1961 Liberty Bowl
The 1961 Liberty Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game that featured the Syracuse Orangemen and the Miami Hurricanes.
Background
Syracuse running back Ernie Davis became the first African-American football player to win the Heisman Trophy. This was Syracuse's fifth bowl game in 8 years. Miami was making their first bowl appearance since 1952.
Game summary
Jim Vollenweider scored on a 12 yard touchdown run to give Miami a 6-0 lead (though the extra point failed) in the first quarter. Nick Spineli scored on a 60 yard punt return to add onto the lead, and George Mira scored on the conversion pass to make it 14-0 at halftime. Syracuse culminated a 42 yard drive with an Ernie Davis touchdown plunge to make it 14-8 (with a Dave Sarette pass to Dick Easterly to get the two point conversion). On the first play of the fourth quarter, Miami fumbled the ball, and Bill Schoonover recovered at the Orange 49. 9 plays and 51 yards later, Sarette threw a touchdown pass to Easterly to make it 14-14, with the extra point proving to be important. Ken Erickson's extra point was good, as the Orange won 15-14. Ernie Davis rushed for 140 yards on 30 carries. Easterly caught 4 passes for 50 yards. [1][2]
Aftermath
Davis died before he ever played a snap in the NFL. Miami returned to the Liberty Bowl in 1966, while Syracuse returned in 1996.
Statistics
| Statistics | Syracuse | Miami |
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| First Downs | 21 | 11 |
| Rushing Yards | 221 | 109 |
| Passing Yards | 148 | 94 |
| Total Yards | 369 | 203 |
| Punts-Average | 7-31.4 | 9-30.3 |
| Punt Return Yards | 14 | 78 |
| Kickoff Return Yards | 60 | 32 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 3-2 | 3-1 |
| Penalties-Yards | 5-35 | 3-29 |
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References
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Pound sign (#) denotes national championship game.
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