CFB 150: Football Legends Hiding in 1972 Tangerine Bowl
7/24/2019 3:08:00 PM | Football
Jacob Pavilack, the radio field analyst for the Golden Flashes, will be profiling influential Kent State players and coaches as well as historical moments from the program's history as part of College Football's 150th Anniversary.
The 1972 Golden Flashes are one of the most fondly remembered teams in school history and captured the school's only Mid-American Conference title in the final game of the regular season. Their reward for the championship was an invitation to play in the Tangerine Bowl, a precursor to the modern-day Citrus Bowl, against the Tampa Spartans. Names like Saban, Lambert, James and Bruce graced the sidelines in what has to be one of the most random collections of star power talent the sport has ever seen.
Kent State linebacker Jack Lambert was named the lineman of the game and was the anchor of the 1972 defense. Lambert came to Kent State by accident in 1970 after playing quarterback for Mantua High School. He was lightly recruited, and fell into the waiting arms of the local school. During his time for the Blue and Gold, Lambert lined up as both a defensive end and a linebacker, and his 233 tackles in the '72 season alone is most likely an untouchable school record. Lambert went on to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the mid 1970s and is most notably remembered as a member of the "Steel Curtain." He finished his career a four-time Super Bowl Champion, a two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and was a member of the 1990 Pro Football Hall of Fame class where he was called the greatest linebacker of his era.
The tight end on the '72 Flashes was none other than Gary Pinkel. He was an All-MAC tight end and followed his head coach Don James to Washington as an assistant, where he won a national title. Following the 1990 season, Pinkel took over for his former teammate Nick Saban as the head coach at Toledo. He won 73 games in 10 years for the Rockets before taking over at Missouri for 15 seasons where he totaled 118 wins. He is the winningest coach in both Toledo and Missouri school history and was a two-time MAC Coach of the Year and SEC Coach of the Year once.
When you think college football coaches, you think Nick Saban. The Kent State graduate and former Flash defensive back needs no introduction. He got his start coaching as a graduate assistant for Don James immediately after his playing career ended and earned his first head coaching job in 1990 at Toledo. The current Alabama head coach's six national titles are tied with Bear Bryant for the most in the modern era and the future Hall of Famer is a four-time SEC Coach of the Year. Saban has won 232 games as a college coach and is a whopping 141-20 in 12 seasons for the Crimson Tide.
Don James was the architect of the squad and coached at Kent State from 1971-74. In 1975, he took the head job at Washington where he would coach for 18 years. He guided the Huskies to a perfect 12-0 record and a national championship in 1990. He won three Pac-10 Coach of the Year awards, compiled a career record of 178-76-3 and was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997.
The 1972 Tangerine Bowl wouldn't have been so special if not for the guys on the other sideline. The Spartans were led by College Football Hall of Fame coach Earle Bruce and he compiled a 10-2 record in his only year in Tampa. He is most known for his time at Ohio State in the 1980s where the Buckeyes went 81-26-1. Unbeknownst to the fans in the Tangerine Bowl the two young coaches guiding their teams would both go into the Hall of Fame and combine for 332 wins.
Tampa wasn't without talent of its own. Freddie Solomon was the quarterback of the squad and was a second round draft selection in 1975 by Miami. He played 11 years in the NFL for the Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers and won two Super Bowls. He was the intended target for "The Catch" when Dwight Clark made his famous leaping catch to beat the Dallas Cowboys in the 1982 NFC Playoffs.
Spartans defensive lineman John Matuszak was the number one overall selection in the 1973 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers. He is a two-time Super Bowl champion and went onto become an actor and is best known for his role as Sloth in the 1985 movie The Goonies.
In 1974 Tampa decided to disband the football program citing costs. The small institution of 1,300 students made the jump to a Division I Independent in the late 1960s and determined football was too expensive to justify operating. With both Tampa and Miami (Fla.) both roughly on the same college football standing in the early 1970s, one has to wonder where the Spartans would be if they continued to fund the sport.
A total of 755 collegiate coaching wins, eight Super Bowl champions and two College Football Hall of Famers played or coached on the field that day. While not an official statistic, it's hard to fathom a collection of some of the game's greats on the same field in a "mid-tier bowl" happening again.
