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Gator Bowl 1955
Vanderbilt 25 Auburn 13 |
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For a lad who dislocated his right elbow in the final game of the regular football season and had been a question mark for this game, the Miami junior was slightly terrific. He passed for 7 yards to end Joe Stephenson for Vanderbilt's first touchdown and scored the next two on short plunges.
Vandy's line, outweighed 15 pounds per man, did a tremendous job against Auburn's behemoths. Tackle Tommy Woodroof led the inspired forewall, recovering fumbles that led to two Vandy scores.
Auburn, which compiled an 8-1-1 record and finished eighth nationally in the Associated Press poll, went into its third successive Gator Bowl game favored by a touchdown. This was the first postseason appearance for Vandy, which won the "Cinderella" tag in the Southeastern Conference for its 7-3 record after being picked to finish 11th in the 12-team league.
Orr and sophomore fullback Phil King were the big guns of the Vandy attack. All-SEC halfback. Charley Horton, who scored Vandy's fourth touchdown on a 1-yard plunge, was used rather sparingly on offense.
Fumbles in key spots by Auburn quarterback Howell Tubbs offset the running of halfbacks Fob James, also an All-SEC performer, and sophomore Bobby Hoppe and fullback Joe Childress.
Orr, voted the game's outstanding player in a press box poll, picked up 43 yard in 10 carries and completed 4 passes for 67 yards and 1 touchdown.
A sellout crowd of 36,000 and a national television audience witnessed Vandy's triumph.
Vandy's third and fourth-stringers drove within eight yards of a fifth touchdown but the clock stopped them. Quarterback Jerry Strum threw a 27-yard pass to Harold Brown to get the ball to the 8.
Woodroof grabbed a Tubbs' fumble at the Auburn 39 to get Vandy's first touchdown drive started. A jump pass play from Orr to Stephenson carried 15 yards to put the Commodores in range, then the same combination clicked for the score.
Auburn marched the kickoff back 73 yards in 10 plays, with Childress and James doing the ground damage. Tubbs completed the drive with a pass which James took at the 24 and raced into the end zone.
Vandy quickly regained the lead, needing only four plays to cover 76 yards with the next kickoff. After King hit for 3 yards, Orr faked beautifully to King then hit over his left tackle, fooling Auburn completely. Before the Plainsmen recovered, Orr had zipped 45 yards to Auburn's 28.
Orr then rolled out and hit soph halfback Joe Scales with a 24-yard pass and on the next play, the gutty signal caller followed the middle of the Vandy line into the end zone.
After the half, Tubbs fumbled and Woodroof again recovered, this time at the Vandy 49. Big gainers in the drive were a keep by Orr for 16, an Orr to Scales pass for 20 and a quick-opener by Horton for 15. Ott went the final yard.
A roughing penalty on Bill Burbank's 12-yard punt put Auburn in another hole. Vandy took over at the Auburn 26 and on the fourth play, Horton scored from the 1 on a crossbuck. Fullback Don Hunt set it up with a 20-yard run to the 1.
Auburn went 66 yards for its second and final score, mostly on passes. Tubbs hit end Jerry Elliott for 34 and Childress for 22 and Cook connected with Phillips, who fumbled when hit, but the ball bounced out of bounds and Auburn was at the 7. Childress couldn't budge the Vandy middle and then Cook hit Phillips in the end zone.
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Vanderbilt's Phil King carries into heart of Auburn defense in the third quarter. He scored on the next play. |
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Joe Stephenson reaches to catch first quarter touchdown pass.
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| Vandy Coach Art Guepe (left) and Gator Bowl's Glenn Marshall. | Bowl Game ticket. |
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Attendance- 32,175
Scoring Summary
First Quarter VU- Stephenson 7 yard pass from Orr (Jalufka kick)
Second Quarter AU- James 38 yard pass from Tubbs (Tubbs kick) VU- Orr 3 run (kick failed)
Third Quarter VU- King 1 yard run (kick failed)
Fourth Quarter VU- Horton 1 run (kick blocked) AU- Phillips 4 yard pass from Cook (kick failed)
Individual Statistics
Rushing AU- Childress 15-58, Tubbs 11-25, James 9-43, Hoppe 6-33, Cook 2-6 VU- Horton 13-57, Orr 10-43, Hunt 6-39, King 10-33
Passing AU- Tubbs 4-9-101, Cook 3-3-0 VU- Orr 4-6-67, Sturm 1-2-27
Receiving AU- James 2-51, Elliott 2-41, Phillips 2-28, Childress 1-22 VU- Scalen 2-44, Stephenson 2-23, Brown 1-27
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JACKSONVILLE,
Fla., Dec. 31 (AP) Don Orr, a Prince Charming of a quarterback, ran and
passed Vanderbilt's Cinderella Commodores to a 25-13 upset over Auburn's
big Plainsmen today in the 11th annual Gator Bowl.
