The 1995 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 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

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a ...

and the

Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and wh ...

Background

This was the first Independence Bowl to have an at large bid for 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 ...

, which continued on until 2009. The Spartans were 5th in 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 ...

in Nick Saban's first year with the program. LSU was 4th in the Western Division of the

in Gerry DiNardo's first year with the program as well. This was the first Independence Bowl for both teams.

Game summary

Muhsin Muhammad Muhsin Muhammad II (; born Melvin Darnell Campbell Jr. May 5, 1973) is a former American football wide receiver who played for the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). Muhammad played college football for ...

gave the Spartans the lead after catching a touchdown pass from Tony Banks in the first quarter. LSU tied the game on a touchdown run before the quarter ended. Michigan State took the lead again on a Greene touchdown run. A kickoff return for a touchdown by the Spartans along with a field goal by Gardner made it 24-7.

Eddie Kennison Eddie Joseph Kennison, III (born January 20, 1973) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Louisiana State University and was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the first round of the 1996 NFL Draft. Kennison ...

, however, would give the Tigers life. A 92-yard kickoff return narrowed the lead to 10, and Kevin Faulk's 51 yard touchdown run made the halftime deficit 24-21. The second half was all LSU as Faulk ran for a second touchdown,

Gabe Northern Gabriel O'Kara Northern (born June 8, 1974) is a former American football linebacker and defensive end who played for five seasons with the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team ...

recovered a fumble 37 yards for a touchdown, and Kennison caught a touchdown pass from

Herb Tyler Herb Tyler is a former American football player. He was a quarterback for the LSU Tigers from 1995 to 1998. College In 1995, Tyler, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, went to Louisiana State University (LSU) Late in his freshman season, Tyler r ...

to give LSU a 42-24 lead by the time the fourth quarter started. The final period had only a LSU field goal and a Spartan safety as the Spartans' six turnovers and limited success with rushing doomed them as LSU won their first Independence Bowl. MVP Kevin Faulk had 234 yards on 25 carries for an average of 9.5 yards. Both the yards and yards per carry are Independence Bowl records.

Aftermath

The Tigers returned to Shreveport for the Independence Bowl two years later, in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

. The Spartans have not returned to Shreveport since this game. Saban left Michigan State for LSU after the 1999 season.

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 LSU Tigers football bowl games Michigan State Spartans football bowl games December 1995 sports events in the United States 1995 in sports in Louisiana {{Collegefootball-bowl-stub