1969 Sugar Bowl

1969 Sugar Bowl
1969 Sugar Bowl
35th edition
Arkansas Razorbacks	Georgia Bulldogs
(9–1)	(8–0–2)
SWC	SEC
16	2
Head coach: ; Frank Broyles	Head coach: ; Vince Dooley
AP	Coaches
9	9
AP	Coaches
4	4
Date	January 1, 1969
Season	1968
Stadium	Tulane Stadium
Location	New Orleans, Louisiana
MVP	Chuck Dicus (Arkansas SE)
Favorite	Georgia by 7 points
Referee	James Artley (SEC; ; split crew: SEC, SWC)
United States TV coverage
Network	NBC
Announcers	Charlie Jones,; George Ratterman
Sugar Bowl
< 1968	1970 >

The 1969 Sugar Bowl was the 35th edition of the college football bowl game, played at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Wednesday, January 1. It featured the fourth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and the #9 Arkansas Razorbacks of the Southwest Conference (SWC).^[1]^[2]

Underdog Arkansas won 16–2,^[3]^[4] and split end Chuck Dicus was named the outstanding player after catching twelve passes.^[5]

Teams

Arkansas

Guard Jim Barnes was a consensus All-American for the Razorbacks in 1968. Bill Burnett's 16 touchdowns scored tied him for eighth-most points scored nationally. The Hogs lost only once, to the #17 Texas Longhorns, 39–29. The Razorbacks and Longhorns thusly shared the Southwest Conference crown for 1968, but Texas received the bid to the Cotton Bowl based upon the head-to-head victory.

Georgia

Vince Dooley's Georgia Bulldogs went 8–0–2 and won the SEC, only tying Tennessee and Houston. The Bulldogs' ferocious defense was anchored by consensus All-American end Bill Stanfill.

Game summary

Georgia's number-one ranked defense matched up against the ninth-ranked offense of Arkansas on New Year's Day in New Orleans. The first game of a major bowl tripleheader (Rose, Orange) on NBC, it kicked off at 1 pm CST.^[1]^[2]

The first quarter was scoreless; in the second, Arkansas quarterback Bill Montgomery threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Chuck Dicus, but Georgia got a safety to pull within 7–2. Arkansas kicker Bob White made a 34-yard field goal and the Razorbacks led 10–2 at halftime. After a scoreless third quarter, White kicked field goals of 24 and 31 yards in the fourth quarter to seal the Arkansas win at 16–2.

The game had twenty punts (ten each) and eleven turnovers (eight by Georgia).

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	ARK	UGA
2			65		ARK	Chuck Dicus 27-yard touchdown reception from Bill Montgomery, Bob White kick good	7	0
2					UGA	Bill Burnett tackled in end zone for a safety by David McKnight	7	2
2			71		ARK	34-yard field goal by Bob White	10	2
4			55		ARK	24-yard field goal by Bob White	13	2
4			15		ARK	31-yard field goal by Bob White	16	2
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							16	2

Statistics

Statistics	Arkansas	Georgia
First downs	13	13
Rushing	41–40	47–75
Passing	17–39–1	11–31–3
Passing yards	185	117
Total offense	80–225	78–192
Punts–avg.	10–33.6	10–38.5
Fumbles–lost	4–2	5–5
Turnovers	3	8
Penalties–yards	4–31	4–25

Source:^[3]^[4]

Aftermath

After twelve years, this was the last Sugar Bowl on NBC; it returned to ABC in January 1970.

Arkansas returned to the Sugar Bowl the following year; Georgia's next major bowl was seven years later in the Cotton Bowl, also against Arkansas, and returned to the Sugar Bowl the following year.

The teams next met in the 1991 Independence Bowl, with Georgia winning 24-15. It was Arkansas' last football game before joining the SEC; the teams met for the first time as conference foes during the 1992 season.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "It's fun for Georgia". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. December 31, 1968. p. 8.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Razorbacks hope 3rd time is charm in Sugar battle". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. January 1, 1969. p. 1, section 2.
^ ^a ^b "Razorback defense stops 'Dogs, 16-2". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. January 2, 1969. p. 1, section 2.
^ ^a ^b "Arkansas defense sparkles in win over Georgia squad". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. January 2, 1969. p. 16.
^ "1964 National Championship" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 28, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2012.

[iffga-1] "It's fun for Georgia". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. December 31, 1968. p. 8.

[thtmch-2] "Razorbacks hope 3rd time is charm in Sugar battle". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. January 1, 1969. p. 1, section 2.

[vaap-3] "Razorback defense stops 'Dogs, 16-2". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. January 2, 1969. p. 1, section 2.

[sprles-4] "Arkansas defense sparkles in win over Georgia squad". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. January 2, 1969. p. 16.

[5] "1964 National Championship" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 28, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2012.

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v t e Sugar Bowl
History & conference tie-ins	History Tulane Stadium Georgia Dome Caesars Superdome College Football Playoff Southeastern Conference Big 12 Conference
Games	1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 (Jan) 1972 (Dec) 1973 1974 1975 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 (Jan) 1995 (Dec) 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 (Jan) 2022 (Dec) 2024 2025
Notes	The 2006 game took place in Atlanta, Georgia due to Hurricane Katrina. The game was also the national title game for either the Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, or Bowl Championship Series in 1993, 1997, 2000, and 2004. There was a Sugar Bowl in January and December in 1972, 1995 and 2022. The game was a College Football Playoff semifinal in its 2015, 2018, 2021, and 2024 editions.