Independence Bowl history

1976 Independence Bowl
McNEESE STATE 20, TULSA 16
Oliver Hadnot’s 25-yard run in the fourth quarter gave the McNeese State Cowboys the victory in the inaugural Independence Bowl. McNeese’s Terry McFarland, who ran for 71 yards, and Tulsa’s Terry Clark were named the outstanding offensive and defensive players.

1977 Independence Bowl
LA. TECH 24, LOUISVILLE 14
Louisiana Tech quarterback Keith Thibodeaux threw a pair of touchdown passes in a 21-point first quarter to lead the Bulldogs past the Cardinals. Thibodeaux was named the game’s outstanding offensive player while future Chicago Bears linebacker Otis Wilson of Louisville was named the outstanding defensive player.

1978 Independence Bowl
EAST CAROLINA 35, LOUISIANA TECH 13
East Carolina’s Theodore Sutton rushed for an I-Bowl record 143 yards and a touchdown to lead the Pirates to the victory over the Bulldogs. Sutton was named the game’s outstanding offensive player while Zack Valentine of East Carolina claimed the outstanding defensive player award.

1979 Independence Bowl
SYRACUSE 31, McNEESE STATE 7
Future NFL star Joe Morris rushed for an I-Bowl record 155 yards and future NFL great Art Monk caught a touchdown pass to lead the Syracuse Orangemen to victory. Morris was named the game’s outstanding offensive player and McNeese’s Clay Carroll earned outstanding defensive player honors.

1980 Independence Bowl
SOUTHERN MISS 16, McNEESE STATE 14
Southern Miss’ Mike Woodard scored on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter to lead the Golden Eagles to a two-point victory over McNeese State. McNeese’s Stephen Starring, who later played for the New England Patriots, earned outstanding offensive player honors with 82 receiving yards. USM nose guard Jerald Baylis claimed the defensive award.

1981 Independence Bowl
TEXAS A&M; 33, OKLAHOMA STATE 16
In the bowl’s first “open-ended” game, the Southwest Conference’s Texas A&M; Aggies defeated the Big Eight’s Oklahoma State Cowboys in front of a record crowd of 48,600 at Independence Stadium. Texas A&M;’s Gary Kubiak, who later went on to play and coach in the NFL, was named the outstanding offensive player. Oklahoma State’s Mike Green was named the outstanding defensive player.

1982 Independence Bowl
WISCONSIN 14, KANSAS STATE 3
On a brutally cold night, Wisconsin used a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback Randy Wright to defeat the Wildcats. Wright was named the game’s outstanding offensive player while future NFL player Tim Krumrie claimed the defensive award for the Badgers.

1983 Independence Bowl
AIR FORCE 9, OLE MISS 3
Air Force’s Sean Pavlich kicked three field goals on a rainy night in Shreveport to defeat the Rebels. Pavlich’s kicks covered 44, 39 and 27 yards. Air Force quarterback Marty Latham was named the outstanding offensive player while Ole Miss linebacker Andre Townsend took home defensive honors.

1984 Independence Bowl
AIR FORCE 23, VIRGINIA TECH 7
After falling behind 7-3 in the first quarter, Air Force reeled off 20 unanswered points to defeat the Hokies. Air Force quarterback Bart Weiss was named the outstanding offensive player while the Falcons’ Scott Thomas won the defensive award.


1985 Independence Bowl
MINNESOTA 20, CLEMSON 13
Minnesota’s Valdez Baylor scored on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter to lead the Golden Gophers to the victory over Clemson. Minnesota quarterback Rickey Foggie, who passed for a touchdown and ran for 60 yards, was named the game’s outstanding offensive player. His teammate, Bruce Holmes, won the defensive honor.

1986 Independence Bowl
OLE MISS 20, TEXAS TECH 17
Bryan Owen kicked a 48-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to give the Rebels the victory over the Red Raiders. Ole Miss quarterback Mark Young, who had a school bowl record 314 yards total offense, was named the game’s outstanding offensive player. Texas Tech’s James Moseley earned the defensive award.

1987 Independence Bowl
WASHINGTON 24, TULANE 12
Future NFL quarterback Chris Chandler threw for 234 yards and a touchdown to lead the Huskies to the victory over the Green Wave. Chandler was named the game’s outstanding offensive player despite being intercepted three times. Washington linebacker David Rill, who made 12 tackles, was named the game’s outstanding defensive player.

1988 Independence Bowl
SOUTHERN MISS 38, UTEP 18
Future NFL star Brett Favre passed for 157 yards and a touchdown, but the star of the game was USM defensive back James Henry. He returned two punts for touchdowns -- 65 and 45 yards -- and earned both offensive and defensive outstanding player awards.

1989 Independence Bowl
OREGON 27, TULSA 24
The Oregon Ducks rallied with 10 fourth-quarter points to defeat the Golden Hurricane. Oregon quarterback Bill Musgrave ran 1 yard for the tying touchdown and Gregg McCallum made a 20-yard field goal for the win. Musgrave earned outstanding offensive player honors and Oregon defensive back Chris Oldham earned the honors on defense.

1990 Independence Bowl
MARYLAND 34, LA. TECH 34
Maryland and Louisiana Tech played to the only tie in I-Bowl history as the Terrapins used a 14-6 fourth-quarter scoring advantage to tie. Tech running back Michael Richardson rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns to earn offensive outstanding player honors. Louisiana Tech linebacker Lorenza Baker of Haughton earned outstanding defensive player honors.

1991 Independence Bowl
GEORGIA 24, ARKANSAS 15
Georgia wide receiver Andre Hastings ran 53 yards for a touchdown and caught a 27-yard pass for another score to lead the Bulldogs to the victory over their future SEC foe. Hastings was named the game’s outstanding offensive player. Georgia’s Torrey Evans claimed the defensive honor.

1992 Independence Bowl
WAKE FOREST 39, OREGON 35
Wake Forest rallied with a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter to erase a 12-point halftime deficit and defeat the Ducks. Wake Forest wide receiver Todd Dixon, who caught five passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns, was named the game’s outstanding offensive player. Oregon’s Herman O’Berry was named the outstanding defensive player.

1993 Independence Bowl
VIRGINIA TECH 45, INDIANA 20
The Hokies used a 21-point second quarter and a 17-point fourth quarter to rout the Hoosiers. Future NFL star Antonio Freeman had 66 yards receiving and a touchdown. Quarterback Maurice DeShazo, who threw two touchdown passes, was named the game’s outstanding offensive player. Teammate Antonio Banks won the defensive award.



1994 Independence Bowl
VIRGINIA 20, TCU 10
The Cavaliers took a 10-point win over the Horned Frogs in the last appearance of any Southwest Conference team in Independence Bowl history. Virginia’s Mike Groh was named the outstanding offensive player while teammate Mike Frederick won the defensive award.

1995 Independence Bowl
LSU 45, MICHIGAN STATE 26
In the first year with an SEC tie-in, the LSU Tigers came to Shreveport and played before an I-Bowl record crowd of 48,835 fans. The Tigers won behind Kevin Faulk’s record-setting 234 yards rushing. Faulk was named the game’s outstanding offensive player while defensive end Gabe Northern won the defensive award. Among the future NFL players in the game were Michigan State quarterback Tony Banks and wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad.

1996 Independence Bowl
AUBURN 32, ARMY 29
The Army Cadets scored 22 fourth-quarter points but fell short of a tie with a missed field goal as time expired. Auburn quarterback Dameyune Craig, who passed for one touchdown and ran for another, was named the game’s outstanding offensive player. Auburn teammates Rickey Neal and current NFL Pro Bowler Takeo Spikes shared the defensive award.

1997 Independence Bowl
LSU 27, NOTRE DAME 9
The Independence Bowl brought one of the great names in college football ? Notre Dame ? to Shreveport for a rematch with LSU. LSU running back Rondell Mealey, subbing for an injured Kevin Faulk, rushed for 222 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Tigers to the victory. Mealey was named the outstanding offensive player of the game while defensive end Arnold Miller won the defensive honors.

1998 Independence Bowl
OLE MISS 35, TEXAS TECH 18
Ole Miss quarterback Romaro Miller, playing through an injury, threw three touchdown passes and Deuce McAllister scored three touchdowns to lead the Rebels to the win in David Cutcliffe’s first game as head coach. Miller was named the game’s outstanding offensive player while Rebels defensive lineman Kendrick Clancy earned defensive honors.

1999 Independence Bowl
OLE MISS 27, OKLAHOMA 25
Les Binkley made a 39-yard field goal as time expired to give the Ole Miss Rebels the victory over the Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma quarterback Josh Heupel was named the game’s outstanding offensive player after throwing three touchdown passes. Ole Miss’ McAllister ran for 121 yards and a touchdown in the game. And Rebels cornerback Tim Strickland was named the outstanding defensive player.

2000 Independence Bowl
MISSISSIPPI STATE 43, TEXAS A&M; 41, OT
Mississippi State erased a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit in snowy conditions to force overtime and then won with a PAT return and a Wayne Madkin touchdown run. Texas A&M; running back Ja’Mar Toombs, who ran for 193 yards and three touchdowns, was named the game’s outstanding offensive players. Mississippi State defensive end Willie Blade, who blocked the Aggies’ overtime PAT, was named the game’s outstanding defensive player.

2001 Independence Bowl
ALABAMA 14, IOWA STATE 13
Iowa State’s Tony Yelk missed a 47-yard field goal attempt in the game’s final minute to help Alabama escape with the victory. Iowa State quarterback Seneca Wallace was named the game’s outstanding offensive player while teammate Matt Word and Alabama’s Waine Bacon shared defensive honors.

2002 Independence Bowl
OLE MISS 27, NEBRASKA 23
Eli Manning threw for 313 yards and a touchdown and Toward Sanford’s 1-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run put Ole Miss ahead for good as the Rebels upset the Cornhuskers. Manning was the game’s outstanding offensive player while Nebraska’s Chris Kelsay took home defensive honors after tallying five tackles and two sacks.


2003 Independence Bowl
ARKANSAS 27, MISSOURI 14
Cedric Cobbs rushed for 141 yards and a touchdown and Arkansas earned its first Independence Bowl victory. After trailing 7-3 at the end of the first quarter, the Razorbacks scored 18 points in the second quarter — including a 41-yard touchdown run from Cobbs. Missouri quarterback Brad Smith rushed for 96 yards in the defeat.

2004 Independence Bowl
Iowa State 17, Miami University 13
Iowa State’s Ryan Kock scored on a 1-yard run to give Iowa State the victory and the Big 12 its first win in the Independence Bowl since beginning a tie-in in 1998. Miami University was invited to the Independence Bowl after the Southeastern Conference was unable to fill all of its bowl slots after South Carolina removed itself from bowl consideration as discipline for a fight in the final regular season game against Clemson.

2005 Independence Bowl
Missouri 38, South Carolina 31
The Missouri Tigers erased a 21-point first-quarter deficit on their way to winning the 30th Independence Bowl. Missouri quarterback Brad Smith rushed for 150 yards and threw for 282 yards to take the MVP honors. South Carolina led 21-0 after a quarter, but Missouri's Marcus King intercepted a Blake Mitchell pass and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown to spark the Tigers' comeback.

2006 Independence Bowl
Oklahoma State 34, Alabama 31
Oklahoma State's Jason Ricks kicked a 27-yard field goal with 8 seconds remaining to give the Cowboys the victory over Alabama. Oklahoma State running back Dantrell Savage ran for 112 yards and a touchdown to earn offensive MVP honors. After trailing 24-14 at the half, Alabama tied the game at 31 with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns before Oklahoma State's game-winning field goal.