1988 Liberty Bowl

The 1988 Liberty Bowl, a college football postseason bowl game, took place on December 28, 1988, at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. The competing teams in the 30th Liberty Bowl were the Indiana Hoosiers of the Big Ten Conference, and the South Carolina Gamecocks, who competed as a I-A independent. In what was the first ever meeting between the schools, Indiana was victorious in by a final score of 34–10.

1988 Liberty Bowl
30th Liberty Bowl
Indiana Hoosiers South Carolina Gamecocks (7–3–1) (8–3) Big Ten Independent 34 10 Head coach:  Bill Mallory Head coach:  Joe Morrison
1 2 3 4 Total Indiana 7 10 3 14 34 South Carolina 0 0 10 0 10
Date	December 28, 1988
Season	1988
Stadium	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
Location	Memphis, Tennessee
MVP	Dave Schnell (Indiana QB)[1]
Referee	Thomas Thamert (CIFOA)
Attendance	39,210[2]
United States TV coverage
Network	Raycom Sports
Announcers	Phil Stone and Dave Rowe
Liberty Bowl  < 1987  1989 >

Teams

Indiana

See also: 1988 Indiana Hoosiers football team

The 1988 Indiana squad finished the regular season with a tie at Missouri and losses against Michigan, Illinois and Michigan State en route to an overall record of seven wins, three losses and one tie (7–3–1).^[3] In mid-November, the Hoosiers accepted an invitation to play in the Liberty Bowl.^[4] Their appearance marked the first for Indiana in the Liberty Bowl, and their fifth overall bowl game.^[5]

South Carolina

See also: 1988 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

The 1988 South Carolina squad finished the regular season with losses at Georgia Tech and Clemson and at home to Florida State en route to an overall record of eight wins and three losses (8–3).^[6] After their loss to Clemson in the regular season finale on November 19, the Gamecocks publicly accepted an invitation to play in the Liberty Bowl.^[4] The appearance marked the first for South Carolina in the Liberty Bowl, and their eighth overall bowl game.^[5]

Game summary

The 1988 edition of the Liberty Bowl, marked the 30th edition and the kickoff occurred in sub-freezing conditions.^[7] The Hoosiers scored early in the game when Anthony Thompson gave Indiana a 7–0 lead with his nine-yard touchdown run.^[7][8] They extended their lead further to 17–0 at halftime after a ten-yard Dave Schnell touchdown pass to Calvert Miller and a 28-yard Pete Stoyanovich field goal in the second quarter.^[7][8] The Gamecocks scored their only touchdown early in the third quarter when Antonio Walker blocked a Macky Smith punt that was recovered and returned 34-yards by Mike Tolbert for the score.^[7][8] Each team then traded field goals, Stoyanovich from 19-yards for Indiana and Collin Mackie from 44-yards for Carolina that made the score 20–10 at the end of the third quarter.^[7][8] The Hoosiers then closed the game with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and won 34–10.^[7][8] Points were scored on an 88-yard, Rob Turner touchdown reception from Dave Schnell and an eight-yard Thompson run.^[7][8] Dave Schnell was named the MVP of the game as he completed 16 of 31 passes for 378 yards and two touchdowns.^[1]

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Indiana USC 1 9:23 8 88 3:35 Indiana Anthony Thompson 9-yard touchdown run, Pete Stoyanovich kick good 7 0 2 5:54 5 40 1:46 Indiana Calvert Miller 10-yard touchdown reception from Dave Schnell, Pete Stoyanovich kick good 14 0 2 0:30 6 73 1:57 Indiana 28-yard field goal by Pete Stoyanovich 17 0 3 12:19 – – – USC Mike Tolbert 34-yard blocked punt return, Collin Mackie kick good 17 7 3 8:34 6 53 1:53 Indiana 19-yard field goal by Pete Stoyanovich 20 7 3 3:36 11 47 4:55 USC 44-yard field goal by Collin Mackie 20 10 4 14:45 1 88 0:15 Indiana Rob Turner 88-yard touchdown reception from Dave Schnell, Pete Stoyanovich kick good 27 10 4 8:31 10 56 3:52 Indiana Anthony Thompson 8-yard touchdown run, Pete Stoyanovich kick good 34 10 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 34 10

References

1. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). "Bowl/All-Star Game Records: Most Valuable Players in Major Bowls" (PDF). 2012 NCAA Division I Football Records. NCAA.org. p. 91. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
2. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). "Bowl/All-Star Game Records: Bowl-by-Bowl Attendance" (PDF). 2012 NCAA Division I Football Records. NCAA.org. p. 34. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
3. DeLassus, David. "Indiana Yearly Results: 1985–1989". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on March 25, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
4. "USC to receive 25,000 tickets for Liberty Bowl". The News and Courier. November 20, 1988. p. 3C. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
5. "Liberty Bowl will break jinx for one". The Tuscaloosa News. December 28, 1988. p. 23. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
6. DeLassus, David. "South Carolina Yearly Results: 1985–1989". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
7. Mayo, Michael (December 29, 1988). "O no! USC loses another bowl". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. p. D2. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
8. White, Stephen (December 29, 1988). "Hoosiers win, 34–10". The Rock Hill Herald. p. 9A. Retrieved January 28, 2013.