1960 Sun Bowl
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| 1960 Sun Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 31, 1960 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1960 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Kidd Field | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | El Paso, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 16,000–16,200 | ||||||||||||||||||
The 1960 Sun Bowl featured the New Mexico State Aggies and the Utah State Aggies. This was the 27th Sun Bowl (26th held between college teams), and was played at Kidd Field in El Paso, Texas.
This was the year to shine for teams named Aggies. New Mexico State had a 14-game winning streak and were ranked in the AP Poll for the first time ever while also being champions of the BIAA once again. This was their third Sun Bowl as they looked to be the first team to win consecutive Sun Bowls since the Texas Western Miners did it in 1954 and 1955. One notable player for New Mexico State was Bob Gaiters, who had 197 carries for 1,338 yards and 23 touchdowns, a record for New Mexico State that still stands today. Quarterback Charley Johnson was no slouch, either. He threw 109-of-199 for 1,511 yards, with 13 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.[1]
The Utah State Aggies were co-champions of the Skyline Conference with Wyoming. Utah State won their first nine games of the season, beating opponents such as conference opponents New Mexico, Colorado State, BYU, and Wyoming. For two weeks, they were even ranked (#18 and #19, from 10/31 to 11/7). In their final game of the year, they were shut out 6-0 by Utah, but they were still champion of the conference. This was their first conference championship since winning the Big Seven Conference title in 1946. This was their first bowl game since 1947.
Game summary
- Utah State - Larscheid 13 yd run (Miller kick)
- New Mexico State - Atkins 2 yd pass from Johnson (Atkins kick)
- Utah State - Camilli 11 yd run (Miller kick failed)
- New Mexico State - Gaithers 32 yd run (Atkins kick)
- New Mexico State - Sims 7 yd pass from Johnson (Atkins kick failed)
Charley Johnson won his second MVP by throwing two touchdowns for New Mexico State, who had trailed at halftime 13–7 due to Tom Larscheid and Dolph Camilli both having touchdown runs for Utah State. But Bob Gaiters had a touchdown run and Johnson threw his second touchdown pass as Utah State's Doug Mayberry was stopped short on fourth down late in the game, sealing the win for New Mexico State for their first (and so far only) perfect season. Johnson threw 18-of-26 for 190 yards and two touchdowns in an MVP effort.[2][3][4][5]