1991 California Bowl
| 1991 California Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 14, 1991 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1991 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Bulldog Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Fresno, California | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 34,877 | ||||||||||||||||||
The 1991 California Bowl was an American college football bowl game played on December 14, 1991 at Bulldog Stadium in Fresno, California. The game pitted the Fresno State Bulldogs and the Bowling Green Falcons.
After five seasons that had ranged from mediocre to abysmal, the Falcons replaced Moe Ankney with Gary Blackney, an assistant coach from Ohio State. He began his tenure with a 17-6 win over Eastern Michigan and a 24-17 loss to West Virginia. After that, the Falcons did not lose another game for the rest of the season, winning all eight of their MAC games to win the Mid-American Conference for the first time since 1985. This was their third bowl game in school history, and it was yet another game versus Fresno State, who had beaten them twice in 1982 and 1985. The Bulldogs began the season with seven straight victories, rising to #25 in the polls before a 20-19 loss to Utah State. Fresno State finished strong, winning their last three games (over Pacific, Cal State Fullerton, and San Jose State) to clinch a share of the Big West Conference title, with an identical conference record (6-1) to San Jose State, though the Bulldogs would be the one given an invite to the California Bowl for the fifth time (1982, 1985, 1988, and 1989) in ten years.
The 14 point underdog Falcons were outrushed and outpassed, but the Falcons jumped out to a 14-0 lead after two touchdowns on the first two possessions. The teams traded touchdowns before going into the half, with the Falcons up 21-14. The second half started with defense, with the third quarter having just 65 yards gained on both sides and 0 points. Derek Mahoney attempted a 26-yard field goal in the third quarter, but the kick fell short. The Falcons took advantage of the miss, driving 80 yards while scoring early in the fourth quarter. The Falcons scored what turned out to be the winning points on a Smith touchdown run, though the Bulldogs clawed back on a Barsotti touchdown pass. There were three changes of possession for the rest of the game, with the last proving to be the most crucial.
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