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1985 Independence Bowl

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1985 Independence Bowl
1234 Total
Minnesota 3737 20
Clemson 0670 13
DateDecember 21, 1985
Season1985
StadiumIndependence Stadium
LocationShreveport, Louisiana
MVPQB Rickey Foggie
LB Bruce Holmes
RefereeJames Sprenger (Pac-10)
Attendance42,845
United States TV coverage
NetworkMizlou
AnnouncersHoward David
Bob Casciola
Steve Grad
Independence Bowl
 < 1984  1986

The 1985 Independence Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game between the Clemson Tigers and the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Background

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The Gophers finished in 6th place in the Big Ten Conference while the Tigers finished 4th in the Atlantic Coast Conference. This was the first Independence Bowl for either team. Gutekunst was the interim head coach after Lou Holtz left for Notre Dame. This was Minnesota's first bowl game since 1977 and Clemson's first since 1982.

Game summary

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Minnesota's Valdez Baylor scored on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter to lead the Golden Gophers to the victory over Clemson, who committed four turnovers. Foggie went 9-of-12 for 123 yards and 60 yards rushing on 18 carries, en route to being named MVP. Valdez Baylor rushed for 98 yards on 12 carries. In a losing effort, Kenny Flowers ran for 148 yards on 27 carries.[1]

Aftermath

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Gutekunst would become the full-time head coach for Minnesota starting the following year, which culminated in an appearance in the Liberty Bowl, their last appearance for 13 years. Clemson kept rolling, making four more bowl games in the decade. Neither team has returned to the Independence Bowl since this game.

Statistics

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Statistics Minnesota Clemson
First downs 19 18
Rushing yards 257 211
Passing yards 123 162
Interceptions 0 1
Total yards 380 373
Fumbles–lost 1–1 5–3
Penalties–yards 6–50 5–51
Punts–average 6–37.5 4–41.5

References

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  1. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 19, 2015. Retrieved August 10, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)