The 1989 Independence Bowl was the final Independence Bowl without sponsorship. It featured the

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-12 Conferenc ...

and the

Tulsa Golden Hurricane The Golden Hurricane are the athletic teams that represent the University of Tulsa. These teams are referred to as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (or variously as TU or Tulsa). Before adopting the name Golden Hurricane in 1922, the University of Tu ...

Background

This was Tulsa's first bowl appearance since 1976, also in the Independence Bowl. This was Oregon's first bowl game since

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

. Oregon finished 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 ...

with Washington (who went to the

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 ...

) and Arizona (who went to the

Copper Bowl The Guaranteed Rate Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that has been played in the state of Arizona since 1989. Played as the Copper Bowl from inception through 1996, it was known as the Insight.com Bowl from 1997 through 2001, then ...

). This was their highest finish in the conference since 1970.

Game summary

Brett Adams gave Tulsa the lead with a touchdown run early in the game, but Oregon responded with two long drives that culminated with a Musgrave touchdown pass and a field goal to take a 10–7 lead. Tulsa tied the game with two minutes remaining in the second quarter to make it 10–10. But as Oregon went to punt late in the first half, Herbert Harvey blocked the punt and Derrick Williams recovered it and ran 21 yards for a touchdown that gave Tulsa a 17-10 lead heading into halftime. Adams added his second touchdown run in the third quarter to make it 24–10 Tulsa. But Oregon would score twice in six minutes on Musgrave passing and rushing touchdowns to tie the game at 24 early in the fourth quarter. With just over three minutes to play, a Tulsa fumble recovery was overturned by the officials, which kept Oregon's drive alive. That drive culminated in a field goal to give the Ducks a 27-24 lead. That field goal would prove to be the game-winner, giving Oregon their first bowl win since 1963.

Aftermath

Oregon has returned to the Independence Bowl just once since this game, in 1992. Tulsa would make its next appearance in the Independence Bowl in 2015.

Statistics

References

Independence Bowl The Independence Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually each December at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Independence Bowl ...

Independence Bowl Oregon Ducks football bowl games Tulsa Golden Hurricane football bowl games

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

December 1989 sports events in the United States {{Collegefootball-bowl-stub