1960 Sun Bowl

The 1960 Sun Bowl featured the New Mexico State Aggies and the Utah State Aggies.

Background

This was the Aggies year to shine. They 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 1954-1955 Texas Western Miners 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.

The Utah State Aggies were co-champions of the Skyline Conference with Wyoming. This was their first bowl game since 1947.

Game summary

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. ^[1]

Aftermath

This is as of 2014, New Mexico State's last bowl game appearance. New Mexico State went 35–23–2 during the rest of Woodson's tenure before he was fired in 1967. Since then, the Aggies have won only the Missouri Valley Conference championship in 1976 and 1978.

Utah State went to the Gotham Bowl the following year. It took them 32 years to reach another bowl game.

References