The 1992 Independence 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 between the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and the Oregon Ducks.

Background

The Ducks finished 6th in the Pac-10 Conference. The Demon Deacons rebounded from a 1–3 start to win six of their next seven games to finish fourth in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

. This was Wake Forest's first bowl game since 1979 and Oregon's first since 1990.

Game summary

John Leach scored on a touchdown run to give Wake Forest a 7–0 lead. But Oregon would dominate the quarter and the first half with a Sean Burwell touchdown run from 40 yards and ended the quarter on a

Herman O'Berry Herman Lee O'Berry (born July 11, 1971) is a former American football defensive back in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected in the seventh round of the 1995 NFL Draft. He played nine games for the St. Louis Rams in 1996. He played ...

24 yard fumble recovery for a touchdown to have a 13–7 lead at the end of one quarter. Wake Forest narrowed the lead on a Mike Green field goal, but Oregon increased their lead on a Vince Ferry touchdown catch from

Danny O'Neil Danny O'Neil (born August 4, 1971) is a former American football quarterback. O'Neil was a star high school quarterback at Mater Dei in Orange County, California and was heavily recruited by Alabama and USC but chose to play for Rich Brooks at t ...

, with a Thompson field goal making it 22–10 with :47 remaining in the half. Oregon increased their lead to 29–10 on an

Alex Molden Alex M. Molden (born August 4, 1973) is a former American football defensive back who was drafted 11th in the 1996 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. He played defensive back between 1996 and 2004 for the New Orleans Saints, the San Diego Cha ...

interception return for a touchdown with 9:43 in the third. Wake Forest took over from this point, scoring 29 straight points in the third and fourth. Ned Moultrie made it 29–17 on a touchdown run with less than four minutes remaining in the 3rd. Todd Dixon made it 29–24 on a 30 yard touchdown catch from Keith West with :45 in the quarter. Dixon caught another touchdown pass, this time from Bobby Jones, to give the Deacons a 32–29 lead after the two point conversion succeeded. Leach scored his second touchdown from 6 yards out to make it 39–29 with 5:19 remaining. Ronnie Harris scored for the Ducks on a 10 yard touchdown pass from O'Neil to make it 39–35 (after a missed kick) with 1:05 remaining, but the Demon Deacons held on to win their first bowl game since

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

Aftermath

Dooley retired after the bowl win, and the Demon Deacons would not return to a bowl game until

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

. As for Oregon, they returned to a bowl game three years later, in the Rose Bowl. Neither team has returned to the Independence Bowl since this game.

Statistics

References

Independence Bowl Independence Bowl Oregon Ducks football bowl games Wake Forest Demon Deacons football bowl games December 1992 sports events in the United States 1992 in sports in Louisiana {{collegefootball-bowl-stub