The 1986 California 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 that featured the

Miami Redskins The Miami RedHawks are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Miami is a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Divis ...

and the

San Jose State Spartans The San Jose State Spartans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San José State University. SJSU sports teams compete in the Mountain West Conference (MW) at the NCAA Division I level, with football competing in the Football B ...

Background

Miami was champion of the

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 ...

for the first time since 1977. San Jose State was champion of the

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 ...

for the 5th time in 9 years.

Game summary

Quarterback Mike Perez went 21-of-37 for 291 yards for 3 touchdowns in an MVP effort. * San Jose State – Olivarez 45 yard field goal * Miami (Ohio) – Stofa 20 yard touchdown pass from Terry Morris (Gussman kick) * San Jose State – Saxon 1 yard touchdown run (Olivarez kick) * San Jose State – Liggins 36 yard touchdown pass from Perez (Olivarez kick) * San Jose State – Malauulu 4 yard touchdown pass from Perez (Olivarez kick) * San Jose State – Liggins 31 yard touchdown pass from Perez (Olivarez kick) * San Jose State – Alexander 39 yard touchdown interception return (kick failed)

Aftermath

Miami would not play in a bowl game again until

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

while San Jose State went to two more bowl games in the next three years (

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

and

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

) before going on a 16-year bowl drought.

Statistics

References

{{San Jose State Spartans 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 Miami RedHawks football bowl games San Jose State Spartans football bowl games

Bowl A bowl is a typically round dish or container generally used for preparing, serving, or consuming food. The interior of a bowl is characteristically shaped like a spherical cap, with the edges and the bottom forming a seamless curve. This makes ...