1968 Liberty Bowl
| 1968 Liberty Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 14, 1968 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1968 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Memphis Memorial Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Memphis, Tennessee | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | RB Steve Hindman (Ole Miss) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 46,206 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ABC | ||||||||||||||||||
The 1968 Liberty Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Ole Miss Rebels from the University of Mississippi at Memphis Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee on December 14, 1968. The game was the final contest of the 1968 college football season for both teams, and ended in a 34-17 victory for Mississippi.
Two years after a previous trip to the Liberty Bowl, Virginia Tech was again asked to travel to Memphis to play in a post-season bowl game. This time, the opponent was Mississippi, which had amassed a 6–3–1 record during the regular season. The Hokies came into the game with a 7–3 record that included a loss to Tech's previous Liberty Bowl opponent, Miami.
The 1968 Liberty Bowl kicked off on December 14, 1968. As in the Hokies' previous appearance in the Liberty Bowl, Virginia Tech got off to a fast start. On the game's second play, Tech ran 58 yards for a touchdown, courtesy of a trick play. After Mississippi fumbled, Tech recovered and scored another quick touchdown. At the end of the first quarter, Tech added a field goal to the two touchdowns it had already earned, making the score 17–0 at the end of one quarter. From that point onward, however, almost nothing would go in Virginia Tech's favor. Tech attempted an onside kick following the field goal, but were unable to successfully recover the ball. With good field position following the kick, Mississippi quarterback Archie Manning orchestrated a 49-yard drive for the Rebels' first points of the game.
Mississippi scored another touchdown before halftime, and the Hokies clung to a 17–14 lead at the beginning of the second half. That three-point lead quickly evaporated, however, as 21 seconds into the third quarter, Mississippi's Steve Hindman ran for 79 yards and a touchdown to give Mississippi a 21–17 lead. Ole Miss added 13 more points before the game ended and earned the victory, 34–17.
The Virginia Tech Hokies, led by head coach Jerry Claibourne, amassed a 7–3 record during the regular season prior to the Liberty Bowl. The Hokies came into the 1968 season with high expectations. From 1963 to 1967, Virginia Tech was the 12th winningest major college football program, recording 36 wins, 13 losses, and one tie—putting the Hokies just behind Notre Dame in winning percentage. During the regular season, linebacker Mike Widger emerged as a major threat on defense for Tech. In the Hokies' win over No. 18 Florida State in 1968, Widger intercepted two passes. Shortly after Liberty Bowl committee chairman Bud Dudley selected the Hokies to play in the Liberty Bowl, Widger was named a first-team Associated Press All-American, marking him as one of the best players at his position in the country.
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