1979 Garden State Bowl
Encyclopedia
The 1979 Garden State Bowl
, played on December 15, 1979, was the 2nd edition of the Garden State Bowl. The game featured the California Golden Bears
, and the Temple Owls
. The Owls beat the Golden Bears, 28-17, in their first bowl appearance since the 1935 Sugar Bowl
. 55,493 tickets were sold but only 40,207 fans showed on a cold 29°-day in the Meadowlands.
The Owls jumped ahead to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. They let the Bears make it a four-point game, and then came alive in the fourth quarter to win. The Owls rushed for 300 of their 381 yards total offense. Mark Bright, Temple's fullback, was named Most Valuable Player for gaining 112 yards on 19 carries. Cal had just 23 yards rushing against the Temple defense which was led by sophomore tackle Guy Peters, who recorded three sacks.
The Bowl win was Temple's 10th win of the year, a team record, and earned Wayne Hardin’s team a spot in the AP and UPI Top 20. Temple was ranked 17th in both polls, the first time the Temple football team was nationally ranked in the final wire service polls.
Garden State Bowl
The Garden State Bowl was an annual post-season college football bowl game played at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, from 1978 to 1981...
, played on December 15, 1979, was the 2nd edition of the Garden State Bowl. The game featured the California Golden Bears
California Golden Bears football
The California Golden Bears football team is the college football team of the University of California. The team plays its home games at California Memorial Stadium, however the team played at San Francisco's AT&T Park in 2011 while Memorial Stadium was being renovated, the team will return to...
, and the Temple Owls
Temple Owls football
The Temple Owls football team participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference...
. The Owls beat the Golden Bears, 28-17, in their first bowl appearance since the 1935 Sugar Bowl
1935 Sugar Bowl
The 1935 Sugar Bowl was the first Sugar Bowl game and Tulane hosted unbeaten Temple before a crowd of 22,206 in New Orleans. Temple took a 14-0 lead before Tulane came back to win the game 20-14 The game was played at Tulane's home field, so it was technically a home game for the Green Wave...
. 55,493 tickets were sold but only 40,207 fans showed on a cold 29°-day in the Meadowlands.
The Owls jumped ahead to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. They let the Bears make it a four-point game, and then came alive in the fourth quarter to win. The Owls rushed for 300 of their 381 yards total offense. Mark Bright, Temple's fullback, was named Most Valuable Player for gaining 112 yards on 19 carries. Cal had just 23 yards rushing against the Temple defense which was led by sophomore tackle Guy Peters, who recorded three sacks.
The Bowl win was Temple's 10th win of the year, a team record, and earned Wayne Hardin’s team a spot in the AP and UPI Top 20. Temple was ranked 17th in both polls, the first time the Temple football team was nationally ranked in the final wire service polls.