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1980 Independence Bowl

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College football game
1980 Independence Bowl
Southern Miss Golden Eagles McNeese State Cowboys
(8–3) (10–1)
Independent Southland Conference
16 14
Head coach: 
Bobby Collins
Head coach: 
Ernie Duplechin
1234 Total
Southern Miss 10006 16
McNeese State 0770 14
DateDecember 13, 1980
Season1980
StadiumIndependence Stadium
LocationShreveport, Louisiana
MVPQB Stephen Starring, McNeese State
NG Jearld Baylis, Southern Miss
Attendance42,600
United States TV coverage
NetworkMizlou
Independence Bowl
 < 1979  1981

The 1980 Independence Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game between the McNeese State Cowboys and the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.

Background

Once again, the Cowboys were champions of the Southland Conference and were thus invited to their third Independence bowl in four years. The Golden Eagles were in their first bowl game since 1958. This was the final year of the agreement between the Bowl and the Southland Conference.

Game summary

Winston Walker gave the Golden Eagles a 3–0 lead on his 36-yard field goal. Cleom Terrell made it 10–0 on his 14-yard run for a touchdown. The Cowboys responded in the next two quarters with a Buford Jordan touchdown run and a Stephan Starring touchdown run to give them a 14–10 lead going into the final quarter. Mike Woodard gave Southern Miss the go-ahead lead on his one-yard touchdown plunge as the Golden Eagles held on to win. Despite outgaining Southern Miss on yards, the Cowboys' four turnovers (compared to Southern Miss' two) doomed the team. In an MVP (but losing) effort, Stephen Starring threw 6-of-12 for 129 yards and ran for 82 yards on 23 carries for McNeese State.

Aftermath

McNeese State did not win another conference title until 1991, but by this point the conference had dropped below Division I-A (now FBS). This remains their final bowl game. Southern Miss returned to the Independence Bowl in 1988.

Statistics

Statistics Southern Miss McNeese State
First downs 14 14
Rushing yards 181 262
Passing yards 69 139
Interceptions 1 0
Total Net Yards 250 401
Fumbles–lost 1–1 4–4
Penalties–yards 8–75 4–35
Punts–average 8–44.5 5–37.4

References

  1. "2014 Duck Commander Independence Bowl : Media Guide" (PDF). Independencebowl.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 19, 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
1980–81 NCAA football bowl game season
Independence Bowl
Known as the AdvoCare V100 Bowl in 2013
History & conference tie-ins
Games
McNeese Cowboys bowl games
Southern Miss Golden Eagles bowl games
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