The 1985 Fiesta Bowl was the fourteenth

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of the

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 at

Sun Devil Stadium Sun Devil Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium in the southwestern United States, on the campus of Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, Arizona. It is home to the ASU Sun Devils football team of the Pac-12 Conference. The s ...

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

, on Tuesday, January 1. Part of the 1984–85 bowl game season, it matched the fourteenth-ranked

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...

of the

Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...

, and the #13

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

, an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

. At the time, it was the fourth highest-scoring

Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area. From its beginning in 1971 until 2006, the game was hosted at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been playe ...

at 76 points. Miami was the defending national champion, but had four losses in the regular season under new head coach Jimmy Johnson. Underdog UCLA regained the lead in the final minute to win 39–37.

Teams

UCLA

The Bruins had won consecutive Pac-10 championships and Rose Bowl games in their new home stadium in the

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

and

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

seasons. In the last game of the 1984 season, they defeated Pac-10 champions and Rose Bowl-bound

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

for the third time in a row.

Miami

The Hurricanes were the defending national champions. Having defeated top-ranked

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

, and then

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, they rose to be ranked number one before their game at

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. They remained in the top ten after that loss. They lost again to

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

. They beat ranked Notre Dame in South Bend to return to the top 10. The Hurricanes earned three more wins, but then suffered two of the most notable losses in college football history. On November 10 at the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...

, the

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divis ...

defeated the Hurricanes with the largest (at that time) comeback in college football. Down 31–0 at halftime,

Frank Reich Frank Michael Reich Jr. (; ; born December 4, 1961) is an American football coach and former quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Maryland a ...

, who had been injured, came off the bench and led the comeback. At the start of the third quarter, Reich led the Terrapins on multiple scoring drives. Three touchdowns in the third quarter and a fourth at the start of the final quarter turned what was a blowout into a close game. Maryland completed a 42–9 second half, and won 42–40. The next week at Orange Bowl, the Hurricanes faced the

Boston College Eagles The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Boston College, located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisio ...

in a nationally televised game that has become known as "

Hail Flutie The Hail Flutie game, also known as the Miracle in Miami, is a college football game in 1984 that took place between the Boston College Eagles and the Miami Hurricanes on November 23. It has been regarded by FOX Sports writer Kevin Hench as ...

." It has been regarded by FOX Sports writer Kevin Hench as among the most memorable moments in sports.''FOX Sports:'' Ten Best Damn unforgettable sports moments
/ref> The game is most notable for a last-second

Hail Mary pass A Hail Mary pass is a very long forward pass in American football, typically made in desperation, with an exceptionally small chance of achieving a completion. Due to the difficulty of a completion with this pass, it makes reference to the Catho ...

from

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Doug Flutie Douglas Richard Flutie (born October 23, 1962) is an American former football quarterback whose professional career spanned 21 seasons. He played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), eight seasons in the Canadian Football League (CF ...

to wide receiver

Gerard Phelan Gerard P. Phelan (born January 20, 1963) is a former college football player who played wide receiver for Boston College. Career Early years Phelan played high school football for Archbishop John Carroll High School in Radnor, Pennsylvania a ...

to give Boston College the win.

Game summary

The first game of a tripleheader (

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) on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

, the Fiesta kicked off shortly after 11:30 a.m.

MST The Master of Studies or Master in Studies (M.St. or MSt; ) is a postgraduate degree at the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of St Andrews, the Australian National University, University of Dublin and the University of Ne ...

, as did the Cotton Bowl on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. UCLA took an early lead off a six-yard touchdown run by freshman halfback

Gaston Green Gaston Alfred Green III (born August 1, 1966) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams, Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Raiders. He played college ...

. Miami responded following a 34-yard touchdown run by tailback Darryl Oliver, knotting the game at seven. Later in the quarter, All-American wide receiver Eddie Brown fielded a punt, and took it 68 yards for a Hurricane touchdown, giving Miami a 14–7 lead. In the second quarter, quarterback

Bernie Kosar Bernard Joseph Kosar Jr. (born November 25, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played collegiately at the University of Miami where he led the team to a national championship in 1983. He subsequently played professionally in ...

threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver

Brian Blades Brian Keith Blades (born July 24, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). Blades graduated from Piper High School in Sunrise, Florida ...

to increase Miami's lead to 21–7. UCLA responded in a big way, riding a 72-yard touchdown run by Green to pull within 21–14. The defense continued the momentum by forcing a safety on punter

Rick Tuten Richard Lamar Tuten (January 5, 1965 – June 13, 2017) was an American football punter in the National Football League who played most of his career with the Seattle Seahawks. He punted the ball 108 times in 1992, tied for fourth-most in a seas ...

, bringing the score to 21–16. All-American kicker

John Lee John Lee may refer to: Academia * John Lee (astronomer) (1783–1866), president of the Royal Astronomical Society * John Lee (university principal) (1779–1859), University of Edinburgh principal * John Lee (pathologist) (born 1961), English ...

kicked two field goals of 51 and 33 yards to give UCLA a 22–21 lead at halftime. Miami reclaimed the lead in the third quarter, after Greg Cox drilled a 31-yard field goal, putting them up 24–22. Bruin quarterback

Steve Bono Steven Christopher Bono (born May 11, 1962) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League. Collegiate career Bono attended the University of California at Los Angeles, where he received a degree in sociology. As a B ...

found wide receiver

Mike Sherrard Michael Watson Sherrard (born June 21, 1963) is a former professional American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, New York Giants, and Denver Broncos. He played college football ...

for a ten-yard touchdown pass to reclaim the lead for UCLA, 29–24. In the fourth quarter, Bono found Mike Young for a 33-yard touchdown pass, increasing UCLA's lead to 36–24. Miami responded with a 19-yard touchdown run from running back

Melvin Bratton Melvin Torrence Bratton (born February 2, 1965) is a former American football running back and current sports agent. Bratton attended the University of Miami, where he played running back and starred in the national championship game at the 19 ...

. The attempted

two-point conversion In gridiron football, a two-point conversion or two-point convert is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point conversion immediately after it scores a touchdown. In a two-point conversion attempt, the team that just scored must run ...

failed, leaving the score 36–30. Kosar later found Bratton on a three-yard slant pass, giving Miami a 37–36 lead. With 2:58 remaining, Bono moved the Bruins down the field. Lee scored the winning points on a 23-yard field goal, giving UCLA the 39–37 win. Miami mounted one last charge, but Terry Tumey forced a fumble after a sack of Kosar to seal the win. Green had 144 yards rushing on 21 attempts, and was named the game's offensive MVP

Scoring

First quarter *UCLA –

6-yard run (

kick) *Miami – Darryl Oliver 34-yard run (Greg Cox kick) *Miami – Eddie Brown 68-yard punt return (Cox kick) Second quarter *Miami –

48-yard pass from

(Cox kick) *UCLA – Green 72-yard run (Lee kick) *UCLA – Safety: punter

tackled in end zone *UCLA – Lee 51-yard field goal *UCLA – Lee 33-yard field goal Third quarter *Miami – Cox 31-yard field goal *UCLA –

, 10-yard pass from

(Lee kick) Fourth quarter *UCLA – Mike Young 33-yard pass from Bono (Lee kick) *Miami –

19-yard run (Kosar pass failed) *Miami – Bratton, three-yard pass from Kosar (Cox kick) *UCLA – Lee 22-yard field goal :

Statistics

: :

Aftermath

Three Pac-10 teams participated in New Year's Day bowl games, and all were victorious. #4

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

won the

over #2

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, and #18 USC won the Rose Bowl over #6

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

of the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

(WAC) was the lone undefeated team and was ranked first in the final AP poll, after handing unranked

its sixth loss of the season in the

Holiday Bowl The Holiday Bowl is a post-season NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game that has been played in San Diego since 1978. San Diego County Credit Union has been the game's title sponsor since 2017, and the bowl has b ...

on December 21. UCLA climbed to ninth and Miami fell to eighteenth.

References

Bibliography

*UCLA Bruins football media guide (PDF copy available a
www.uclabruins.com

External links

* http://espn.go.com/abcsports/bcs/fiesta/s/1985.html
Fiesta Bowl
– January 1, 1985 {{UCLA Bruins bowl game navbox

Fiesta Bowl Miami Hurricanes football bowl games UCLA Bruins football bowl games January 1985 sports events in the United States