1954 Tangerine Bowl

The 1954 Tangerine Bowl was an American college football bowl game played after the 1953 season, on January 1, 1954, at the Tangerine Bowl stadium in Orlando, Florida. The Arkansas State Indians (now the Arkansas State Red Wolves) tied the East Texas State Lions (now the Texas A&M–Commerce Lions) by a score of 7–7.

1954 Tangerine Bowl
East Texas State Lions Arkansas State Indians (10–0) (8–0–1) Lone Star Conference Independent 7 7 Head coach:  Milburn Smith Head coach:  Forrest England
1 2 3 4 Total East Texas State 0 0 0 7 7 Arkansas State 7 0 0 0 7
Date	January 1, 1954
Season	1953
Stadium	Tangerine Bowl
Location	Orlando, Florida
MVP	Bobby Spann, Arkansas State[1][2]
Attendance	12,976[3]

Game summary

The first quarter saw the first score of the game, as Bobby Spann found James Turley on a 20-yard pass for an Arkansas State touchdown. That proved to be the only scoring of the quarter, which finished 7–0. The second quarter and third quarter were scoreless. The scoring drought was ended in the fourth quarter by East Texas State's Billy Ray Norris, on a 1-yard rush. The extra point tied the game at 7–7, and neither team managed to score again.

Aftermath

The tie ended a streak of 29 consecutive victories by East Texas State.[2] Arkansas State quarterback Bobby Spann was selected as MVP of the game.[1][2]

This game was the second tie in Tangerine Bowl history (the first having been the 1949 game), and the third-lowest scoring behind the 1948 game between Catawba and Marshall (finished 7–0) and the 1950 game between Emory & Henry and St. Vincent (finished 7–6). The game's third-place position was soon overtaken, though, as Omaha and Eastern Kentucky finished 7–6 the next year and Juniata and Missouri Valley tied 6–6 the year after that, which put the 1954 edition at the fifth-lowest scoring Tangerine Bowl, a position it maintains to present day (throughout all name-changes and variations of the bowl).

Scoring summary

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP East Texas St. Arkansas St. 1 4:50 3 25 Ark. St. James Turley 20-yard touchdown reception from Bobby Spann, Ness Sechrest kick good 0 7 4 9:00 9 61 E. Tex. St. Billy Ray Norris 1-yard touchdown run, George Riley kick good 7 7 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 7 7

[2][3]

Statistics

Statistics[3]	Arkansas State	East Texas State
First Downs	8	19
Rushing Yards	181	184
Passes Attempted	4	29
Passes Completed	1	9
Passes Intercepted by	2	0
Passing Yards	20	83
Yards Penalized	20	30
Punts-Average	9-30.2	4-38.0
Fumbles Lost	0	3

References

1. "SPANN VOTED MOST VALUABLE". Orlando Sentinel. January 2, 1954. Retrieved March 4, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
2. "7-7 Tie In Tangerine Bowl Ends 29-Game Winning Streak". Fort Lauderdale News. Associated Press. January 2, 1954. Retrieved March 4, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
3. Howard, Bob (January 2, 1954). "Arkansas State Ties East Texas 7-7 In Tangerine Bowl Thriller". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved March 4, 2017 – via newspapers.com.