1967 Liberty Bowl

The 1967 Liberty Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game played on December 16, 1967, at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. The ninth edition of the Liberty Bowl, it featured the NC State Wolfpack of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Georgia Bulldogs of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

1967 Liberty Bowl
9th Liberty Bowl
NC State Wolfpack Georgia Bulldogs (8–2) (7–3) ACC SEC 14 7 Head coach:  Earle Edwards Head coach:  Vince Dooley AP Coaches NR 17 AP Coaches NR 18
1 2 3 4 Total NC State 0 7 0 7 14 Georgia 0 7 0 0 7
Date	December 16, 1967
Season	1967
Stadium	Memphis Memorial Stadium
Location	Memphis, Tennessee
MVP	QB Jim Donnan (NC State)
Referee	Charles Bowen (SEC; split crew: SEC, ACC)
Attendance	35,045
United States TV coverage
Network	ABC
Liberty Bowl  < 1966  1968 >

Background

The Wolfpack finished 2nd in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Bulldogs finished 5th in the Southeastern Conference. This was NC State's first bowl since 1963, which was also in the Liberty Bowl. This was Georgia's first ever Liberty Bowl.

Game summary

A 65 yard drive by the Wolfpack culminated with a Jim Donnan touchdown pass to Harry Martel to make it 7-0 in the 2nd. Georgia responded with a 68 yard drive with Ronnie Jenkins scoring on a touchdown plunge to tie it before halftime. In the second half, the game was decided in the final minutes. NC State drove 73 yards and scored on a Tony Barchuk touchdown run to make it 14-7. Later on, the Bulldogs went on a 98 yard drive, trying to tie the score late in the game. However, QB Kent Lawrence was stopped one yard short of the goal line, as the Wolfpack held on to win the game. Donnan went 16-of-24 for 121 yards and a touchdown in an MVP effort.^[1]

Jim Donnan later went on to coach the Georgia Bulldogs.

Aftermath

Georgia returned to the Liberty Bowl 20 years later in 1987. The Wolfpack returned in 1973.

Statistics

Statistics	NC State	Georgia
First downs	14	14
Rushing yards	79	140
Passing yards	128	136
Total yards	207	276
Interception Thrown	1	0
Return Yardage	42	124
Fumbles/Lost	1–1	0–0
Punts–average	7–35.5	6–28.8
Yards penalized	45	67

References

1. "Bowl History - N.C. State rallies past Georgia in 1967 Liberty Bowl" (PDF). grfx.cstv.com. p. 78. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 11, 2018.