| Year Game Played: | 1951 |
| Game Name: | Sun Bowl |
| Football Season: | 1950 |
| Visitor Name Short: | West Texas State |
| Visitor Nickname: | Buffaloes |
| Visitor School: | West Texas State College |
| Home Name Short: | Cincinnati |
| Home Nickname: | Bearcats |
| Home School: | University of Cincinnati |
| Visitor Record: | 9–1 |
| Visitor Conference: | Border Conference |
| Home Record: | 8–3 |
| Home Conference: | MAC |
| Visitor Coach: | Frank Kimbrough |
| Home Coach: | Sid Gillman |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 0 |
| Home 1Q: | 0 |
| Home 2Q: | 6 |
| Home 3Q: | 7 |
| Home 4Q: | 0 |
| Date Game Played: | January 1 |
| Stadium: | Sun Bowl |
| City: | El Paso, Texas |
| Attendance: | 16,000[1] |
The 1951 Sun Bowl was a college football bowl game that took place in El Paso, Texas, on January 1, 1951, between the West Texas State Buffaloes and the University of Cincinnati Bearcats.[1] This was the 17th Sun Bowl (16th between collegiate teams) that had been played in El Paso, the second oldest bowl game, the only older being the Rose Bowl.
Gene Rossi threw 14-of-29 for 170 yards. The winning touchdown occurred on a fourth down punt. Punter Frank Wise moved under center and took the snap, lateraling to the right to quarterback Gene Mayfield. Mayfield completed a pass to Billy Cross at the Cincinnati 40 and Cross broke several tackles to finish the 62-yard touchdown dash. With the game running out, the Bearcats managed to get to the West Texas A&M 27, but two straight sacks doomed Cincinnati.[2]
| Statistics | Cincinnati | West Texas A&M |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 12 | 19 |
| Rushing Yards | 106 | 238 |
| Passing yards | 170 | 123 |
| Passing A-C-I | 30-14-3 | 15-6-3 |
| Punts-Average | 5-30.4 | 4-39.5 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 3-0 | 3-0 |
| Penalties-Yards | 8-70 | 8-80 |