The 1985 Liberty Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game held on December 27, 1985, in Memphis, Tennessee, at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.[1] The 27th edition of the Liberty Bowl featured the Baylor Bears of the Southwest Conference (SWC) and the LSU Tigers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Baylor won the game, 21–7.[2]
| 1985 Liberty Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 27th Liberty Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 27, 1985 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1985 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Memphis, Tennessee | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Baylor QB Cody Carlson | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Otho Kortz (Big Ten) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 40,186 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | Raycom Sports | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Merle Harmon, Bud Wilkinson and Kevin Kiley | ||||||||||||||||||
LSU entered the game with a 9–1–1 overall record and 4–1–1 conference record, led by head coach Bill Arnsparger. Baylor entered the game with an 8–3 overall record and 6–2 conference record, led by head coach Grant Teaff.[3]
Game summary
Cody Carlson, the Baylor quarterback, tossed scoring passes of 5 and 15 yards to lead the Bears to a 21–7 win. The Tigers' only score came on a Liberty Bowl-record 79-yard punt return by Norman Jefferson.
Baylor overcame the 7–0 deficit to lead 10–7 at the half. Baylor raised their lead to 13–7 in the third quarter on a 35-yard field goal by Syler, but missed a chance to increase their lead to 9 points later in the period when Syler was wide right on a 37-yard attempt.
With Baylor clinging to a 13–7 edge, Carlson, who alternated with Tom Muecke at quarterback for the Bears, capped a 62-yard fourth-quarter march with a 15-yard scoring strike to the split end John Simpson. Carlson then found Matt Clark alone in the end zone with a two-point conversion pass as the Bears took command, 21–7.[4]
Scoring summary
| Quarter | Team | Scoring summary | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LSU | Baylor | |||
| 1 | LSU | Norman Jefferson 79-yard punt return, Lewis kick good | 7 | 0 |
| 1 | Baylor | Matt Clark 5-yard touchdown pass, Syler kick good | 7 | 7 |
| 2 | Baylor | Syler 23-yard field goal | 7 | 10 |
| 3 | Baylor | Syler 35-yard field goal | 7 | 13 |
| 4 | Baylor | John Simpson 15-yard touchdown reception from Cody Carlson, Matt Clark two-point conversion pass good | 7 | 21 |
| 7 | 21 | |||
Statistical summary
Team Statistics
(Rushing-Passing-Total): BU - 215-274-489; LSU - 91-101-192.
Individual Statistical Leaders
Rushing (Att.-Yds.-TD): BU - Perry 7-25-0, Rutledge 10-36-0; LSU - Dalton Hillard 20-66-0, Garry James 7-23-0
Passing (Att.-Comp.-Int.-TD-Yds.): BU - Cody Carlson 12-9-0-2-161, Tom Muecke 18-9-0-0-113; LSU - Jeff Wickersham 24-11-0-1-95, Mickey Guidry 3-2-0-0-6.
Receiving (No.-Yds.-TD): BU - John Simpson 3-117-1, Matt Clark 3-31-1; LSU - Garry James 4-25-0, Jean-Batiste 2-23-0. [5]