1999 Sun Bowl

1999 Wells Fargo Sun Bowl
Minnesota Golden Gophers Oregon Ducks
(8–3) (8–3)
Big Ten Pac-10
20 24
Head coach: 
Glen Mason		 Head coach: 
Mike Bellotti
APCoachesBCS
121213
1234 Total
Minnesota 7067 20
Oregon 07107 24
DateDecember 31, 1999
Season1999
StadiumSun Bowl
LocationEl Paso, Texas
MVPBilly Cockerham (QB, Minnesota)[1]
RefereeFrank White (WAC)
PayoutUS$1,000,000 per team[2]
United States TV coverage
NetworkCBS
AnnouncersSean McDonough and Todd Blackledge
Sun Bowl
 < 1998  2000 > 

The 1999 Wells Fargo Sun Bowl featured the Oregon Ducks and the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Golden Gophers were making their first bowl appearance since 1986.

Game summary

  • Minnesota – Johnson 1 yard touchdown pass from Cockerham (Nystrom kick), 3:52
  • Oregon – Harrington 5 yard touchdown run (Villegas kick), 1:11
  • Minnesota – Bruce 38 yard touchdown pass from Cockerham (Nystrom kick failed), 12:42
  • Oregon – Harrington 1 yard touchdown run (Villegas kick), 8:04
  • Oregon – Villegas 37 yard field goal, 3:11
  • Minnesota – Johnson 7 yard touchdown pass from Cockerham (Nystrom kick), 14:56
  • Oregon – Howry 1 yard touchdown run

Minnesota opened the scoring with an 18-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Billy Cockerham to wide receiver Ron Johnson for a 7–0 1st quarter lead. Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington notched the equalizer when he rushed five yards for a touchdown, tying the game at 7.

In the third quarter, Cockerham fired a 38-yard touchdown pass to Arland Bruce for a 13–7 Minnesota lead. Harrington scored on a 1- yard quarterback sneak, to give Oregon a 14–13 lead. Nathan Villegas kicked a 37-yard field goal to make it 17–13. In the fourth quarter, Cockerham again found Ron Johnson for a 7-yard touchdown, and a 20–17 lead. Harrington found wide receiver Keenan Howry for a 10-yard touchdown pass and a 24–20 lead. Oregon held on and won the game.[3]

The game's three MVP awards (overall, lineman, and special teams) were each awarded to Minnesota players, despite Oregon winning the game, due (at least in part) to media members having to cast their ballots with five minutes left in the game.[1]

Statistics

Statistics Minnesota Oregon
First downs 19 22
Rush Att.-Yds. 35–96 39–156
Passing yards 257 232
Passes (A-C-I) 37–19–2 43–20–0
Total Net Yards 353 388
Kickoff ret. (No.-Yds.) 3–67 4–80
Punt ret. (No.-Yds.) 3–20 4–40
Penalties–yards 5–58 4–25
Fumbles–lost 1–1 2–1

References

  1. ^ a b Jezierny, Nick (January 1, 2000). "MVP voting system needs big changes". El Paso Times. p. 4C. Retrieved January 1, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "College Football Poll.com". www.collegefootballpoll.com.
  3. ^ "Brick by Brick" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2017.


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