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Sun Bowl 1963
Oregon 21 SMU 14
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By BOB INGRAM El Paso Herald-Post
They made their "quota" in the Sun Bowl yesterday in defeating Southern Methodist 21-14. And it wasn't their fault that they didn't get even more points. Bob Berry, the 190-pound junior from San Jose, Calif. is the gamblingest quarterback in Sun Bowl history.
Even after his team had what looked like a safe 21-point lead, Berry scorned conservatism and the book most coaches follow. He kept throwing the ball even when Oregon was deep in its own territory. Such exponents of field petition theory as Darrell Royal of Texas would have been mortified.
"That's Berry," said one of the Oregon party. "He's never satisfied. When he gets one touchdown, he wants another one."
As it turned out, the 21 points which Oregon made in the first half were not too safe. But had the Mustangs not been able to muster a fourth-quarter pair of touchdown drives, Berry probably would have continued to pass the ball from any-spot on the field,
Berry made 26 pitches, which isn't a Sun Bowl record. Glenn Dobbs of Tulsa hurled 39 passes against Texas Tech in the 1942 Sun Bowl game. However, Berry's 26 passes, and two by hit teammate, Larry Hill, plus 34 thrown by SMU, was a Sun Bowl high. A grand total of 62 was registered in the game, which is more than any tossed in any El Paso postseason contest.
Berry threw for two touchdowns, which made him 18 for the year, Including the 1963 regular season when he led the nation in TD passes with 16.
Berry bad more success with his aerials than the SMU passers. They had four intercepted.
H. D. Murphy, a senior halfback, picked off two of the SMU aerials. The first of his Interceptions led to Oregon's opening touchdown. His second stopped an SMU touchdown. Other SMU passes were intercepted by fullback Lu Bain and Ray Palm, an end.
The four Interceptions tied a Sun Bowl mark by one team in a Sun Bowl game.
The crowd of 26,500, largely a partisan one for SMU, had little to cheer in the first half. But in the second half the spectators came alive with the Mustangs dominating play.
They made two six pointers to close the gap to one touchdown after being practically out of contention at halftime.
And, had they not been stopped on the one at the opening of the third period, it could have even been closer.
The scrappy Mustangs, following a nice runback of a punt by Larry Jernigan, got up to the Oregon one only to lose the ball on downs.
They first hit pay dirt in the fourth quarter on a drive of 64 yards with Danny Thomas flipping to Billy Gannon, then to Jernigan and finally to Roderick. The touchdown play was good for two yards. An SMU pass for the extra points was intercepted in the end zone.
After two Mustang passes had been grabbed by Oregon safety men in the final period, SMU mounted another drive that ended successfully when Mac White passed to Roderick for eight. White made a two-point conversion on a run.
When Murphy grabbed off a White pass and returned the ball to the Ponies' 21 in the first quarter, the Webfoots were on their way to the goal line. Hill ran nine and Dennis Keller, replacement for the great Mel Renfro, knifed his way nine yards for the touchdown. The kick for extra point was true but Oregon was penalized 15 for holding and Buck Corey had to make the point the hard way by kicking from the 17.
Oregon went 65 yards in eight plays for its second touchdown in the second quarter with Berry putting the ball into Dick Imwalle's arms in the end zone for a final 23 yards and six points.
Berry threw three gainful passes before hurling a 20-yarder to Paul Burleson for the third Oregon touchdown in the second quarter. Herman Meister kicked the extra points after the last two touchdowns.
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Oregon's Dennis Keller carries for a first down. |
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SMU tries the Oregon line. |
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Larry Jernigan led SMU with 102 yards on the ground. |
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| Oregon coaching staff views game from sideline. Head Coach Len Casanova is far left. | |
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This was the first game played in the modern Sun Bowl complex. |
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Attendance- 18,646
Scoring Summary
First Quarter UO- Keller 9 run (Corey kick)
Second Quarter UO- Imwalle 23 yard pass Berry (Meister kick) UO- Burleson 20 yard pass from Berry (Meister kick)
Fourth Quarter SMU- Roderick 3 yard pass from Thomas (Pass failed) SMU- Roderick 8 yard pass from White (White 2 pt. run)
Individual Statistics
UO- Murphy 3-49, Keller 12-42, Hill 11-22, Berry 6-21 SMU- White 12-64, Roderick 7-36, Thomas 5-26, Taylor 7-19
Passing UO- Berry 11-26-146 SMU- Thomas 13-22-172, White 4-9-41
Receiving UO- Imwalle 3-57, Schwab 2-31, Hill 3-27, Burleson 1-20 SMU- Jernigan 6-102, Roderick 5-59
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January
1, 1964- University of Oregon Webfoots when they came to El Paso were
proud of having averaged three touchdowns per game for the last three
seasons.
