For those of you who caught the brief feature from Monday, this is simply a quiz that asks you to identify the college football bowl game in question. If you want to read the feature first, go to this link:
Here are the correct answers to the bowl quiz:
1) Knowing the answer to the first part of this question gets you to the second part. The 1990 edition of the game was known as the Blockbuster Bowl—named after the giant video rental company. Bend, OR is home to the last Blockbuster store in the country. After a series of name changes, this bowl is known as the Cheez-It Bowl.
2) Terry Baker is Oregon State’s one and only Heisman Trophy winner. His record-setting 99 yard touchdown run came in the Liberty Bowl, which was held in Philadelphia at the time—now played in Memphis, Tennessee. Here is a video remembrance with the legendary Terry Baker:
3) I vividly remember watching this game on television and cheering like a crazy man. Boise State’s surprising leap onto the national college football stage took place back in 2007 at the Fiesta Bowl, when the Broncos used the Statue of Liberty play to stun Oklahoma 43-42 in overtime. Here is a video clip of that famous play:
4) This bowl game has always been a lesser bowl in terms of prestige, but has been a part of college football history since 1914. Linfield College played in the Camellia Bowl in 1961 in one of six NAIA football championship games in history, and one of three held at the bowl site in Sacramento, California. The Wildcats lost to the Pittsburg Gorillas 12-7. These days, the Camellia Bowl is now held in Montgomery, Alabama. Below is a remembrance from that 1961 game.
5) Held in festive Shreveport, Louisiana—the Independence Bowl name has been hijacked by corporate sponsors a couple of times. For the Oregon Ducks in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was better known as the Poulon Weedeater Bowl. This bowl, established in 1976, was first called the Bicentennial Bowl.
6) With just 15 thousand seats for fans, the Bahamas Bowl is better known for its tropical locale. The first game of the event in 2014 was won by Western Kentucky 49-48, but at one point, the Hilltoppers led Central Michigan 49-14 before the Chippewas mounted a spirited second half comeback.
7) The 1984 Holiday Bowl hosted a controversial national championship celebration for Brigham Young. The top ranked Cougars faced unranked Michigan in San Diego’s Jack Murphy Stadium, and overcame six turnovers to beat the Wolverines 24-17. The BYU title was considered one of the most debated in college football history.
8) In what was a semi-final of the College Football Playoff bracket, the 2015 Rose Bowl was won handily by the Oregon Ducks and QB Marcus Mariota. The Ducks overwhelmed Jameis Winston’s Florida State team by a final sore of 59-20. The Ducks would go on to lose in the national championship game to Ohio State.
9) The 2001 GMAC Bowl is the highest scoring bowl on record. Marshall out-thundered East Carolina 64-61. The two teams recorded better than 1100 yards in total offense, and Marshall came back from a 38-8 halftime deficit to force overtime and produce the win. The Thundering Herd’s Byron Leftwich tied the NCAA bowl record with 576 passing yards. The current name of the contest is the Lending Tree Bowl, headquartered in Mobile, Alabama.
10) The bowl game that covers the coach of the winning team with its product, is the Duke’s Mayo Bowl—played in Charlotte, North Carolina. Don’t believe me? Here is photographic proof from the 2021 game, won by South Carolina and coach Shane Beamer, 38-21, over North Carolina.
11) Played in the Mexican border town of El Paso Texas,, the Sun Bowl played its first contest at the stadium named for the event in 1963. The Oregon Ducks, guided by legendary coach Len Casanova, defeated SMU 21-14. It was the only bowl victory in Casanova’s storied coaching career.
12) Hurricane Katrina devastated all of the greater New Orleans area in late 2005, including the Louisiana Superdome. That forced Sugar Bowl organizers to relocate the 2006 game to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. In the contest, highly favored Georgia was upset by West Virginia 38-35. The Mountaineers jumped out to a 21-0 advantage, and held on for the victory.
Here’s hoping you had a small measure of fun in determining the answers to the bowl game questions. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone!