1985 Liberty Bowl
The 1985 Liberty Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game held on December 27, 1985, in Memphis, Tennessee, at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.[1] The 27th edition of the Liberty Bowl featured the Baylor Bears of the Southwest Conference (SWC) and the LSU Tigers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Baylor won the game, 21–7.[2]
| 1985 Liberty Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 27th Liberty Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 27, 1985 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1985 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Memphis, Tennessee | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Baylor QB Cody Carlson | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Otho Kortz (Big Ten) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 40,186 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | Raycom Sports | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Merle Harmon, Bud Wilkinson and Kevin Kiley | ||||||||||||||||||
Baylor entered the game with an 8–3 overall record and 6–2 conference record, led by head coach Grant Teaff. LSU entered the game with a 9–1–1 overall record and 4–1–1 conference record, led by head coach Bill Arnsparger.[3]
Game summary
Cody Carlson, the Baylor quarterback, tossed scoring passes of 5 and 15 yards to lead the Bears to a 21–7 win. The Tigers' only score came on a Liberty Bowl-record 79-yard punt return by Norman Jefferson.
Baylor overcame the 7–0 deficit to lead 10–7 at the half. Baylor raised their lead to 13–7 in the third quarter on a 35-yard field goal by Syler, but missed a chance to increase their lead to 9 points later in the period when Syler was wide right on a 37-yard attempt.
With Baylor clinging to a 13–7 edge, Carlson, who alternated with Tom Muecke at quarterback for the Bears, capped a 62-yard fourth-quarter march with a 15-yard scoring strike to the split end John Simpson. Carlson then found Matt Clark alone in the end zone with a two-point conversion pass as the Bears took command, 21–7.[4]
Scoring summary
| Quarter | Team | Scoring summary | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LSU | Baylor | |||
| 1 | LSU | Norman Jefferson 79-yard punt return, Lewis kick good | 7 | 0 |
| 1 | Baylor | Matt Clark 5-yard touchdown pass, Syler kick good | 7 | 7 |
| 2 | Baylor | Syler 23-yard field goal | 7 | 10 |
| 3 | Baylor | Syler 35-yard field goal | 7 | 13 |
| 4 | Baylor | John Simpson 15-yard touchdown reception from Cody Carlson, Matt Clark two-point conversion pass good | 7 | 21 |
| 7 | 21 | |||
Statistical summary
Team Statistics
(Rushing-Passing-Total): BU - 215-274-489; LSU - 91-101-192.
Individual Statistical Leaders
Rushing (Att.-Yds.-TD): BU - Perry 7-25-0, Rutledge 10-36-0; LSU - Dalton Hillard 20-66-0, Garry James 7-23-0
Passing (Att.-Comp.-Int.-TD-Yds.): BU - Cody Carlson 12-9-0-2-161, Tom Muecke 18-9-0-0-113; LSU - Jeff Wickersham 24-11-0-1-95, Mickey Guidry 3-2-0-0-6.
Receiving (No.-Yds.-TD): BU - John Simpson 3-117-1, Matt Clark 3-31-1; LSU - Garry James 4-25-0, Jean-Batiste 2-23-0. [5]
References
- "Liberty Bowl Results/Attendance". libertybowl.org. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
- "LSU Football Bowl History & Recaps". lsusports.net. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
- "Liberty Bowl: LSU Tries to Limit Baylor's Options". latimes.com. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
- "Baylor tops LSU in the Liberty Bowl". nytimes.com. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
- "1985 season / Liberty Bowl scrapbook". digitalcollections.baylor.edu. p. 53. Retrieved December 6, 2015.