1988 Sugar Bowl

The 1988 Sugar Bowl was the 54th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Friday, January 1. Part of the 1987–88 bowl game season, it featured sixth-ranked Auburn Tigers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the undefeated #4 Syracuse Orangemen, an independent.[1][2]

1988 USF&G Sugar Bowl
54th edition
Auburn Tigers Syracuse Orangemen (9–1–1) (11–0) Southeastern Independent 16 16 Head coach:  Pat Dye Head coach:  Dick MacPherson AP Coaches 6 6 AP Coaches 4 4
1 2 3 4 Total Auburn 7 3 0 6 16 Syracuse 0 7 3 6 16
Date	January 1, 1988
Season	1987
Stadium	Louisiana Superdome
Location	New Orleans, Louisiana
MVP	Don McPherson (Syracuse QB)
Favorite	Auburn by 2½ points[1]
Referee	John McClintock (Big Eight)
United States TV coverage
Network	ABC
Announcers	Keith Jackson, Bob Griese

The game ended in a 16–16 tie after slightly-favored Auburn made a thirty-yard field goal in the final seconds.[3][4][5][6]

Teams

Main article: 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season

Auburn

Main article: 1987 Auburn Tigers football team

The Tigers (9–1–1) tied Tennessee on the road in September and lost 34–6 to independent Florida State at home in early November.[7] They defeated Florida, Georgia, and Alabama to take the SEC title,[8] and did not play LSU.

Syracuse

Main article: 1987 Syracuse Orangemen football team

Unranked at the start of the season, the Orangemen won all eleven games and were unbeaten for the first time since winning the national championship in 1959. The most notable win was at home, 48–21 over defending national champion Penn State in mid-October.[9] Quarterback Don McPherson was a consensus All-American and was the runner-up in the balloting for the Heisman Trophy.[10]

Game summary

Both televised by ABC, the game followed the Florida Citrus Bowl and kicked off shortly after 2:30 p.m. CST,[1] two hours after the Cotton Bowl (CBS) and Fiesta Bowl (NBC) started, and over an hour before the Rose Bowl (NBC).[11]

Auburn cracked the scoreboard first, following a 17-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jeff Burger to wide receiver Lawyer Tillman, who had six receptions for 125 yards. In the second quarter, Syracuse tied the game at seven on a twelve-yard touchdown pass from Don McPherson to wideout Deval Glover. Auburn added a forty-yard field goal from Win Lyle to take a 10–7 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, Tim Vesling kicked a 27-yard field goal to tie the game at ten. In the fourth quarter, Lyle's second field goal was good from 41 yards, giving Auburn a three-point lead, but two field goals by Vesling put Syracuse ahead, 16–13. With four seconds remaining and the ball on the Syracuse thirteen, Auburn head coach Pat Dye opted for three points; Win Lyle kicked a thirty-yard field goal for Auburn and the game ended in a 16–16 tie.[3][4]

The game was a defensive battle, and the tie helped Syracuse cap an unbeaten season. McPherson was named the game's outstanding player, going 11-of-21 for 140 yards and one touchdown; he was sacked five times by the Auburn defense.

Scoring

First quarter

• Auburn – Lawyer Tillman 17-yard pass from Jeff Burger (Win Lyle kick)

Second quarter

• Syracuse – Deval Glover 12-yard pass from Don McPherson (Tim Vesling kick)
• Auburn – Lyle 40-yard field goal

Third quarter

• Syracuse – Vesling 27-yard field goal

Fourth quarter

• Auburn – Lyle 41-yard field goal
• Syracuse – Vesling 32-yard field goal
• Syracuse – Vesling 38-yard field goal
• Auburn – Lyle 30-yard field goal

Source:[3][4]

Statistics

:{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center"

! Statistics !!   Auburn   !! Syracuse |- |align=left|First Downs || 14 || 23 |- |align=left|Rushes–yards|| 22–41|| 55–174 |- |align=left|Passing yards || 229 || 140 |- |align=left|Passes || 25–34–1 || 11–21–0 |- |align=left|Total Offense || 56–270 || 76–314 |- |align=left|Return yards || 0 || 38 |- |align=left|Punts–average ||6–44.8|| 5–35.6 |- |align=left|Fumbles–lost ||1–0|| 2–0 |- |align=left|Turnovers||1||0 |- |align=left|Penalties–yards ||5–43||2–20 |- |align=left|Time of possession ||22:25 ||37:35 |}

Source:[3][4]

Aftermath

Syracuse fans were outraged by Auburn's decision to tie the game, while Auburn fans found the choice uncontroversial. In protest of the decision by Auburn to tie the game, a Syracuse radio station mailed Auburn coach Dye 2,000 ugly ties, which Dye autographed and auctioned off, raising $30,000 for the Auburn general scholarship fund.[12]

Syracuse remained at fourth in the final AP poll, while Auburn dropped one spot to seventh.

References

1. Bouchette, Ed (January 1, 1988). "One goal our of Syracuse's reach". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 27.
2. Oates, Bob (January 1, 1988). "Orange looking for 12-0 season". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). (Los Angeles Times). p. 3D.
3. Bouchette, Ed (January 2, 1988). "Syracuse fit to be tied with 16-16 Sugar Bowl outcome". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
4. Oates, Bob (January 2, 1988). "Dye settles for a tie with Syracuse". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). (Los Angeles Times). p. 3B.
5. Shearer, Ed (January 2, 1988). "Last play FG allows Auburn to tie Syracuse". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). Associated Press. p. 1B.
6. Goldgerg, Dave (January 2, 1988). "Tigers' Searels upset with decision to tie". Tuscaloosa News. (Alabama). Associated Press. p. 14.
7. "FSU stuffs the Tigers, 34-6". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 8, 1987. p. 8B.
8. Hurt, Cecil (November 28, 1987). "The numbers are harsh on Bama". Tuscaloosa News. (Alabama). p. 15.
9. "Syracuse strikes early to shock Penn State". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 18, 1987. p. 9B.
10. "Notre Dame receiver wins the Heisman". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 6, 1987. p. 1F.
11. "Sport scoreboard: Television". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). January 1, 1987. p. 4D.
12. Olin Buchanan, "Auburn's Dye has no regrets about tie Archived 2008-12-09 at the Wayback Machine", June 13, 2006.

External links

• Sugar Bowl – January 1, 1988 – game recap
• https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/02/sports/syracuse-sidesteps-criticism-of-dye.html