The 1995

CompUSA CompUSA was a retailer and reseller of personal computers, consumer electronics, technology products and computer services. Starting with one brick-and-mortar store in 1986 under the name Soft Warehouse, by the 1990s CompUSA had grown into a natio ...

Florida Citrus Bowl Camping World Stadium is a stadium in Orlando, Florida, located in the West Lakes neighborhood of Downtown Orlando, west of new sports and entertainment facilities including the Amway Center, the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, an ...

, part of the 1994 bowl game season, took place on January 2, 1995, at the

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

. The competing teams were the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a mem ...

, representing the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC), and the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree ...

of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

(Big Ten). Alabama was victorious in by a final score of 24–17. This was the 49th Citrus Bowl played.

Teams

Alabama

The 1994 Alabama squad finished the regular season undefeated and as champions of the SEC Western Division, only to lose to

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 ...

in the

SEC Championship Game The SEC Championship Game is an annual American football game that has determined the Southeastern Conference's season champion since 1992. The championship game pits the SEC East Division regular season champion against the West Division regula ...

by one point to finish with an 11–1 record. Following their loss against Florida, the Crimson Tide accepted an invitation to play in the Florida Citrus Bowl as the SEC runner-up. The appearance marked the first for Alabama in the Florida Citrus Bowl, and their 47th overall

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 ...

Ohio State

The 1994 Ohio State squad finished the regular season with losses to

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 ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

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 ...

to finish with a record of 9–3. Following their victory over

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 ...

to end a seven-game losing streak against their

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

, the Buckeyes clinched a spot in the Florida Citrus Bowl as Big Ten runner-up. Their appearance marked the third for Ohio State in the Florida Citrus Bowl, and their 27th overall bowl game.

Game summary

The first quarter was scoreless, with Ohio State missing a field goal and Alabama having one blocked. Play was briefly interrupted at one point by a dog that had wandered on the field. In the second quarter Alabama reached the endzone on a nine-yard Tarrant Lynch touchdown run to cap a 16 play, 80 yard drive and take a 7–0 lead. Ohio State responded with a pair of

Joey Galloway Joseph Scott Galloway (born November 20, 1971) is an American former professional football player who is an analyst with ESPN. He was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). Galloway was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks with the ...

touchdown receptions. With each coming from quarterback

Bobby Hoying Bobby Hoying (born September 20, 1972) is a former college and professional American football quarterback. He is the grandson of baseball player Wally Post, who played 15 years in the Major Leagues. Post was an outfielder for the Cincinnati Re ...

, the first was good from 69 yards and the second from 11 to give the Buckeyes a 14–7 lead. The Crimson Tide tied the game just before the half when Sherman Williams scored from seven yards out to knot the game at 14–14. After a scoreless third, each team hit a

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

to bring the score to 17–17. Alabama scored the game-winning touchdown with only 0:42 remaining in the game when

Jay Barker Jay Barker (born Harry Jerome Barker on July 20, 1972) is a retired professional American football quarterback. He is currently a Birmingham radio personality. Football career Barker attended Hewitt-Trussville High School in Trussville, Alab ...

hit Williams for a 50-yard touchdown reception and a 24–17 Crimson Tide victory. The halftime show that day was a real spectacle, having over 2,000 cheerleaders and baton twirlers from all over the nation performing for the crowd.

References

{{Ohio State Buckeyes bowl game navbox

Citrus Bowl (game) Alabama Crimson Tide football bowl games Ohio State Buckeyes football bowl games