Catawba had appeared in the first Tangerine Bowl and beat Maryville College 31–6. This season, they were invited back to the bowl with a 10–1 record after having only one loss (to VMI) early in the season, and entered the game with an 8-game winning streak. They participated in the North State Intercollegiate Conference. Marshall was an Independent who was 9–2 on the year in Cam Henderson's tenth season as coach.
Game summary
Indians’ fullback Lee Spears scored on a one-yard carry late in the fourth quarter to win the game. Despite outgaining Catawba in yards, 109–54, Marshall turned the ball over three times, which cost them the game. End Don Gibson for Marshall was named MVP of the game.[4]
Marshall joined the Ohio Valley Conference the following year, and would not win a bowl game until the 1998 Motor City Bowl. Catawba was the first Tangerine Bowl participant to have a shutout win, and the first to win consecutive bowls. Their head coach Gordon Kirkland retired after the game; Catawba has not yet played in another bowl game.
