1977_Liberty_Bowl
1977 Liberty Bowl
College football game
The 1977 Liberty Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game played in Memphis, Tennessee, on December 19, 1977.[1] In the 19th edition of the Liberty Bowl, the Nebraska Cornhuskers of the Big Eight Conference rallied to defeat the North Carolina Tar Heels of the Atlantic Coast Conference, 21–17.[3][4][5][6]
| 1977 Liberty Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 19th Liberty Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 19, 1977 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1977 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Memphis, Tennessee | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Matt Kupec (QB, North Carolina) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Nebraska by 6[1][2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | James Malone (WAC) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 49,456 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ABC | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Keith Jackson, Frank Broyles | ||||||||||||||||||||
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North Carolina led by ten points after three quarters, but was outscored, 14–0, in the fourth quarter as Randy Garcia came off of the Husker bench and completed all three of his passes, two for touchdowns.[3][4] It was the eighth bowl victory in nine seasons for Nebraska; they remained at twelfth in the final AP poll, and North Carolina slipped to seventeenth.
Scoring
First quarter
- No scoring
Second quarter
- North Carolina – Brooks Williams 12 pass from Matt Kupec (Tom Biddle kick), 13:52
- Nebraska – Dodie Donnell 15 run (Billy Todd kick), 11:00
- North Carolina – Bob Loomis 10 pass from Kupec (Biddle kick), 3:11
Third quarter
- North Carolina – FG Biddle 47, 4:17
Fourth quarter
- Nebraska – Curtis Craig 10 pass from Randy Garcia (Todd kick), 10:51
- Nebraska – Tim Smith 34 pass from Garcia (Todd kick), 3:16
Statistics
| Statistics | Nebraska | North Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 21 | 17 |
| Rushes–yards | 52–206 | 55–169 |
| Passing yards | 161 | 93 |
| Passes | 14–17–0 | 8–13–1 |
| Total yards | 367 | 262 |
| Punts–average | 3–37 | 3–43 |
| Fumbles–lost | 4–2 | 3–2 |
| Turnovers by | 2 | 3 |
| Penalties–yards | 2–10 | 5–35 |
- "Heels, 'Huskers trade compliments". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). Associated Press. December 19, 1977. p. 1C.
- Hooks, Jerry (December 21, 1977). "Liberty rally". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). p. 1C.
- "Nebraska backup paces Liberty win". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 20, 1977. p. 5C.
- "Huskers topple Carolina". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. December 20, 1977. p. 1, part 2.[permanent dead link]
- "1977 Liberty Bowl - Huskers.com - Nebraska Athletics Official Web Site". Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
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