1986 Mazda Gator Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Date | December 27, 1986 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Season | 1986 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Stadium | Gator Bowl Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||
Location | Jacksonville, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||
MVP | Rodney Williams (QB, Clemson) Brad Muster (RB, Stanford) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Referee | Richard Burleson (SEC) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Attendance | 80,104 | ||||||||||||||||||||
United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
Network | CBS | ||||||||||||||||||||
Announcers | Verne Lundquist, Pat Haden, and John Dockery | ||||||||||||||||||||
The 1986 Gator Bowl (December) game was a post-season college football bowl game between the Stanford Cardinal and the Clemson Tigers, played on December 27, 1986, at Gator Bowl Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. It was the 42nd edition of the bowl game. Through a sponsorship agreement announced in November, the bowl was officially known as the Mazda Gator Bowl. [1]
Under third-year head coach Jack Elway, Stanford was making its first bowl appearance since the 1978 Bluebonnet Bowl. The Cardinal was led by running back Brad Muster, who was only the second Cardinal back to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season. [2] Stanford's starting quarterback, John Paye, was sidelined for the game due to a shoulder injury and backup Greg Ennis was named the starter. [2] [3]
The champions of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Clemson had recorded ties in its last two regular season games. [2] Under head coach Danny Ford, the Tigers were led by tailbacks Kenny Flowers and Terrence Flagler. [2]
Clemson completely dominated the first half of the game, recording 291 yards of offense and 15 first downs, and scored touchdowns on runs from quarterback Rodney Williams and backs Chris Lancaster and Ray Williams. [3] David Treadwell added two field goals to put the Tigers up 27–0 at halftime. [3]
Stanford recovered in the second half, holding the Tigers scoreless while gradually bringing the score closer. Muster scored on a one-yard run in the third quarter, and then twice more on fourth quarter passes from Ennis. [3] The Cardinal had several chances to tie or win the game, but Ennis was intercepted inside the 10-yard line on one drive, and turned the ball over on downs with less than two minutes remaining. [3] [4]
This was Coach Elway's only winning season with the Cardinal. This was the first of a run of three straight ACC titles for Danny Ford's Clemson teams.
Muster and Rodney Williams shared Most Valuable Player honors. Muster would go on to play for the NFL's Chicago Bears. Junior Clemson kicker David Treadwell was named a 1987 consensus All-American and would go on to a successful NFL kicking career with the Denver Broncos and New York Giants.
Through the first 75 editions of the Gator Bowl (1946–2020), Stanford's appearance in 1986 was the only time that a Pac-10 or Pac-12 team played in the bowl.
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, usually contested on or around New Year's Day. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first televised nationally. The game was originally played at Gator Bowl Stadium through the December 1993 game. The December 1994 game was played at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville after the namesake stadium was demolished to make way for a replacement venue, Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. That venue, now known as EverBank Stadium, has been home to the Gator Bowl since the January 1996 game.
The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The program was previously in the Pac-12 Conference. The team is known as the Cardinal, adopted prior to the 1982 season. Stanford was known as the "Cardinal" for its first two decades of athletic competition, then more commonly as the "Cardinals" until 1930. The name was changed to the "Indians" from 1930 to January 1972, and back to the "Cardinals" from 1972 through 1981. A student vote in December 1975 to change the nickname to "Robber Barons" was not approved by administrators.
Jerry O'Dell Butler is an American former professional football player who spent his entire career as a wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL) from 1979 to 1986. He played college football for the Clemson Tigers. He was selected in the first round of the 1979 NFL draft with the fifth overall pick. Butler was a Pro Bowl selection in 1980. In his career, he caught 278 receptions for 4,301 yards and 29 touchdowns.
John Paye is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL), and also a former high school basketball coach. He is the older brother of Kate Paye, who is currently the head coach of the Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team.
The 2007 Stanford vs. USC football game was an NCAA college football game held on October 6, 2007, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. In a remarkable upset, the visiting Stanford Cardinal won 24–23 despite USC having been favored by 41 points entering the game. This result was the biggest point spread upset of all time in college football. USC entered the game with a 35-game home game winning streak which included a 24-game home game winning streak in Pac-10 play. By contrast, Stanford had compiled a Pac-10 worst 1–11 season in 2006, which included a 42–0 loss to USC. To compound the situation, Stanford's starting quarterback T. C. Ostrander had suffered a seizure the week before and his replacement, backup quarterback Tavita Pritchard, had never started a game and had thrown just three passes in official play.
The 2006 Gator Bowl was a college football bowl game between the Louisville Cardinals and the Virginia Tech Hokies at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, on January 2, 2006. The game was the final contest of the 2005 football season for each team and resulted in a 35–24 Virginia Tech victory. Louisville represented the Big East Conference, and Virginia Tech represented the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in the competition.
The 2001 Gator Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the Clemson Tigers and the Virginia Tech Hokies at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida on January 1, 2001. The game was the final contest of the 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season for both teams, and ended in a 41–20 victory for Virginia Tech.
The 1988 Oregon State Beavers football team represented Oregon State University in the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Beavers started the season 3–3–1, their best start in 20 years but lost all but one of their remaining games to post their 18th consecutive losing season. The Beavers' 4–6–1 record was their best record between 1971 and 1998.
The 2009 Brut Sun Bowl game was the 76th edition of the annual college football bowl game known as the Sun Bowl. The Oklahoma Sooners defeated the Stanford Cardinal 31–27 on December 31, 2009. It was the two teams' fifth meeting. The game featured two conference tie-ins: the University of Oklahoma represented the Big 12 Conference and Stanford University represented the Pacific-10 Conference. The game was played at the Sun Bowl Stadium on the University of Texas at El Paso campus in El Paso, Texas.
The 1985 Oregon State Beavers football team represented Oregon State University in the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Beavers started the season 2–0, their best start in 18 years, but lost all but one of their remaining games to post their 18th consecutive losing season. The Beavers' 3–8 record was their best in seven years. The 1985 season is best known for Oregon State's 21–20 win over Washington, the largest point spread upset before Stanford's 2007 win over USC.
The 2010 Stanford Cardinal football team represented Stanford University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cardinal were led by head coach Jim Harbaugh, who was in his 4th and final season before leaving to become head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Harbaugh ended his four-year tenure at Stanford having taken a team that finished 1–11 in the year prior to his arrival, to a team that ended the regular season 11–1. They played their home games at Stanford Stadium and were members of the Pacific-10 Conference.
The 2011 Stanford Cardinal football team represented Stanford University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS college football season. The Cardinal were led by former offensive coordinator and new head coach David Shaw, as Jim Harbaugh departed following the 2010 season in order to become the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. They played their home games at Stanford Stadium and are members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season with 11–2 in overall record, 8–1 in Pac-12 play to finish in a tie with Oregon for first place in the North Division. Due to their head-to-head loss to Oregon, they did not represent the division in the inaugural Pac-12 Football Championship Game. They were invited the Fiesta Bowl, their second consecutive BCS game, where they were defeated by Oklahoma State 38–41 in overtime.
The 1986 Clemson Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Clemson University in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its ninth season under head coach Danny Ford, the team compiled an 8–2–2 record, won the ACC championship, defeated Stanford in the 1986 Gator Bowl, and outscored opponents by a total of 296 to 187. The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.
The 2013 Stanford Cardinal football team represented Stanford University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cardinal were led by third-year head coach David Shaw. They played their home games at Stanford Stadium and were members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.
The 1977 Sun Bowl game was a post-season college football bowl game, part of the bowl schedule of the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. Played on Saturday, December 31, it matched the LSU Tigers of the Southeastern Conference and the Stanford Cardinals of the Pacific-8 Conference at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. It was the 44th edition of the Sun Bowl.
The 1991 Aloha Bowl (December) was a post-season college football bowl game between the Stanford Cardinal and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets played on December 25, 1991, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was the tenth edition of the bowl game.
The 2015 Stanford Cardinal football team represented Stanford University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cardinal were led by fifth-year head coach David Shaw. They played their home games at Stanford Stadium and were members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.
The 1989 Gator Bowl was held on December 30, 1989, at the Gator Bowl Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. The 14th-ranked Clemson Tigers defeated the 17th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers by a score of 27–7. For sponsorship reasons, the game was officially known as the Mazda Gator Bowl.
The 1949 Gator Bowl was a college football post-season bowl game that featured the Missouri Tigers and the Clemson Tigers.