The 1948 Gator Bowl was the third edition of the Gator Bowl

Gator Bowl

The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...

 and featured the Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia Bulldogs football

The Georgia Bulldogs football team represents the University of Georgia in football. The Bulldogs are a member of the Southeastern Conference and are frequently a top-25 team. The University of Georgia has had a football team since 1892 and has an all-time record of 738–398–54...

 representing the University of Georgia

University of Georgia

The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...

 and the Maryland Terrapins

Maryland Terrapins football

The Maryland Terrapins football team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision competition. The Terrapins compete within the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference...

 representing the University of Maryland

University of Maryland, College Park

The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...

. It was the first-ever meeting of the two teams.

In the second quarter, Maryland scored first with a 35-yard touchdown run by running back Lu Gambino

Lu Gambino

Lucien Anthony "Lu" Gambino was an American football running back. He played college football for Indiana University, and after military service in the Second World War, the University of Maryland...

. On the first possession of the second half, Georgia quarterback John Rauch

John Rauch

John "Johnny" Rauch was an American football player and coach. He was head coach of the Oakland Raiders in the team's loss to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl II in 1968.-Early life:...

 engineered an 87-yard drive culminating in a one-yard quarterback keeper

Quarterback keeper

A quarterback keeper or keeper in American football is a designed play in which the quarterback does not pass or hand off the ball to another player and instead rushes forward with it in an effort to gain yardage...

 for a touchdown. Maryland responded with an 80-yard drive of their own and another Gambino touchdown. Georgia fumbled on their own 40-yard line and Maryland recovered. The Terrapins capitalized with a 24-yard John Barone pass to Gambino for a third touchdown. In the fourth quarter, Georgia running back Joe Geri

Joe Geri

Joe Geri was a former American Football quarterback-running back who played four seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chicago Cardinals from 1949 to 1952 in the National Football League. He was a two time Pro Bowler in 1950 and 1951...

ran it from the one-yard line for a score. Rauch threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to John Donaldson, but Georgia missed the extra point. The final result was a 20–20 stalemate.

Lu Gambino was named the 1948 Gator Bowl Most Valuable Player. He rushed for 165 yards and recorded all three of Maryland's touchdowns. His rushing yardage would stand as a school bowl game record for 60 years, until broken in 2008.

John Rauch's 58-yard pass to Billy Henderson remains a Gator Bowl record.