1955 Gator Bowl

The 1955 Vanderbilt squad finished the regular season 7–3.^[7] The Commodores lost to Georgia, Ole Miss and Tennessee.^[7] They accepted an invitation to play in the Gator Bowl in the days following their loss to Tennessee.^[4] The appearance was the first all-time bowl appearance for Vanderbilt.

The 1955 Auburn squad finished the regular season 8–1–1.^[4] The Tigers lost to Tulane and tied Kentucky in route to their third-place finish in the conference. They accepted an invitation to play in the Gator Bowl against Vanderbilt in the days following their victory over long-time rival Alabama.^[4] The appearance was the fifth overall bowl appearance and third consecutive in the Gator Bowl for the Tigers.^[4]

Vanderbilt got on the scoreboard first after Don Orr threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Joe Stephenson to give the Commodores a 7–0 lead.^[8] Auburn responded on the next drive to tie the game at seven after Howell Tubbs connected with Fob James for a 38-yard touchdown reception.^[8] The Commodores retook a 13–7 lead on the next drive after Orr scored on a three-yard touchdown run to cap a five-play, 76-yard drive that included a 45-yard run by Orr himself.^[8] After having a 51-yard Orr touchdown pass called back because of a holding penalty, Vanderbilt scored later in the quarter on a one-yard Orr touchdown run.^[8] The Commodores then scored their final points on the first play of the fourth quarter when Don Hunt scored on a one-yard touchdown run to give Vanderbilt a 25–7 lead.^[8] Auburn scored the final points of the game late in the fourth when Joe Childress caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Jimmy Cook to make the final score 25–13. For their performances, Vanderbilt quarterback Don Orr and Auburn running back Joe Childress mere named co-MVPs of the game.^[1]