The 1991 John Hancock Bowl was a post-season American college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 bowl game

Bowl game

In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...

 at Sun Bowl Stadium

Sun Bowl Stadium

The Sun Bowl is an outdoor football stadium, on the campus of the University of Texas at El Paso. It is home to the UTEP Miners of Conference USA , and the late December college football bowl game, the Hyundai Sun Bowl...

 in El Paso

El Paso, Texas

El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...

, Texas between the University of Illinois Fighting Illini

1991 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

The 1991 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois in the 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Illinois offense scored 264 points while the defense allowed 188 points...

 and the University of California, Los Angeles

1991 UCLA Bruins football team

The 1991 UCLA Bruins football team represented UCLA in the 1991 NCAA college football season. The Bruins offense scored 323 points while the defense allowed 190 points...

 on December 31, 1991. The game was the final contest of the 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season

1991 NCAA Division I-A football season

The 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with a split champion for the second consecutive season. Both the Miami Hurricanes and the Washington Huskies finished the season undefeated and with the top ranking in a nationally recognized poll...

 for both teams, and ended in a 6–3 victory for UCLA. Illinois and UCLA previously met in post-season at the 1984 Rose Bowl

1984 Rose Bowl

The 1984 Rose Bowl game, played on January 2, was the 70th Rose Bowl game. The UCLA Bruins defeated the Illinois Fighting Illini by a score of 45-9. Rick Neuheisel, UCLA quarterback, was named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game. He completed 22 of 32 passes for 298 yards and four touchdowns...

, in which UCLA upset #4 Illinois, 45-9.

Game summary

The Illini were playing their first game under new Head Coach Lou Tepper

Lou Tepper

Lou Tepper is an American football coach and former player. He was the head football coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a position he has held since the 2006 season. Previously, tepper served as the head coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Edinboro University of...

, who was named John Mackovic

John Mackovic

John Mackovic is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of United States national American football team, which was formed to compete in the American Football World Cup...

's replacement a little more than two weeks earlier when Mackovic took the head coaching job at Texas. The Illinois defense certainly came to play, holding the high-octane UCLA attack to just 268 yards of total offense. The Fighting Illini offense didn't fare much better, though, totaling 308 yards of its own in a classic defensive struggle. Illinois missed an early scoring opportunity when Jason Verduzco's pass was intercepted at the Bruin goal line. The Illinois defense forced a UCLA fumble six plays later, but then promptly turned the ball back to the Bruins at the UI 24-yard line after a blocked punt. The Illinois defense stiffened and held UCLA to a field goal. Both teams traded punches until Illinois freshman Chris Richardson kicked a 27-yard field goal. The score remained tied until the opening drive of the fourth quarter when Illinois' Filmel Johnson fumbled a UCLA punt at the UI 11-yard line that lead to a 19-yard Louis Perez field goal. Illinois linebacker Mike Poloskey earned the Jimmy Rogers Jr. Trophy as the game's Most Valuable Lineman.

Scoring summary

Quarter	|Team	|Scoring summary	|Score
	Illinois	UCLA
1	UCLA	32-yard field goal by Louis Perez	0	3
2	Illinois	27-yard field goal by Chris Richardson	3	3
3			3	3
4	UCLA	19-yard field goal by Louis Perez	3	6
			3	6

Statistical summary

Team Statistics

(Rushing-Passing-Total): UI - 119-189-308; UCLA - 92-176-268.

Individual Statistical Leaders

Rushing (Att.-Yds.-TD): UI - Steve Feagin 12-71-0; UCLA - Kevin Williams 24-52-0.

Passing (Att.-Comp.-Int.-TD-Yds.): UI - Jason Verduzco 38-17-3-0-189; UCLA - Tommy Maddox

Tommy Maddox

Thomas "Tommy" Alfred Maddox is a former football quarterback in the National Football League, the XFL and the Arena Football League. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the first round of the 1992 NFL Draft. He played college football at UCLA.-Early years:At L. D...

28-17-1-0-176.

Receiving (No.-Yds.-TD): UI - John Wright 9-94-0; UCLA - Sean LaChapelle 5-69-0, Ricky Davis 4-41-0.