1985 Bluebonnet Bowl
| 1985 Bluebonnet Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 31, 1985 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1985 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Rice Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Houston, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | RB Pat Evans | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 42,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | Lorimar Sports Network | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Tom Hammond and Gifford Nielsen | ||||||||||||||||||
The 1985 Bluebonnet Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game that featured the Texas Longhorns and the Air Force Falcons.
Background
The Falcons had the most victories in a season with 11, but a loss to rival BYU had cost them a shot at the national title and an outright Western Athletic Conference title. This was their fourth straight bowl appearance. As for Texas, they had finished tied for 2nd in the Southwest Conference in their 9th straight bowl appearance and 1st Bluebonnet Bowl since 1980. This was the first Bluebonnet Bowl since 1967 to be played in Rice Stadium.
Game summary
- Texas - Harris 34 pass from Stafford (Ward kick), 11:14 remaining
- Air Force - Pshsniak 1 run (Ruby kick), 3:37 remaining
- Air Force - Weiss 1 run (Ruby kick), 1:38 remaining
- Texas - Ward 24 FG, 6:19 remaining
- Air Force - Evans 19 run (Ruby kick), 3:35 remaining
- Texas - Ward 31 FG, 14:14 remaining
- Texas - Ward 28 FG, 7:34 remaining
- Air Force - Ruby 40 FG, :43 remaining
Pat Evans had 18 carries for 129 yards in an MVP effort.[1]
Aftermath
Texas did not make a bowl game the following season, and Akers was fired soon after. The Falcons finished 8th ranked in the polls, which remains their highest ranking ever.
Statistics
| Statistics | Air Force | Texas |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 17 | 14 |
| Rushing Yards | 189 | 214 |
| Interceptions | 0 | 2 |
| Passing Yards | 5 | 88 |
| Punts-Average | 11-49.2 | 6-44.5 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-Yards | 6-45 | 8-67 |