Game Name: | Sun Bowl |
Date Game Played: | December 31 |
Year Game Played: | 1962 |
Football Season: | 1962 |
Home Name Short: | West Texas State |
Home Nickname: | Buffaloes |
Home Record: | 8–2 |
Home Conference: | Independent |
Home 1Q: | 0 |
Home 2Q: | 7 |
Home 3Q: | 0 |
Home 4Q: | 8 |
Mvp: | Jerry Logan, HB |
Visitor Name Short: | Ohio |
Visitor Nickname: | Bobcats |
Visitor Record: | 8–2 |
Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
Visitor 2Q: | 3 |
Visitor 3Q: | 8 |
Visitor 4Q: | 3 |
Type: | bg |
Referee: | Curly Hays (WAC; split crew: WAC, MAC) |
The 1962 Sun Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game between the Ohio Bobcats and the West Texas State Buffaloes.
West Texas State (now known as West Texas A&M) was selected as an independent and was third in scoring with 29.7 points per game and fifth in rushing with 255.5 yards per game. Ohio was selected to represent as a member of the Mid-America Athletic Conference in their first ever bowl game. This was the final Sun Bowl played at Kidd Field.
Jim McKee kicked a 52-yard field goal to put the Bobcats ahead early but they trailed at the half 7-3 after a touchdown pass from Jim Dawson to Jerry Don Logan. In the third quarter, Skip Hoovler intercepted a pass and ran it back 91 yards for a touchdown, which still stands as the longest interception return in the Sun Bowl. Bob Babbitt completed a pass to Ken Smith for the two-point conversion to give Ohio an 11-7 lead. Ohio added in a field goal in the 4th to make it 14-7 late in the game. West Texas scored on a Dave “Hoot” Gibson pass to Jerry Richardson, who went 32 yards for the score. The game came down to a two-point conversion attempt by the Buffaloes. Dawson's pass to Jim Ostrander was successful, and the Buffaloes won. Logan recorded six tackles and caught a touchdown pass and was named MVP. Pete Pedro rushed for 105 yards on 14 carries for the Buffaloes.[1]
Ohio would win the MAC title the following year, but wasn't invited to a bowl game. The Buffaloes made just one more bowl game, the Junior Rose Bowl in 1967.