1954 Sun Bowl

American college football game December 2025 August 2023 Sun Bowl 20th Sun Bowl January 1 1954 1953 Texas Western Miners 7–2 Mike Brumbelow Border Conference 14 16 7 0 QB Dick Shinaut (Texas Western) Mississippi Southern Southerners 9–1 Thad Vann Independent 0 7 7 0 bg Kidd Field El Paso, Texas W.H. Kisner (Border;split crew: Border, SEC) The 1954 Sun Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game that featured the Texas Western Miners and the Mississippi Southern Southerners. Background The Miners had a two-game improvement while finishing third in the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association. One particular highlight for the Golden Eagles was upsetting Alabama (who went on to play Rice in the Cotton Bowl Classic that year). This was the second straight Sun Bowl appearance for Mississippi Southern, and the third in five years for Texas Western. Game summary Dick Shinaut returned a kickoff 48 yards to give Texas Western good field position. On the next play, Clovis Riley had run 54 yards to the goal line, until he was hit and fumbled the ball, but John Howle recovered the ball in the end zone to give the Miners a 7–0 lead. Shinaut then threw a touchdown pass to Jesse Whittenton on a screen pass formation that went for 25 yards. Shinaut made it 17–0 in the second quarter on his 25-yard field goal. Howle caught a 44-yard touchdown pass from Shinaut to make it 24–0. A Texas Western touchdown run by Joel McCormick made it 30–0. Mississippi Southern responded with two touchdowns of their own (one on a Tommie Wood touchdown catch from Billy Jarrell and the other on a 13-yard touchdown run by Fred Smallwood) to make it 30–14 in the third quarter. But the Miners responded with a touchdown by Riley from 43 yards out to make it 37–14. Riley rushed for 112 yards on 12 carries. Dick Shinaut went 11 of 17 for 158 yards, while kicking four extra points and a field goal in an MVP effort.2007 UTEP Miners Football Media Guide 2007 History: Bowl Summaries 153 University of Texas El Paso Department of Athletics El Paso, Texas http://www.utepathletics.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/utep/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/07-mediaguide December 27, 2015 PDF https://web.archive.org/web/20160105190333/http://www.utepathletics.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/utep/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/07-mediaguide 2016-01-05 dead http://www.utepathletics.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/121310aag.html 1954 Sun Bowl - UTEP Official Athletic Site www.utepathletics.com 22 May 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20160105221727/http://www.utepathletics.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/121310aag.html 5 January 2016 deadhttp://www.sunbowl.org/the_sun_bowl_game/recap/20 UTEP 37, Southern Miss 14 | Recaps - Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl | December 31, 2021 | el Paso, Texashttp://www.southernmiss.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/smis-bowl-history.html Southern Miss Football :: Official Athletic Site 2015-12-28 https://web.archive.org/web/20180307082329/http://www.southernmiss.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/smis-bowl-history.html 2018-03-07 dead Scoring summary 1st – Texas Western - Howle 1-yard fumble return (Shinaut kick) 1st - Texas Western - Whittenton 25-yard pass from Shinaut (Shinaut kick) 2nd - Texas Western - Shinaut 25-yard field goal 2nd - Texas Western - Howle 44-yard pass from Shinaut (Shinaut kick) 2nd - Texas Western - McCormick 2-yard run (kick failed) 2nd - Mississippi Southern - Wood 12-yard pass from Jarrell (McElroy kick) 3rd - Southern Miss - Smallwood 13-yard run (Davenport kick) 3rd - Mississippi Southern - Riley 43-yard run (Shinaut kick) Aftermath The Texas Western went to the Sun Bowl four more times in the next 13 years. The Mississippi Southern upset Alabama the next year in a 6–4 season. They have not returned to the Sun Bowl since this game. Statistics Statistics Texas Western Mississippi Southern First downs 15 13 Yards rushing 245 166 Yards passing 158 145 Total yards 403 311Punts-Average 5-28.0 4-28.0Fumbles-Lost 4-2 4–3Interceptions Thrown 0 0Penalties-Yards 4-40 3–13 References Sun Bowl Category:Sun Bowl Category:Southern Miss Golden Eagles football bowl games Category:UTEP Miners football bowl games Category:1954 in sports in Texas Category:January 1954 sports events in the United States