1971 Gator Bowl
Georgia Bulldogs North Carolina Tar Heels
(10–1) (9–2)
SEC ACC
7 3
Head coach: 
Vince Dooley		 Head coach: 
Bill Dooley
APCoaches
68
APCoaches
NR18
1234 Total
Georgia 0070 7
North Carolina 0030 3
DateDecember 31, 1971
Season1971
StadiumGator Bowl Stadium
LocationJacksonville, Florida
MVPJimmy Poulos (TB, Georgia) & James Webster (LB, North Carolina)[1]
RefereePat McHugh (SEC;
split crew: SEC, ACC)
Attendance71,208
Gator Bowl
 < 1971 (Jan) 1972 > 

The 1971 Gator Bowl (December) was a college football postseason bowl game that featured the Georgia Bulldogs and the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Background

In the battle between the Dooley brothers was a finely balanced match up of a team that had only lost one game (#7 Auburn) which had cost them a Southeastern Conference title and an Atlantic Coast Conference champion that hadn't lost a conference game. This was Georgia's first Gator Bowl since 1948 and North Carolina's first since 1963. Altogether, the match was also called the "Dooley Bowl".[2]

Game summary

The third quarter proved to be the most crucial part of a game dominated by defense. The Tar Heels took the lead on a Craven 35 yard field goal with nine minutes left in the quarter. But the Bulldogs drove 80 yards down the field on the following possession, culminated with a 25-yard run by Jimmy Poulos with 1:39 left in the quarter to give Georgia the go-ahead touchdown. Poulus went for 161 yards on 20 carries, in an MVP effort. North Carolina was limited to under 200 yards.[3]

Aftermath

Georgia returned in 1989. The Tar Heels would win the ACC title the following year, advancing to the Sun Bowl. They returned to the Gator Bowl in 1979. The two teams met again at the 2016 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game where Georgia beat the Tar Heels, 33 to 24.[4]

Statistics

Statistics Georgia North Carolina
First downs 13 9
Rushing yards 228 115
Passing yards 84 66
Total yards 312 181
Interceptions thrown 0 1
Return yardage 61 51
Fumbles–lost 2/1 2/1
Punts–average 10–34.8 10–46.6
Yards penalized 5–29 3–15

References

  1. ^ "December 31, 1971". taxslayerbowl.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  2. ^ Smits, Garry (February 1, 2013). "Not first time brothers have battled: Dooleys coached against each other in '71 Gator Bowl". Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  3. ^ "Bowl History - Poulos superb in 1971 Gator Bowl" (PDF). grfx.cstv.com. p. 80. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2015.
  4. ^ Alexander, Wilson (September 3, 2016). "Georgia beats North Carolina 33-24 to open season". Retrieved September 4, 2016.


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