The 1972 Gator Bowl was held on December 30, 1972, at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida. The sixth-ranked Auburn Tigers defeated the 13th-ranked Colorado Buffaloes by a score of 24–3.[1]
| 1972 Gator Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 30, 1972 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1972 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Gator Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Jacksonville, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Wade Whatley, QB, Auburn Mark Cooney, LB, Colorado | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Charles Bowen (SEC; split crew: SEC, Big Eight) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 71,114 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ABC | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Bill Flemming and Lee Grosscup | ||||||||||||||||||||
Game summary
The scoring was opened in the second quarter by Auburn, as they converted a 27-yard field goal to take a 3–0 lead. They extended their lead to ten as they found the end zone later in the same quarter off of a 1-yard run. They took a 10–0 lead into halftime. They controlled the third quarter as well, scoring on a 22-yard pass to take a 17–0 lead into the fourth quarter. The Tigers lost their shutout when the Buffaloes hit a 33-yard field goal, but Auburn quickly responded, scoring a 16-yard touchdown pass to make the score 24–3. The game finished with the same score.
Aftermath
6th-ranked Auburn rose to #5 following their win; #13 Colorado fell to #16.