A collision heard across the Gator Bowl
By Tom Mattingly
Whether they were alive in December 1966 and/or maybe attended the game, they instinctively know about the Gator Bowl that season from videotape, newspaper reports, and word of mouth in discussions that take place wherever Vol fans gather.
This year’s season-opening game against Syracuse had to have brought back significant memories for many Tennessee fans.
The 1966 Gator Bowl, No. 22 in the bowl’s history, was such an affair. It was Tennessee versus Syracuse in Jacksonville, on Dec. 31, 1966, on ABC television, with Chris Schenkel, Bud Wilkinson, and Bill Flemming on the broadcast. A crowd of 60,312 gathered for the New Year’s Eve afternoon extravaganza. The videotape is not quite up to today’s standards, but it gives an idea about the ambience of the game.
It’s safe to say that bowl games are fickle creatures, almost two games in one. One team might dominate for a half, and after intermission, the other team comes back and makes a game out of it.
As the teams squared off, the Vols appeared to be overmatched, with Syracuse having future pro running backs Floyd Little and Larry Csonka ready to tote the football.
Syracuse was on an 8-game winning streak, winning their final games after two losses to start the season. The Orangemen were bigger than the Vols (most teams were in those days), and the fear was they would literally mash the Vols into submission running the ball relentlessly.
Coming off an 8-1-2 season in 1965, the Vols were 7-3, with losses to Georgia Tech (6-3), Alabama (11-10), and Mississippi (14-7).
Quarterback Dewey Warren threw the ball all over the field that season, attempting 229 passes, completing 136 for 1,716 yards. He was a team leader, always talking about “hummin’ that tater.”
Johnny Mills, the wideout from Elizabethton, introduced pre-game by Flemming as being from “Elizabeth-town, Tennessee,” had set a single game receiving mark with 225 yards against Kentucky, a record that lasted until the 2001 LSU game.
Gary Wright kicked field goals of 36 and 38 yards to give the Vols the early lead.
Warren hit tight end Austin Denney off a fake field goal attempt to stretch the lead to 12-0. Richmond Flowers caught a second Warren TD pass, and the Vols led 18-0. All appeared well.
Syracuse came roaring back in the second half. Csonka, who rushed 18 times for 114 yards on the day, scored on an 8-yard run in the third period. Little, who carried the pigskin 29 times for 216 yards, added another from 3 yards out with 46 seconds left.
Overall, Syracuse racked up 348 yards rushing on 57 carries, yet the Vols came up with enough big plays here and there to take an improbable triumph, 18-12.
For the day, Warren completed 17 of 29 passes, with one interception, for 244 yards. Mills caught eight for 86 yards, with a touchdown grab called back. Flowers caught five for 80, and Denney four for 78.
The game is best remembered, however, for the Vols making two significant defensive plays.
Syracuse had it fourth-and-2 at the Vol 4 in the fourth period. With a backfield that had Csonka and Little ready to make the tough yardage, what play do you call?
Nick Showalter, sophomore defensive end from Kingsport, said he knew what was coming, thanks to intense preparation from linebackers coach Vince Gibson. He got around Little, then fought off Csonka to make the play.
“He told us 100 times that when Little lined up as a tight wingback, they were going to run the toss sweep.”
The ball went to a lesser-known Syracuse player named Oley Allen, and Nick made the play.
Later in the period, one of the most memorable tackles in Tennessee football history came when Naumoff met Csonka head-on in a collision heard across the Gator Bowl and living rooms nationwide.
“Paul stood him up, and spit and sweat came up like a water balloon,” said Showalter. “You could hear every pad and every part of a Riddell helmet crunch.”
After spending 1964 as a receiver, Paul played defensive end in 1965. He was thought to be an All-American candidate at that position coming into 1966, but moved to linebacker after Tom Fisher died in a March traffic accident near Benton, Tenn. Paul, now deceased, ended up with a long career (1967-78) with the Detroit Lions.
A FINAL THOUGHT OR TWO: Thanks to some outstanding performances on the field and some yeoman-like work by the Sports Information Office, the Vols had four first team All-American selections, most since 1939. Naumoff joined Denney, punter Ron Widby, and center Bob Johnson in earning All-American honors, with Johnson adding Academic All-American honors to his resume.
Widby was the NCAA punting leader with a 43.8-yard average and the SEC player of the year in hoops, leading the Vols to the SEC title. All this was part of a distinguished career for Haywood Harris, long-time Sports Information Director.
“I looked at my job as an opportunity to help people enjoy the Vol experience as much as I did,” said Harris.“ That was the joy of the job as far as I was concerned.”
Through the years, he accomplished that quite well.
Thank you, Haywood Harris, for your contributions to the history of Tennessee football.
