1988 Fiesta Bowl Explained

Year Game Played:1988
Title Sponsor:Sunkist
Game Name:Fiesta Bowl
Subheader:17th edition
Football Season:1987
Visitor Name Short:Florida State
Visitor Nickname:Seminoles
Home Name Short:Nebraska
Home Nickname:Cornhuskers
Visitor Record:10–1
Visitor Conference:Independent
Home Record:10–1
Home Conference:Big 8
Visitor Coach:Bobby Bowden
Home Coach:Tom Osborne
Visitor Rank Ap:3
Visitor Rank Coaches:3
Home Rank Ap:5
Home Rank Coaches:5
Visitor 1Q:0
Visitor 2Q:21
Visitor 3Q:3
Visitor 4Q:7
Home 1Q:14
Home 2Q:0
Home 3Q:14
Home 4Q:0
Date Game Played:January 1
Stadium:Sun Devil Stadium
City:Tempe, Arizona
Mvp:Danny McManus (FSU QB)
Neil Smith (NU DL)
Odds:Florida State by 3½ points [1] [2]
Referee:Wendell Shelton (SWC)
Attendance:72,112
Us Network:NBC
Us Announcers Link:List of announcers of major college bowl games
Us Announcers:Charlie Jones, Jimmy Cefalo
Ratings:7.9

The 1988 Sunkist Fiesta Bowl was the 17th edition of the college football bowl game played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona on Friday, January 1. Part of the 1987–88 bowl game season, it matched the third-ranked independent Florida State Seminoles and the #5 Nebraska Cornhuskers of the Big Eight Conference. Favored Florida State rallied to win 31–28.[3] [4] [5] [6]

Teams

See main article: 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season.

Florida State

See main article: 1987 Florida State Seminoles football team.

Nebraska

See main article: 1987 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team.

Game summary

Kickoff was just after 11:30 a.m. and underdog Nebraska scored first on a three-yard run by senior halfback Keith Jones with 9:31 left in the first quarter. With 1:15 left in the opening stanza, Dana Brinson fielded a punt and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown and Nebraska

Florida State got on the board in the second quarter when quarterback Danny McManus threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Herb Gainer. With under five minutes left in the first half, running back Dayne Williams scored from four yards out to tie the game at fourteen. With 44 seconds left in the half, McManus connected with Gainer on a 25-yard touchdown pass, marking their second hook-up of the game, and the Seminoles took a advantage into halftime.

Just over three minutes into the third quarter, Nebraska quarterback Steve Taylor notched the equalizer, rumbling in from two yards out to tie the game at 21. Florida State settled for a field goal for a lead. With forty seconds left in the quarter, running back Tyreese Knox scored on a four-yard run, giving Nebraska a

In the fourth quarter, Nebraska got the ball back on its 26-yard line. Following a methodical drive, they managed to move all the way to the FSU two-yard line for a first and goal. Knox took the handoff, looking for a sure touchdown, when a defender forced a fumble at the goal line, recovered by Florida State. Ten plays later, Florida State had advanced to the Nebraska 15 and McManus threw a touchdown pass to Ronald Lewis for the clinching

Scoring

First quarter:
Second quarter:
Third quarter:
Fourth quarter:

[5] [7] [8]

Statistics

Statistics Florida
State
 Nebraska 
First Downs 26 20
Rushes–yards29–8254–242
Passing yards 375 142
Passes 28–51–1 7–14–1
Total yards 457 384
Punts–average 4–304–36
Fumbles–lost 2–14–2
Turnovers by23
Penalties-yards 2–209–78
Time of possession 31:0728:53

[5] [7] [8]

Aftermath

Florida State climbed to second in the final AP poll and Nebraska fell

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: The latest line . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . January 1, 1988 . 28.
  2. News: Betting line . Reading Eagle . (Pennsylvania) . January 1, 1988 . 19.
  3. News: Fiesta foes search for No. 2 . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon) . Associated Press . January 1, 1988 . 3D.
  4. News: Other bowls: Fiesta . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Associated Press . January 1, 1988 . 26.
  5. News: Seminoles trip Nebraska, state their claim to No. 1 . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon) . (Los Angeles Times) . January 2, 1988 . 3B.
  6. News: McManus guides Florida State over Cornhuskers in Fiesta Bowl. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Associated Press . January 2, 1988 . 23.
  7. News: Fiesta Bowl . Reading Eagle . (Pennsylvania) . (box score) . January 2, 1988 . 8.
  8. Web site: Bowl games: 1988 Fiesta Bowl . https://web.archive.org/web/20200723001548/http://www.huskersnside.com/pdf4/18478.pdf . dead . July 23, 2020 . 2005 Nebraska Cornhuskers football media guide . (supplement). 2005.