The 1986 Freedom Bowl was a
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 30, 1986. It was the third
Freedom Bowl Game. The
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). ...
defeated the
BYU Cougars
The BYU Cougars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Brigham Young University (BYU), located in Provo, Utah. BYU fields 21 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) varsity athletic teams. They are a member of the West ...
31–10. UCLA tailback
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 foo ...
was named the Player Of The Game. He ran for a record 266 yards, second only at the time to
Curtis Dickey
Curtis Raymond Dickey (born November 27, 1956) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 7 seasons, spending most of his career with the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts.
Co ...
who ran for 276 in the
1978 Hall of Fame Classic
The 1978 Hall of Fame Classic was a college football postseason bowl game that featured the Texas A&M Aggies and the Iowa State Cyclones.
Background
The Cyclones had finished 8-3 for the third straight year, going from being tied for 4th to 2nd ...
. This is still the Pac-10 record for most rushing yards in a bowl game, and fourth highest in NCAA bowl history.
Teams
:''See also
1986 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Penn State winning the national championship. Coached by Joe Paterno, they defeated Miami (Fl) 14–10 in the Fiesta Bowl. This Fiesta Bowl was the first in the game's history to decide the na ...
''
The BYU Cougars were voted national champions in 1984. In their opening game in 1985, they faced UCLA. The Bruins won 27–24. It was the first win for the Bruins as the headed towards the Pac-10 conference championship and appearance in the
1986 Rose Bowl
The 1986 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1986. It was the 72nd edition and was held at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The UCLA Bruins upset the Iowa Hawkeyes 45–28. UCLA tailback Eric Ball was named t ...
.
BYU Cougars
The BYU Cougars were the second place team in 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). They had lost to Colorado State in October. They were still in the hunt, but a 10–3 loss to San Diego State on November 29, 1986, gave SDSU the WAC conference championship lead.
UCLA Bruins
The UCLA Bruins were tied for second in 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 ...
. The ASU Sun Devils had beaten UCLA in Los Angeles. This gave them the tiebreaker for the Pac-10 championship. UCLA was still in the race, and could have been the Pac-10 champion, but a tie with Washington and a loss to Stanford put them behind the Sun Devils.
With Arizona State clinching the Pac-10 championship and berth in the
1987 Rose Bowl
The 1987 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1987, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. It was the 73rd Rose Bowl Game. The Arizona State Sun Devils, champions of the Pacific-10 Conference, defeated the Michigan Wo ...
early, there began a scramble by the bowls to make deals with schools before the official date. The
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 ...
and
Citrus Bowl
The Citrus Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group that also organizes the Cheez-It Bowl and Florida Classic.
The gam ...
scrambling to host a #1 versus #2 showdown between
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
and
Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...
, the
Cotton Bowl struck an agreement to take the loser of the Michigan–Ohio State game.
Game summary
The weather was overcast and 68 degrees. The first two Freedom Bowls had only sold 31,000 tickets, but this one had an advance sale of 42,000. The attendance of 51,422 was the Freedom Bowl record. The 1992 Freedom bowl featuring USC and Fresno State was expected to surpass it, but had an attendance of 50,745.
Fresno State Defeats USC, 24-7, in 1992 Freedom Bowl
Fresno State Sports Information Office, July 28, 2009
Scoring
First quarter
*BYU — Leonard Chitty, 32-yard field goal.
*UCLA — Gaston Green three-yard run. Dave Franey converts.
Second quarter
No score
Third quarter
*UCLA — Green, one-yard run. Franey converts.
*UCLA — Franey, 49-yard field goal.
*UCLA — Green, 79-yard run. Franey converts.
Fourth quarter
*UCLA — Karl Dorrell
Karl James Dorrell (born December 18, 1963) is an American football coach who was most recently the head coach at the University of Colorado. Dorrell most notably served as the head football coach of the University of California, Los Angeles (UC ...
, 13-yard pass from Green. Franey converts.
*BYU — Bruce Hansen three-yard run. Chitty converts.
References
Bibliography
*UCLA Football Media Guide (PDF Copy available a
www.uclabruins.com
*Robinson, Doug â€
''Deseret News'', December 31, 1986
*Penner, Mike â€
THE FREEDOM BOWL : UCLA'S CRAIG RUTLEDGE : You Can Go Home to Orange County
''Los Angeles Times'', December 25, 1986
{{UCLA Bruins bowl game navbox
Freedom Bowl
The Freedom Bowl was an annual post-season college football bowl game played at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, California, from 1984 to 1994.
The bowl frequently invited a team from the Western Athletic Conference to compete against an at-large opp ...
Freedom Bowl
BYU Cougars football bowl games
UCLA Bruins football bowl games
Freedom Bowl
The Freedom Bowl was an annual post-season college football bowl game played at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, California, from 1984 to 1994.
The bowl frequently invited a team from the Western Athletic Conference to compete against an at-large opp ...
December 1986 sports events in the United States