Gator Bowl Memories: Gators Upset Heavily-Favored Penn State to Claim 1962 Gator Bowl
Wednesday, December 28, 2011 | Football
By Chris Harry
GatorZone.com Contributing Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Some old-school orange-and-blue clads might tell you the 1962 Gator Bowl, which marked Florida's fourth foray into the postseason, ranks as the program's most satisfying bowl experience pre-dating Steve Spurrier's return to coach his alma mater.
Not merely because of the victory, mind you, but more for the circumstances leading up to the showdown with powerful Penn State. Many a pundit -- not to mention the Nittany Lions -- felt the Gators had no business being in a game against an elite foe from the East.
Florida was given no shot against Penn State, with newspapers up and down the coast pointing to the Gators' 6-4 record and the fact UF was the Gator Bowl's third choice after Georgia Tech and Duke declined invitations.
Penn State, meanwhile, was 9-1 and had been awarded the Lambert Trophy, which annually annually the top program in the East.
Nittany Lions coach Charles “Rip” Engle stumped -- quite publicly -- that his team deserved to play in a major bowl, such as the Cotton, and against a more worthy opponent. Plus, Penn State had been to the Gator Bowl in '61 and soundly defeated Georgia Tech.
The idea of returning to Jacksonville to trounce another SEC team did not excite the Nittany Lions.
But that arrogance certainly excited the Gators.
To the time capsule, we go.
THE DATE: Dec. 30, 1962
IN THE HEADLINES THAT DAY
- Soviet Premier Kruschev offered to bury the hatchet with the United States over last year's U2 spy plane incident. “We would like this unfortunate incident to become a thing of the past, with the departure of the old president,” Kruschev said at a speech at a mammoth New Year's Eve party at the Kremlin. The premier did not, however, say that Russia would release the U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers.
- In Miami, President Kennedy reviewed the brigade that tried to invade Cuba last year and spoke of a future free Cuba. While making no promises of an armed invasion of Cuba, the president urged a wildly cheering Cuban crowd in the Orange Bowl stadium to prepare for a day of freedom.
- United Nations troops in the Congo captured all of Elizabethville, including President Moise Tshombe's bank. Tshombe replied with an ultimatum demanding an immediate cease fire or risk destruction of the entire province.
- Fidel Castro and his top communist advisors have had second thoughts about the wisdom of releasing the Bay of Pigs invaders and are highly indignant at honors accorded to them by President Kennedy, sources close to the Cuban premier said. Castro was said to be enraged by reports that leaders of the aborted invasion stated almost upon stepping out of their liberated airplanes that they would continue fighting against his regime and are ready to participate in a new invasion event.
IN THE THEATERS
“To Kill A Mockingbird” -- starring Gregory Peck
“Lawrence of Arabia” -- starring Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness and Omar Sharif
“Days of Wine and Roses” -- starring Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick
ON THE TUBE
“The Lucy Show”
“The Beverly Hillbillies”
“Combat”
ON THE RADIO
(Billboard's Top 3 songs of 1952)
“Telestar” by The Tornadoes
“Big Girls Don't Cry” by The Four Seasons
“The Loco-Motion” by Little Eva
FOR SALE
3-bedroom, 2-bath home (avg. cost): $15,000
Ford Galaxie 500XL: $3,350
Transistor radio: $40
Gallon of gasoline: 31 cents
Pair of Buster Brown shoes: $3
THE GATOR BOWL SET-UP
Earlier that month, Florida defensive coordinator Jack Green left to become head coach at Vanderbilt, with Gators coach Ray Graves turning the unit over to beloved line assistant Gene Ellenson, to this day considered maybe the greatest motivational speaker in the program's history.
Four days before the game, Ellenson installed a new defensive alignment. Instead of a nine-man front, the Gators would go with eight and let a different linebacker each play shadow shifty Nittany Lions quarterback Pete Liske.
Ellenson dubbed the new defense, “The Monster.”
Penn State was a 9-point favorite. Its offense averaged 336 yards per game, sixth-best in the nation. Their tailback, Roger Kochman, was an All-American.
But they were no match for “The Monster.”
THE GAME
Unranked and unappreciated, Florida played like irritated and dismissed Southerners -- and looked the part, also. The Gators took the field with Confederate flag emblems on their helmets as a not-so-subtle reminder to the Northerners that football, indeed, was played in this part of the country.
UF forced five Penn State turnovers and held the Nittany Lions' vaunted offense to a mere 147 yards in a thoroughly decisive 17-7 upset before a Gator Bowl record-crowd of 50,286.
The Gators rushed for 162 yards, while quarterback and game MVP Tommy Shannon completed seven of nine passes for 79 yards and two touchdowns, including a 19-yard play-action beauty to Haygood Clarke in the fourth quarter to seal one of the biggest wins in school history.
For Penn State, it was the first bowl loss since 1928.
Liske was devoured by “The Monster,” hitting just five of 18 passes and throwing an interception.
Tom McEwen, sports editor of The Tampa Tribune, put it this way: “Angry, aggressive, alert Floridians, Confederate flags glistening from their helmets, routed Pennsylvanians like no one since Bull Run yesterday and vindicated their selection in the Gator Bowl with the 17-7 muzzle they hung on the dazed Nittany Lions.”
IN THEIR WORDS
“All I want to know is when do we get the Lambert Trophy?”
--UF guard Wade Enzminger.
“We just didn't have good continuity during the game. Florida worked harder for it during the game than we did. They deserved to win.”
--Penn State coach Charles “Rip” Engle.
“You know we almost turned this game down because of exams schedule, but we worked our practice schedule around exams and decided to come. ... And I think we represented the SEC as well as any could have this afternoon.”
“We knew they were good. They did what we expected and they hit harder than we did too.”
--Ralph Baker, Penn State center.
“Ya'll come back next year! We enjoyed it!”
--Florida fan shouting in deep Southern drawl to disappointed PSU cheerleaders as they left the field.
“We have had so many bad days in our profession that when we have a good one, pardon us if we seem just a bit snotty. ... We are!”
--Defensive coordinator Gene Ellenson, speaking to the team at the post-game dinner reception.
