The 1985 California Bowl, referred to as "The Bowling Green Massacre," was an American

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 ...

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 ...

played on December 14, 1985 at

Bulldog Stadium Valley Children's Stadium, also known as Jim Sweeney Field at Bulldog Stadium, is an outdoor college football stadium in the western United States, located on the campus of California State University, Fresno in Fresno, California. It is the home ...

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

. The game pitted the

Fresno State Bulldogs The Fresno State Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent California State University, Fresno (commonly referred to as Fresno State). The university is a member of NCAA Division I's Mountain West Conference (MW). It was a ...

and the

Bowling Green Falcons The Bowling Green Falcons are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Bowling Green State University (BGSU), in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The Falcons compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Divi ...

Background

The Falcons won every single regular season game, opening the season with a 31-6 trouncing of Ball State. They defeated their two non-conference opponents (Kentucky and Akron) while winning every MAC game by at least four points. This was the second

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

title for the Falcons in four seasons. Coach Stolz announced before the game that he would leave the program for San Diego State. Fresno State did not lose any game in the regular season, with only a tie to Hawaii being the one blemish en route to their third

Pacific Coast Athletic Association The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

title in eight years and second California Bowl appearance in four seasons, which was also against Bowling Green.

Game summary

*Fresno State - James Williams 10 yard touchdown run (Belli kick), 9:29, 1st qtr. *Fresno State - Anthony Mosley 1 yard touchdown run (Belli kick), 8:02, 2nd qtr. *Fresno State - Gene Taylor 33 yard touchdown pass from Kevin Sweeney (Belli kick), 6:59, 2nd qtr. *Fresno State - Safety, Brian McClure tackled in end zone, 4:39, 2nd qtr. *Fresno State - Gene Taylor 53 yard touchdown pass from Kevin Sweeney (Belli kick), 10:08, 3rd qtr. *Fresno State - Kelly Skipper 29 yard touchdown run (Belli kick), 3:09, 3rd qtr. *Bowling Green - Jeff Davis 18 yard touchdown run (Silvi kick), 14:28, 4th qtr. *Fresno State - Stephen Baker 40 yard touchdown pass from Kevin Sweeney (Belli kick), 8:56, 4th qtr. *Fresno State - Kelly Skipper 13 yard touchdown run (Belli kick), 5:57, 4th qtr. The Falcons had committed just five turnovers the whole season. In the California Bowl, they turned the ball over eight times (five fumbles, three interceptions). Fresno State had 225 rushing yards and 194 passing yards. Bowling Green had 89 rushing yards and 259 passing yards. For Bowling Green, Brian McClure went 22-of-42 passes for 254 yards with 3 interceptions. Kevin Sweeney (son of coach Jim Sweeney) went 9-of-19 for 185 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. Fresno State’s Mike Mancini was named MVP; first punter to be selected as an MVP in a college football bowl game.

Aftermath

Fresno State made two more bowl games before the decade ended, both of them being in the California Bowl. The two teams met again in the California Bowl in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

References

{{Fresno State Bulldogs bowl game navbox

California Bowl The California Bowl (later the California Raisin Bowl) was a post-season college football bowl game played annually at Bulldog Stadium in Fresno, California, from 1981 to 1991. The game featured the champions of the Big West Conference (known p ...

California Bowl Bowling Green Falcons football bowl games Fresno State Bulldogs football bowl games