1968 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl
| 1968 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 31, 1968 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1968 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Astrodome | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Houston, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 53,543 | ||||||||||||||||||
The 1968 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl was the first Bluebonnet Bowl that had "Astro" in the title, which would stay that way until 1984. It had what was at the time the largest crowd to see a game indoors, played by the SMU Mustangs of the Southwest Conference and the Oklahoma Sooners of the Big Eight Conference. The game was a low-scoring affair until the fourth quarter, which had 35 combined points and most notably ended on a missed conversion. [1]
Game summary
Oklahoma struck first with Bob Warmack's eight yard touchdown run. The game stood like that until the third quarter, when Mike Richardson scored on a one yard run for SMU, but the extra point missed, trailing 7–6. An ineffective Berry was replaced by Mickey Ripley, though Steve Owens threw a touchdown pass to Johnny Barr making the lead 14–6 for Oklahoma going into the fourth.
Chuck Hixson gave SMU life as he threw a touchdown pass to Jerry LeVias. Hixson then threw a successful conversion pass to Clements to tie the game. Later in the quarter, Richardson scored his second touchdown, giving SMU a 21–14 lead, with 7:35 to go in the game. Oklahoma tied the game with a Ripley touchdown pass to Bo Denton. But later in the quarter while trying to take the lead back, Ripley's pass was interecepted by SMU linebacker Bruce Portillo, putting SMU in scoring position. Hixson threw another touchdown, this time to Ken Fleming to make it 28–21 with three minutes to go. With 1:16 left, Barr scored on a touchdown throw by Ripley, making it 28–27. But when Ripley tried to give the Sooners the win, he was stopped short, clinching the game for SMU. It was their last bowl game appearance for 12 years.
Statisics
| Statistics | SMU | Oklahoma |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 22 | 23 |
| Yards Rushing | 72 | 176 |
| Yards Passing | 281 | 294 |
| Total offense - Yards | 353 | 470 |
| Punts-Average | 7-41.0 | 6-38.2 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 2-2 | 1-1 |
| Interceptions | 3 | 2 |
| Penalties-Yards | 3-34 | 6-55 |
Rushing SMU - Richardson 18 rushes for 76 yards. Oklahoma - Owens 36 rushes for 113 yards.
Passing SMU - Hixson: 22 of 43 for 281 yards. Oklahoma - Berry: 11 of 26 for 146 yards. Oklahoma - Ripley and Owens combined: 7-9 for 148 yards.
Receiving SMU - LeVias: 8 catches for 112 yards and one touchdown Oklahoma - Barr: 8 catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns