The 1989
John Hancock Bowl
The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose 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 ...
postseason
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 ...
between the
Texas A&M Aggies
Texas A&M Aggies refers to the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname "Aggie" was once common at land-grant or "ag" (agriculture) schools in many states. The teams are also referred to as "A&M" or "Texas Aggi ...
of the
Southwest Conference
The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma an ...
and the independent
Pittsburgh Panthers
The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facu ...
. The Panthers, who entered ranked 24th in the Associated Press poll but unranked in the coaches' poll, defeated the Aggies, ranked 16th by the AP and 15th by the coaches, by a final score of 31-28.
This was the first time in the history of the bowl that it carried a name other than the Sun Bowl, which had been the name of the game since its inauguration.
Background
The Aggies were in their first season under head coach
R.C. Slocum, who took over the program following
Jackie Sherrill
Jackie Wayne Sherrill (born November 28, 1943) is a former American football player and coach. He was the head football coach at Washington State University (1976), the University of Pittsburgh (1977–1981), Texas A&M University (1982–1988), a ...
's resignation at the end of the previous season. Slocum, who had been an assistant coach with Texas A&M for most of the previous fifteen seasons, led the Aggies to an 8-3 regular season, which was tied with Houston for second in the SWC. Texas A&M made its first bowl since 1987, as well as their first trip to El Paso since January 1977.
The Panthers ended the regular season at 7-3-1, but differences between head coach
Mike Gottfried
Mike Gottfried (born December 17, 1944) is a sportscaster and former American football player and coach.
He served as the head football coach at Murray State University (1978–1980), the University of Cincinnati (1981–1982), the University of ...
and athletic director Ed Bozik led to Gottfried being fired eleven days before the John Hancock Bowl. Pitt's offensive coordinator,
Paul Hackett, was promoted to head coach. The Panthers were appearing in their first bowl since 1987, when they were invited to the final
Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, and only their second since 1983 when they played in 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 ...
.
Naming rights issue
In 1986, the organizers of the Sun Bowl struck an agreement with
John Hancock Financial
John Hancock Life Insurance Company, U.S.A. is a Boston-based insurance company. Established April 21, 1862, it was named in honor of John Hancock, a prominent American Patriot.
In 2004, John Hancock was acquired by the Canadian multinational li ...
to serve as a title sponsor for the game. After three seasons as the title sponsor, John Hancock felt it was not getting the exposure it desired with their sponsorship and asked the bowl organizers to change the name of the game. The sides agreed, and in June 1989 it was announced that John Hancock would assume full naming rights to the Sun Bowl; this resulted in the game becoming known as the John Hancock Bowl. The game would remain branded as the John Hancock Bowl until 1993, after which the licensing agreement was not renewed. The Sun Bowl name was reinstated beginning with the 1994 playing.
Game summary
An 8 play, 93 yard drive by the Panthers led to a
Curvin Richards
Curvin Richards (born December 26, 1968) is a former professional American football running back who played for three seasons in the National Football League. He played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers. He spent two seasons with the Da ...
12 yard touchdown run to give them a 7-0 lead less than six minutes into the game. A&M responded with an 11 play 80 yard drive complete with a Lance Pavlas 9 yard touchdown run to tie the game with :16 in the first quarter. Ed Frazier's 24 yard field goal gave the Panthers the lead back at 10-7. Layne Talbot tied the game with a field goal of his own, from 39 yards. With :18 seconds remaining in the half, Ronald Redmond caught an 8-yard pass from
Alex Van Pelt
Gregory Alexander Van Pelt (born May 1, 1970) is an American football coach and former player who is the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach for the ...
or a touchdown to give the Panthers a 17-10 lead. In the second half, Van Pelt ran in for a touchdown to give them a 24-10 lead. The Aggies soon went on the charge, responding with a Keith McAfee touchdown run to narrow the lead. However, their conversion attempt failed when Brian Ross fell short, making the margin stay at eight. McAfee rushed for another touchdown with :05 remaining in the quarter. On their second conversion attempt, the pass fell short, leaving the score at 24-22. A&M responded with another score, this time on a Randy Simmons touchdown run, to finally give them the lead, with 9:32 remaining. Once again however, their conversion attempt fell short, leaving it at 28-24. Pittsburgh went on a 9 play, 84 yard drive in two minutes, culminating in a Henry Tuten catch of Van Pelt's 44 yard pass for a touchdown to give the Panthers the lead with two minutes remaining. A&M was given one last chance, with the ball at their own 21. They managed to get to the 47 yard line, but on 3rd down with 1:05 remaining, Pavlas' pass was intercepted by Threats, and the Panthers ran out the rest of the time to win. Alex Van Pelt was named MVP for his performance in the game, in which he threw 20-of-40 for 354 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Curvin Richards went for 156 yards on 23 carries and 1 touchdown. In a losing effort, Keith McAfee went for 94 yards on 15 carries for 2 touchdowns.
Aftermath
Hackett would be Pittsburgh's coach for the next three seasons, but he was fired before the final game after amassing a 12-20-1 record. Slocum and the Aggies would win three SWC titles in the next four years.
Statistics
References
{{Texas A&M Aggies bowl game navbox
Sun Bowl
The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose Bowl. ...
Sun Bowl
Pittsburgh Panthers football bowl games
Texas A&M Aggies football bowl games
December 1989 sports events in the United States