Alabama 61, Syracuse 6
Jan. 1, 1953
Miami, Fla.
The Crimson Tide spoiled Syracuse’s bowl debut, accumulating 586 yards of total offense and setting numerous Orange Bowl records at the 19th annual Classic.
Joe Szombathy, who later coached on Ben Schwartzwalder’s staff and then served as an associate athletic director at SU before retiring in 1999, scored Syracuse’s only touchdown of the day on a 15-yard pass from quarterback Pat Stark. That made the score 7-6 in the first quarter, but Alabama built the lead up to 21-6 by halftime and rolled to the win. Szombathy ended the day with five catches for 45 yards.
Alabama quarterbacks Clell Hobson and Bart Starr combined for 300 yards passing. Bobby Luna scored 19 points (the most against SU in a bowl game) on a 38-yard run, a 27-yard reception and seven extra points.
| Score By Quarter |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
F |
| Syracuse |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
| Alabama |
7 |
14 |
20 |
20 |
61 |
| Scoring Summary |
| Team |
Play |
Score |
| UA |
Luna 27 pass from Hobson (Luna kick) |
0-7 |
| SU |
Szombathy 15 pass from Stark (kick failed) |
6-7 |
| UA |
Marlow 1 run (Luna kick) |
6-14 |
| UA |
Tharpe 53 pass from Hobson (Luna kick) |
6-21 |
| UA |
Luna 38 run (Luna kick) |
6-28 |
| UA |
Lewis 1 run (Luna kick) |
6-35 |
| UA |
Lewis 30 run (kick failed) |
6-41 |
| UA |
Cummings 20 pass from Starr (kick failed) |
6-47 |
| UA |
Ingram 80 punt return (Luna kick) |
6-54 |
| UA |
Hill 60 interception (Luna kick) |
6-61 |
| Team Stats |
SU |
UA |
| First Downs |
15 |
25 |
| Rushing Yardage |
75 |
286 |
| Passing Yardage |
157 |
300 |
| Total Offense (Plays-Yds) |
67-232 |
79-586 |
| Passes |
17-34 |
22-34 |
| Passes Had Intercepted |
5 |
2 |
| Punts/Avg. |
8/35.0 |
3/30.0 |
| Punt Returns |
1-2 |
5-168 |
| Kickoff Returns |
8-196 |
2/32 |
| Fumbles-Lost |
0-0 |
3-2 |
| Penalties-Yards |
5-42 |
5-45 |
RUSHING: Syracuse - Leberman 14-36, Hoffman 4-16, Wetzel 7-13, Ronan 1-5, Yaple 1-3, Dobrowolski 1-2, Stark 5-0. Alabama - Lewis 11-77, Tharp 7-62, Luna 4-51, Marlow 10-32, Hobson 4-27, Starr 1-13, Stone 1-10, Conway 4-6, Kilroy 2-6, Malcolm 1-2.
PASSING: Syracuse - Stark 17-33-4-157, Dobrowolski 0-1-1-0. Alabama - Hobson 14-22-2-207, Starr 8-12-0-93.
RECEIVING: Syracuse - Szombathy 5-45, Hoffman 5-43, Leberman 3-23, Ronan 1-16, Karilivacz 1-15, Wetzel 1-11, Troilo 1-4. Alabama - Curtis 8-65, Cummings 2-61, Tharp 2-54, Malcolm 2-47, McBride 2-18, Marlow 2-1, Luna 1-28, Conway 1-12, Ivy 1-8, Kilroy 1-6.
