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The 1964 Sugar Bowl, part of the 1963 bowl game season, was the 30th annual contest and took place on January 1, 1964, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. The competing teams were the Ole Miss Rebels and the Alabama Crimson Tide, both representing the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The matchup was the first between the flagship universities of these neighboring states in almost twenty years, and only the second in over thirty years. In a defensive struggle, Alabama defeated the Rebels without scoring a single touchdown 12–7. New Orleans had received a rare substantial snowfall the previous day, and snow lay in large banks around the edges of the field.
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Alabama
The 1963 squad was Bear Bryant's sixth at Alabama. The Crimson Tide lost to Florida and long-time rival Auburn en route to an 8–2 regular season. Originally wanting to pit Navy against Ole Miss, the Sugar Bowl extended the invitation to Alabama with two weeks remaining in the regular season. Their appearance was the seventeenth overall bowl appearance and the fourth in the Sugar Bowl for Alabama.
Prior to the regular season finale against Miami (FL) quarterback Joe Namath was suspended by coach Bryant through the bowl game. With Namath out, Steve Sloan started for the Crimson tide in the Sugar Bowl.
Ole Miss
The 1963 squad was Johnny Vaught's seventeenth at Ole Miss. The Rebels did not lose a regular season game, but did tie Memphis State and long-time rival Mississippi State en route to a 7–0–2 regular season. Their appearance was the twelfth overall bowl appearance and the seventh in the Sugar Bowl for Ole Miss.
Game summary
The game was a defensive slugfest. Alabama scored its first points on a 46-yard field goal by Tim Davis to take a 3–0 lead. In the second quarter, Davis kicked field goals of 31 and 34-yards to give Alabama a 9–0 lead at halftime. In the third quarter, Davis had a 48-yard field goal to extend the Alabama lead to 12–0. Early in the fourth quarter, Ole Miss scored the only touchdown of the game when Perry Lee Dunn threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Larry Smith. Alabama then held their lead and won the game 12–7. For his four field goal performance, Tim Davis was named the Sugar Bowl MVP.