Black athletes stand out in bowl contests

Jet, Jan 22, 1996

Black college football players saved their best efforts for the bowl-the recent block of holiday bowl games, that is.

There seemed to be more bowl games before and after the New Year than there were Christmas specials. Bowls such as the Sun Bowl, Car Quest Bowl, Citrus Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl and the Heritage Bowl, to name a few, were blaring on the air and radio waves across the nation.

Jet picked out some of the choice bowls where Blacks made significant contributions.

Fiesta Bowl Nebraska 68, Florida 84

Senior quarterback Tommy Frazier rushed for 199 yards-a school bowl record-and two touchdowns and tailback Lawrence Phillips also scored three touchdowns on 165 yards rushing to spearhead a Nebraska attack that mercilessly punished Florida in Tempe, AZ.

The victory lifted Nebraska to the No. 1 ranking in the country and helped Frazier close out a brilliant career after he missed most of last season with a blood clot in his leg.

Nebraska bolstered its unbeaten streak to 25 games over a two-year period. The Cornhuskers were 12-0 this season. Florida closed the year at 12-1.

Heritage Bowl Southern 30, Florida A&M 85

All-Conference quarterback Eric Randall connected on 16 of 25 passes for 190 yards to lead the Southern Jaguars to a win in the Black college football national championship, the Heritage Bowl in Atlanta.

Southern's head coach Pete Richardson continued the Southwestern Athletic Conference's (SWAC) dominance over their opponents from the Mideastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). The SWAC has a 4-1 record over the MEAC in the Heritage Bowl.

The Jaguars finished the year with an 11-1 record, including a win over Grambling and legendary coach Eddie Robinson at the Bayou Classic in November 1995.

"I'm excited for our football team. Our players had a fantastic year," Richardson said.

Florida A&M finished with a 9-3 record and a No. 3 ranking in the Black college football polls.

Gatol Bowl Syracuse 41, Clemson 0

Freshman quarterback Donovan McNabb worked the quarterback option to perfection to lead the Syracuse Orangemen to a sparkling triumph over Clemson in Jacksonville, FL.

McNabb threw for three touch-downs and 309 yards on 13 of 23 passing. He ran for another touch-down to hand the Tigers their worst postseason loss ever. Syracuse finished the season with a 9-3 record.

Rose Bowl USC 41, Northwestern 32

Wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson caught 12 passes for 216 yards to help the USC Trojans take the bloom out of "Cinderella" Northwestern's rosy season in Pasadena, CA.

The Trojans, known primarily for their great tailbacks, made air strikes against the Wildcats for 391 yards, with Johnson picking up the lion's share.

The senior Johnson was named the game's Most Valuable Player.

Northwestern, competing in only the second Rose Bowl in the school's history, made a game of it. The Wildcats were led by running back Darnell Autry, who rushed 32 times for 110 yards and three touchdowns.

USC closed out the season with a 9-2-1 record, while Northwestern was 10-2.

Liber Bowl E. Carolina 19, Stanford 13

Place-kicker Chad Holcolmb booted a career-high four field goals in a game and a first-quarter interception by Daren Hart helped the East Carolina Pirates (9-4) to a win over the Stanford Cardinal (7-4-1) in Memphis, TN.

The highly touted Pirates offense, in which Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jeff Blake ran in his day, could only muster Holcomb's field goals.

But the Pirates defense had the Cardinal on their heels most of the game.