Independence Bowl
1986
Mississippi 20
Texas Tech 17
SHREVEPORT,
La. (AP) - Sophomore quarterback Mark Young and junior flanker J.R.
Ambrose set Independence Bowl passing and receiving records in the first
half, but probation-bound Mississippi needed Bryan Owen's tiebreaking
48-yard field goal early in the final period to defeat Texas Tech,
20-17, Saturday night and spoil Spike Dykes' head coaching debut.
Young, who set records by completing 31 of his 50 passes for 343 yards, threw a third-quarter interception that let Texas Tech get back in the game. But he later set up Owen's game-winning kick with a 13-yard pass to tight end Mario Perry.
It came five plays after Ambrose returned a kickoff 29 yards to the Rebels' 40. Ambrose set a game record by catching eight passes for 102 yards, all in the first half when Mississippi opened a 17-7 lead.
The 6-foot-2, 170-pound Young didn't throw a touchdown pass but he smashed the Independence Bowl record of 19 completions by hitting on 21 passes in the first half alone and his aerials set up all the Mississippi scoring.
He completed four of six for 56 yards as Ole Miss drove 62 yards in the first period and took a 7-0 lead on Willie Goodloe's 1-yard run (video). The Rebels made it 14-0 when Joe Mickles ran nine yards on the first play of the second period (video). That capped a 15-play, 80-yard drive during which Young completed six of eight passes for 52 yards.
James Gray's 1-yard run got Texas Tech back in the game at 14-7 midway through the period (video) but Owen kicked a 21-yard field goal one second before halftime to make it 17-7 (video). Young drove the Rebels from their 21 to the Texas Tech 4 by completing eight of 10 passes for 73 yards.
Texas Tech free safety Merv Scurlark intercepted a-pass by Young and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown at 3:44 of the third quarter (video) and the Red Raiders tied the score on Scott Segrist's 19-yard field goal two plays into the final period.
The 11th Independence Bowl attracted a record crowd of 46,369, breaking the mark of 45,034 set two years ago when Air Force played. Virginia Tech.
Syracuse University participated in the 1979 game and completed a 7-5 season for coach Frank Maloney by defeating McNeese State, 31-7.
The Most Valuable Player in that game was a fellow that could turn out to be the MVP of the National Football League this season, Joe Morris.
Mississippi, which was hit with a two-year NCAA probation earlier this month and will be ineligible for a bowl game or TV appearances next season, finished with an 8-3-1 record.
Texas Tech, which lost Coach David McWilliams to the University of Texas two weeks ago, wound up 7-5. Dykes, the defensive coordinator, was given a five-year contract as McWilliams' successor.
Attendance- 46,369
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
OM- Goodloe 1 run (Owen kick)
Second Quarter
OM- Mickles 9 run (Owen kick)
TT- Gray l run (Segrist kick)
OM- FG Owen 21
Third Quarter
TT- Scurlark 33 interception return (Segrist kick)
Fourth Quarter
TT- FG Segrist 19
OM- FG Owen 48
Individual Statistics
Rushing
TT- Fains 17-99. Garnett 8-36. Gray 6-25, Walker 1-12
OM- Mickles 10-53, Sykes 7-16, Dentley 3-10, Goodloe 5-8
Passing
TT- Tolliver 17-40-181
OM- Young 31-50-343
Receiving
TT- Price 9-74, Walker 3-71, Gray 2-17, Thurman 2-9, Anderson 1-10
OM- Ambrose 8-102, Perry 5-47, Mickles 5-42, Myers 4-69, Goodloe 4-37, Sykes 4-25, Martin 1-21
