The 1983 California Bowl was an American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

played on December 17, 1983 at

Bulldog Stadium Valley Children's Stadium, also known as Jim Sweeney Field at Bulldog Stadium, is an outdoor college football stadium in the western United States, located on the campus of California State University, Fresno in Fresno, California. It is the home ...

Fresno, CA Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

. The game pitted the

Northern Illinois Huskies The Northern Illinois Huskies are the athletic teams that represent Northern Illinois University (NIU). The Huskies are a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The athleti ...

and the

Cal State Fullerton Titans The Cal State Fullerton Titans (also known as CSUF or Fullerton Titans) are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Fullerton. The Titans are a member of the NCAA Division I level. The Titans compete within the Big West C ...

Background

The Huskies from

DeKalb, Illinois DeKalb ( ) is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 43,862 according to the 2010 census, up from 39,018 at the 2000 census. The city is named after decorated Franconian- French war hero Johann de Kalb, who died ...

, coached by

Bill Mallory William Guy Mallory (May 30, 1935 – May 25, 2018) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Miami University (1969–1973), the University of Colorado at Boulder (1974–1978), Northern Illinois Universi ...

, started the season with non-conference games versus

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, with a win over the former, a loss to the latter. The Huskies then won their first six conference games, before a 30–14 loss to

Central Michigan Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said to resemble a mitten, and Mid Michigan corre ...

. Wins over Toledo and Ohio helped seal the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

title with an 8–1 conference record, edging out Toledo, Bowling Green, and Central Michigan, which all had 7–2 records. It was the Huskies' first conference title since

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

. This was the school's first major bowl game appearance and first bowl game since the

Mineral Water Bowl The Mineral Water Bowl is an annual American NCAA Division II college football bowl game between teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and an at large opponent hosted in Excelsior Springs, Missouri at Tiger Stadium. History ...

in 1965. Cal State Fullerton, coached by Gene Murphy, started the season with three straight victories over

Boise State Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...

and conference opponents Long Beach State and Utah State. A loss to #4

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

was their last loss for a month, as they beat Pacific, Nevada, San Jose State and Fresno State to improve their record to 7–1, the most wins for the program in a season since 1973. However, they finished the season with three straight losses to Idaho State, Utah, and UNLV. The Titans' 5–1 record in the

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

was good enough for the first conference title in school history and to qualify for their first bowl game in their 14th season of play.

Game summary

*Northern Illinois - Vince Scott 23 yard field goal, 1st 9:18 (12-71, 5:42) *Cal State Fullerton - Greg Steinke 26 yard field goal, 1st 5:57 (8-67, 3:21) *Northern Illinois - Darryl Richardson 3 yard touchdown run (Scott kick), 2nd 8:53 (15-60, 5:57) *Cal State Fullerton - Corn Redick 25 yard touchdown pass from Damon Allen (Steinke kick), 2nd 6:11 (6-80, 2:42) *Northern Illinois - Darryl Richardson 4 yard touchdown run (Scott kick), 3rd 3:13 (5-45, 2:17) *Northern Illinois - Vince Scott 42 yard field goal, 4th 12:09 (7-30, 3:20) *Cal State Fullerton - Greg Steinke 40 yard field goal, 4th 7:03 (11-54, 5:06) Darryl Richardson rushed for 67 yards on 21 carries for two touchdowns as Northern Illinois edged Cal State Fullerton on his touchdown in the third quarter to break a 10-10 halftime score. The Huskies rushed for 253 yards (on 53 carries) while the Titans rushed for 146 yards (on 30 carries). NIU threw for 119 yards, Fullerton for 233 yards. Neither team had any turnovers or sacks; both had 9 penalties (NIU for 75 yards, Cal State Fullerton for 85 yards). The Huskies had 55 kickoff return yards and 13 punt return yards while the Titans had 71 kickoff return yards and 18 punt return yards. NIU edged out Cal State Fullerton in possession time 33:33 to 26:27, and were 8/14 on third Downs compared to Cal State Fullerton's 6/16 on 3rd down (both teams were 1 of 2 on third down). For the Huskies,

Tim Tyrrell Timothy Gordan Tyrrell (born February 19, 1961) is a former professional American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons, with the Atlanta Falcons (1984–1986), the Los Angeles Rams (1986–1988), ...

went 10-of-18 for 119 yards while rushing for 37 yards on 14 runs. Lou Wicks rushed for 117 yards on 14 carries, with 2 catches for 22 yards and was voted the game's outstanding player. For the Titans, Damon Allen threw 18-of-32 for 233 yards and one touchdown while rushing for six yards on nine runs.

Aftermath

The Huskies did not reach a bowl game again until

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

. The Titans went 11–1 the following season, with a loss to conference member UNLV being their only loss, which meant that they shared the conference title, though UNLV was invited to the

California Bowl The California Bowl (later the California Raisin Bowl) was a post-season college football bowl game played annually at Bulldog Stadium in Fresno, California, from 1981 to 1991. The game featured the champions of the Big West Conference (known p ...

over them. UNLV would later forfeit the victory due to using ineligible players. The Titans finished second in the conference four times in the five years following that. The program soon stagnated, going 1–11 by 1990, with financial trouble hurting the program. 1992 was their final season, and the program went 2–9 to end a 22-year history. This was their only bowl game appearance.

References

{{Northern Illinois Huskies bowl game navbox

California Bowl Cal State Fullerton Titans football Northern Illinois Huskies football bowl games