversion was incomplete, and the Rebels took a 24–12 lead to halftime.

The third quarter produced a field goal from each team, and in the fourth quarter fullback Bruce Maxwell caught a six-yard strike from Montgomery to cut the lead to five, but the rally fell short, the Hogs losing by a 27–22 final.

Though Manning's sons Peyton and Eli later became star quarterbacks in the SEC (at Tennessee and Ole Miss, respectively), neither played in the Sugar Bowl.

Statistics
StatisticsArkansas Ole Miss 
First Downs2421
Rushing37–18936–154
Passing16–34–221–35–2
Passing Yards338273
Total Offense72–52771–427
Punts–avg.2–30.56–37.6
Fumbles–lost1–10–0
Turnovers32
Penalties–yards3–2211–101
Source:[2][3]

Aftermath

This was the final bowl game featuring two all-white squads. Arkansas' first black varsity player, Jon Richardson, suited up in 1970, and Ole Miss followed suit in 1972 with Ben Williams. Ole Miss and LSU were the last major college programs to desegregate their varsity teams.

Manning returned to the Crescent City less than two years later when the New Orleans Saints selected him second overall (behind Jim Plunkett) in the 1971 NFL Draft. Manning played for the Saints from 1971 until he was traded after the first game of the 1982 season.

The Razorbacks and Rebels renewed their annual series in the 1980s, and in 1992, they became conference rivals when Arkansas joined the SEC. Houston Nutt was the head coach of both programs: the Razorbacks from 1998–2007 and the Rebels from 2008–11.

Arkansas has played in the Sugar Bowl twice since losing to Ole Miss. In 1980 (1979 season), the Razorbacks of Lou Holtz lost 24–9 to national champion Alabama (coached by Arkansas native Bear Bryant), and in 2011 (2010 season), the Bobby Petrino-led Hogs lost 31–26 to Ohio State (the Buckeyes later vacated the win following the discovery of numerous NCAA violations under the watch of coach Jim Tressel).

Ole Miss did not return to the Sugar Bowl until January 2016, when it defeated Oklahoma State 48–20.

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See also

References
  1. "Hogs on spot against Rebs". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. January 1, 1970. p. 1, section 2.
  2. "Cannon saves for Ole Miss". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 2, 1970. p. 30.
  3. "Arkansas sees who Archie is". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. January 2, 1970. p. 31.
  4. "2007 Arkansas Razorbacks football Media Guide." Article. University of Arkansas. Retrieved on January 1, 2009.
  5. "Sugar Bowl History." Sugar Bowl Year-by-year. Retrieved March 31, 2010.
  6. "Texas-Arkansas Game of the Century." 1969 Texas-Arkansas. Retrieved March 31, 2010.
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