| Game Name: | Gator Bowl |
| Date Game Played: | December 31 |
| Year Game Played: | 1965 |
| Football Season: | 1965 |
| Visitor Name Short: | Georgia Tech |
| Visitor Nickname: | Yellow Jackets |
| Visitor Record: | 6-3–1 |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 9 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 15 |
| Home Name Short: | Texas Tech |
| Home Nickname: | Red Raiders |
| Home Record: | 8-2 |
| Home Rank Ap: | 10 |
| Home Rank Coaches: | 10 |
| Home 1Q: | 0 |
| Home 2Q: | 7 |
| Home 3Q: | 0 |
| Home 4Q: | 14 |
| Mvp: | TB Lenny Snow (Georgia Tech) RB Donny Anderson (Texas Tech) |
| Type: | bg |
| Referee: | Clifford Domingue (SWC; split crew: SWC, SEC) |
| Attendance: | 60,127 |
| Us Network: | ABC |
| Us Announcers: | Chris Schenkel, Johnny Lujack |
| Different Previous: | 1965 (Jan) |
The 1965 Gator Bowl (December) was a college football postseason bowl game that featured the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Georgia Tech tied Vanderbilt, lost to Texas A&M, Tennessee and Georgia in their 2nd season as an independent. This was Georgia Tech's fourth bowl game of the decade along with their four Gator Bowl in nine years. The Red Raiders finished 2nd in the Southwest Conference, with their only losses being to #3 Texas and #2 Arkansas. This was the second bowl appearance of the Red Raiders in the decade, along with their first Gator Bowl appearance since 1954.
Lenny Snow rushed for 136 yards on 35 carries for Georgia Tech. Donny Anderson rushed for 85 yards on 13 carries, while catching 9 passes for 138 yards. Georgia Tech had 10 more first downs than Tech (27 to 17), 364 rushing yards to the Red Raiders' 113, while being outpassed 283 to 77. Texas Tech turned the ball over five times; Georgia Tech turned it over just twice.[1] [2]
| Statistics | Georgia Tech | Texas Tech |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 27 | 17 |
| Rushing yards | 368 | 112 |
| Passing yards | 77 | 283 |
| Total offense | 445 | 395 |
| Passing | 5–10–1 | 22–40–2 |
| Fumbles–lost | 2–1 | 3–3 |
| Penalties–yards | 4–57 | 3–25 |
| Punts–average | 3–41.0 | 5–32.0 |
Dodd would coach one more bowl game before his retirement in 1967. Georgia Tech did not reach the Gator Bowl again until 1999. Texas Tech did not make another bowl game until 1970, or reach the Gator Bowl until 1973.