Sun Bowl
1971
LSU 33
Iowa State 15
Fourth year Iowa State head coach Johnny Majors and his Cyclone
football squad set out on a mission in 1971, to win more games than any
Cyclone team, finish in the top half of the Big Eight Conference and
make the school’s first bowl appearance. Iowa State realized their goals
and had one of its finest seasons in school history in 1971, despite
losing three games in the Big 8 Conference. Those losses came at the
hands of Nebraska, Oklahoma and Colorado, the nation's number one, two
and three teams, respectively. Picked to finish last in the Big 8
preseason polls, Iowa State finished 8-3, 17TH in the nation in the
final regular season polls and earned a spot in the 1971 Sun Bowl.
George Amundson led ISU, becoming the first Cyclone to rush for 1000
yards in a season. Iowa State stars included Ike Harris and Keith
Krepfle. LSU came into the Sun Bowl with a record of 8-3 ranked 14th in
the nation with huge win over Notre Dame at home in the season's second
to last game. The Tigers were led by Bert Jones, Tommy Casanova and
Lombardi Award finalist Ron Estay. The 1971 LSU defense allowed the
fewest yards in the nation. It was Iowa State's first post-season game
and was played before a sellout Sun Bowl crowd and national TV audience.
The only scoring of the first half was a pair of LSU field goals and one
by ISU. It was 6-3 at the half. Led by linebacker Matt Blair, the Iowa
State defense stood firm against the Tigers, including a first-half,
five-down goal-line stand.
In the third period, LSU looked to put the game away with two Jones
touchdown strikes, from 37 yards to his cousin, Andy Hamilton, and 21
yards to Gerald Keigley. But, Iowa State fought back with Dean Carlson
throwing a 30 yard touchdown pass to Larry Marquardt late in the period
and opening the fourth quarter with a one yard toss to Krepfle. The
score was 19-15. Halfway through the fourth period, Jones threw his
third touchdown pass of the game, connecting with Jay Michaelson from 6
yards. The LSU quarterback sealed the victory with a six yard keeper
with 3:00 remaining. The final was 33-15.
The Cyclones were able to keep it close for the majority of the game,
but Jones was a thorn in ISU’s side, completing 12-of-18 passes for 227
yards and three touchdowns. LSU shut down the Cyclone offense, holding
Amundson to just 56 yards. The attendance of 33,530 established a Sun
Bowl record.
Andy Hamilton catches 37 yard touchdown pass from Bert Jones in the third quarter
Attendance - 33,530
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
LSU- FG Michaelson 39
LSU- FG Michaelson 39
Second Quarter
ISU- FG Shoemake 32
Third Quarter
LSU- Hamilton 37 pass from Jones (Michaelson kick)
LSU- Keigley 21 pass from Jones (kick failed)
ISU- Marquardt 30 pass from Carlson (pass failed)
Fourth Quarter
ISU- Krepfle 1 pass from Carlson (pass failed)
LSU- Michaelson 6 pass from Jones (Michaelson kick)
LSU- Jones 6 run (Michaelson kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing
LSU- Shoreu 12-68, Walker 9-37
ISU- Amundson 15-56
Passing
ISU- Carlson 18-32-230
LSU- Jones 12-18-227
Receiving
LSU- Hamilton 6-165
ISU- Krepfle 6-88, Amundson 4-46
