1999 Sun Bowl
Year game played1999
Title sponsorWells Fargo
Game nameSun Bowl
Football season1999
Visitor name shortMinnesota
Visitor nicknameGolden Gophers
Visitor schoolUniversity of Minnesota
Home name shortOregon
Home nicknameDucks
Home schoolUniversity of Oregon
Visitor record8–3
Visitor conferenceBig Ten
Home record8–3
Home conferencePac-10
Visitor coachGlen Mason
Home coachMike Bellotti
Visitor rank ap12
Visitor rank coaches12
Visitor rank bcs13
Visitor 1q7
Visitor 2q0
Visitor 3q6
Visitor 4q7
Home 1q0
Home 2q7
Home 3q10
Home 4q7
Date game playedDecember 31
StadiumSun Bowl
CityEl Paso, Texas
MvpBilly Cockerham (QB, Minnesota)[1]
RefereeFrank White (WAC)
Payout1,000,000 per team[2]
Us networkCBS
Us announcersSean McDonough, Todd Blackledge, and Michele Tafoya

The 1999 Wells Fargo Sun Bowl featured the Oregon Ducks and the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Golden Gophers were making their first bowl appearance since 1986.

Game summary

  • Minnesota – Johnson 1 yard touchdown pass from Cockerham (Nystrom kick), 3:52
  • Oregon – Harrington 5 yard touchdown run (Villegas kick), 1:11
  • Minnesota – Bruce 38 yard touchdown pass from Cockerham (Nystrom kick failed), 12:42
  • Oregon – Harrington 1 yard touchdown run (Villegas kick), 8:04
  • Oregon – Villegas 37 yard field goal, 3:11
  • Minnesota – Johnson 7 yard touchdown pass from Cockerham (Nystrom kick), 14:56
  • Oregon – Howry 1 yard touchdown run

Minnesota opened the scoring with an 18-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Billy Cockerham to wide receiver Ron Johnson for a 7–0 1st quarter lead. Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington notched the equalizer when he rushed five yards for a touchdown, tying the game at 7.

In the third quarter, Cockerham fired a 38-yard touchdown pass to Arland Bruce for a 13–7 Minnesota lead. Harrington scored on a 1- yard quarterback sneak, to give Oregon a 14–13 lead. Nathan Villegas kicked a 37-yard field goal to make it 17–13. In the fourth quarter, Cockerham again found Ron Johnson for a 7-yard touchdown, and a 20–17 lead. Harrington found wide receiver Keenan Howry for a 10-yard touchdown pass and a 24–20 lead. Oregon held on and won the game.[3]

The game's three MVP awards (overall, lineman, and special teams) were each awarded to Minnesota players, despite Oregon winning the game, due (at least in part) to media members having to cast their ballots with five minutes left in the game.[1]

Statistics

StatisticsMinnesotaOregon
First downs1922
Rush Att.-Yds.35–9639–156
Passing yards257232
Passes (A-C-I)37–19–243–20–0
Total Net Yards353388
Kickoff ret. (No.-Yds.)3–674–80
Punt ret. (No.-Yds.)3–204–40
Penalties–yards5–584–25
Fumbles–lost1–12–1

References

  1. ^ Jezierny, Nick (January 1, 2000). "MVP voting system needs big changes". El Paso Times. p. 4C. Retrieved January 1, 2020. – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "College Football Poll.com". www.collegefootballpoll.com
  3. ^ "Brick by Brick". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2017.