1974 Sun Bowl

American college football game August 2023 December 2025 Sun Bowl December 28 1974 1974 Mississippi State Bulldogs 8–3 Bob Tyler SEC 7 3 10 6 FB Terry Vitrano North Carolina Tar Heels 7–4 Bill Dooley ACC 7 0 14 3 CBS Lindsey NelsonJohn SauerJane Chastain bg Sun Bowl El Paso, Texas 26,035 The 1974 Sun Bowl was a college football bowl game between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the North Carolina Tar Heels. Background Mississippi State tied for fourth in the Southeastern Conference while the Tar Heels tied for second in the Atlantic Coast Conference. This was the first Sun Bowl for the Bulldogs and the first bowl game since 1963. The Tar Heels had appeared in the Sun Bowl just two years earlier. A freak winter storm the night before the game left frost on the field. The morning warmth of the sun created a rising steam from the field during the first half, thus inspiring the game to be one of three football games to be nicknamed the "Fog Bowl".History: Sun Bowl NCAA.com December 31, 2013 https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2013-12-17/history-sun-bowl August 20, 2022 Game summary On the first play, Terry Vitrano ran for 55 yards, which set the tone for the rest of the game. Mississippi State – Packer 1 yard touchdown run (Nickels kick) North Carolina – Betterson 1 yard touchdown run (Alexander kick) Mississippi State – Nickels 24 yard field goal North Carolina – Betterson 6 yard touchdown run (Alexander kick) Mississippi State – Packer 16 yard touchdown run (Nickels kick) North Carolina – Jerome 29 yard touchdown pass from Kupec (Alexander kick) Mississippi State – Nickels 32 yard field goal North Carolina – Alexander 26 yard field goal Mississippi State – Vitrano 2 yard touchdown run (kick failed) Terry Vitrano rushed for 164 yards on 20 carries with one touchdown en route to being named MVP of the game. His teammate Walter Packer ran for 183 yards on 24 attempts, for two touchdowns. The 455 yards of rushing by the Bulldogs established a new Sun Bowl record.http://www.sunbowl.org/the_sun_bowl_game/recap/41 Mississippi State 26, North Carolina 24 | Recaps – Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl | December 31, 2021 | el Paso, Texashttp://www.nmnathletics.com/fls/16800/pdf/fb/fb_06mg_bowls.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=16800 Archived copy August 12, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231940/http://www.nmnathletics.com/fls/16800/pdf/fb/fb_06mg_bowls.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=16800 March 3, 2016 dead http://www.hailstate.com/fls/16800/pdf/fb/fb_14orangemg.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=16800 Archived copy 2015-08-12 2015-09-24 https://web.archive.org/web/20150924041118/http://www.hailstate.com/fls/16800/pdf/fb/fb_14orangemg.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=16800 dead Aftermath The Bulldogs returned to the Sun Bowl in 1980 while the Tar Heels reappeared in 1994. Statistics Statistics Mississippi State North CarolinaFirst downs 25 22Rushing yards 455 277Passing yards 44 125Total yards 499 402Passes (C–A–I) 3–8–0 5–15–1Fumbles–lost 1–1 3–0Penalties–yards 5–45 2–30 References Sun Bowl Category:Sun Bowl Category:North Carolina Tar Heels football bowl games Category:Mississippi State Bulldogs football bowl games Category:December 1974 sports events in the United States Sun Bowl Category:Nicknamed sporting events