1963 Gator Bowl

The 1963 Gator Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game that featured the Air Force Falcons and the North Carolina Tar Heels.

1963 Gator Bowl
Air Force Falcons North Carolina Tar Heels (7–3) (8–2) Independent ACC 0 35 Head coach:  Ben Martin Head coach:  Jim Hickey AP Coaches NR 19
1 2 3 4 Total Air Force 0 0 0 0 0 North Carolina 6 14 8 7 35
Date	December 28, 1963
Season	1963
Stadium	Gator Bowl Stadium
Location	Jacksonville, Florida
MVP	Ken Willard (RB, North Carolina) & Dave Sicks (FB, Air Force)[1]
Referee	Jack Vest
Attendance	50,018
United States TV coverage
Network	CBS
Announcers	Lindsey Nelson Terry Brennan Jim Simpson
Gator Bowl  ← 1962  1965 (Jan) →

Background

This was the Falcons' first bowl game since 1959. The Tar Heels were co-champions of the Atlantic Coast Conference, which was their first conference title since the 1949 Southern Conference title. This was their first bowl game in 1950.

Game summary

• UNC – Willard 1-yard run (Kick failed), 2:34 remaining
• UNC – Edge 6-yard run (Pass failed), 9:40 remaining
• UNC – Robinson 5-yard pass from Black (Robinson pass from Black), 4:29 remaining
• UNC – Kesler 1-yard run (Lacey pass from Edge), 4:44 remaining
• UNC – Black 5-yard run (Chapman kick), 13:19 remaining

Willard ran for 94 yards on 18 carries.^[2][3]

Aftermath

Air Force did not return to a bowl game until 1971, nor win one until 1982. North Carolina did not return to a bowl game until 1970.

The morning after the game, there was a fire at the Hotel Roosevelt in downtown Jacksonville, with 22 dying.

Statistics

Statistics	Air Force	North Carolina
First downs	14	23
Rushing yards	95	251
Passing yards	165	119
Punts–average	4–40.0	6–36.0
Fumbles–lost	3–2	2–0
Penalties–yards	3–42	3–35