Annual NCAA football game
The 1973 Grantland Rice Bowl was an NCAA Division II game following the 1973 season, between the Grambling Tigers (now the Grambling State Tigers ) and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers . This was the first year that the game served as a national semifinal for Division II – in prior years it had been the Mideast regional championship for the College Division. This was the last time that the game was played at BREC Memorial Stadium .
Notable participants [ ]
Western Kentucky defensive back Mike McCoy and running back Clarence Jackson were selected in the 1974 NFL Draft . Defensive back Virgil Livers and defensive end John Bushong were selected in the 1975 NFL Draft . McCoy, Jackson, Livers, linebacker Rick Green, wide receiver Porter Williams, and head coach Jimmy Feix are inductees of the WKU Athletic Hall of Fame.[2]
Grambling defensive end Charles Battle, defensive back Bill Bryant , defensive end Ezil Bibbs, and tight end Oliver Alexander were selected in the 1974 NFL Draft. Defensive tackle Gary Johnson , defensive end Bob Barber , and defensive end Jesse O'Neal were selected in the 1975 NFL Draft. Grambling players selected in the 1976 NFL Draft include cornerback James Hunter , wide receiver Sammy White , tight end Ron Singleton , and linebacker Robert Pennywell . Johnson, Hunter, White, and head coach Eddie Robinson are inductees of the Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame.[3] Johnson and Robinson are inductees of the College Football Hall of Fame .
Scoring summary [ ]
Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
GC
WKU
1
5:30
2
15
GC
Sammy White 15-yard touchdown reception from Joe Comeaux, Rodney Zeno kick good
7
0
1
4:18
74
WKU
John Embree 46-yard touchdown run, Charlie Johnson kick good
7
7
2
7:56
65
WKU
Clarence Jackson 16-yard touchdown reception from Dennis Tomek, Charlie Johnson kick good
7
14
2
1:23
4
13
1:44
WKU
Clarence Jackson 2-yard touchdown run, Charlie Johnson kick good
7
21
3
0:00
GC
Interception returned 87 yards for touchdown by Robert Pennywell , Rodney Zeno kick good
14
21
4
10:55
75
GC
Joe Comeaux 10-yard touchdown run, Rodney Zeno kick failed (blocked)
20
21
4
7:57
3
25
0:25
WKU
David Maley 22-yard touchdown reception from Dennis Tomek, Charlie Johnson kick good
20
28
"TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football .
20
28
[4]
References [ ]
Program cover for 1973 game
^ Patterson, Tom (December 9, 1973). "Williams even fakes out TV cameraman" . The Courier-Journal . Louisville, Kentucky . Retrieved February 16, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
^ "WKU Athletic Hall of Fame" . wkusports.com . Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2017 .
^ "Grambling Legends" . gramblinglegends.org . Archived from the original on 2017-02-16. Retrieved February 15, 2017 .
^ Van Thyn, Nico (December 9, 1973). "Tigers Reach End of the Line, 28-20" . The Times . Shreveport, Louisiana . Retrieved February 4, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
Further reading [ ]
Pound sign (#) denotes national championship game.