From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base
1996 Las Vegas Bowl
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| year_game_played | 1996 |
| game_name | Las Vegas Bowl |
| subheader | 5th Las Vegas Bowl |
| football_season | 1996 |
| image | Sam Boyd Stadium from the air July 2014.jpg |
| caption | Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada, hosted the Las Vegas Bowl. |
| visitor_name_short | Nevada |
| visitor_nickname | Wolf Pack |
| visitor_school | University of Nevada |
| home_name_short | Ball State |
| home_nickname | Cardinals |
| home_school | Ball State University |
| visitor_record | 8–3 |
| visitor_conference | Big West |
| home_record | 8–3 |
| home_conference | MAC |
| visitor_coach | Jeff Tisdel |
| home_coach | Bill Lynch |
| visitor_1q | 9 |
| visitor_2q | 3 |
| visitor_3q | 0 |
| visitor_4q | 6 |
| home_1q | 0 |
| home_2q | 7 |
| home_3q | 0 |
| home_4q | 8 |
| date_game_played | December 19 |
| stadium | Sam Boyd Stadium |
| city | Whitney, Nevada |
| MVP | Mike Crawford |
| payout | 150,000 per team |
The 1996 Las Vegas Bowl was the fifth edition of the annual college football bowl game. It featured the Nevada Wolf Pack, the champions of the Big West Conference, and the Ball State Cardinals, the champions of the Mid-American Conference.
This bowl was the last to feature the Big West and MAC champions as automatic qualifiers, ending a tradition that had begun in 1981, when the California Bowl was founded. Two additional bowls were added to accommodate the conferences, with the Big West champion receiving an automatic berth in the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise and the MAC champion receiving an automatic berth in the Motor City Bowl in Detroit.
Game summary
Nevada scored first following a 16-yard touchdown pass from quarterback John Dutton to Damond Wilkins, but the extra point attempt failed leaving the score 6–0 Nevada. Damon Shea made up for his missed extra point by kicking a 22-yard field goal making it 9–0 Nevada in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, LeAndre Moore rushed 62 yards for a touchdown for Ball State, to cut the lead to 9–7. Damon Shea's 33-yard field goal attempt with 44 seconds left in the first half made the halftime score 12–7, Nevada. The teams would go scoreless in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Eric Bennett threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Damond Wilkins, but the ensuing two-point conversion attempt failed, making the score 18–7 Nevada. Brent Baldwin threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Adrian Reese, and the two-point conversion attempt was successful leaving the score 18–15 Nevada. Nevada ran out the clock on its next possession.
Nevada linebacker Mike Crawford was named MVP due to his 14 tackles, one forced fumble and an interception.
References
References
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
Ask Mako anything about 1996 Las Vegas Bowl — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.
Research with MakoFree with your Surf account
Create a free account to save articles, ask Mako questions, and organize your research.
Sign up freeThis content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.
Report