Auburn, off the heels of an 11–1 season, a Southeastern Conference championship and a win in the Sugar Bowl, were ranked #1 to begin the 1984 season. However, they were beaten by #14 Miami 20–18 in the Kickoff Classic, and a loss to #4 Texas the following game meant that the Tigers dropped all the way to #19 in the polls. However, the team won six straight from that point on, including a victory over #9 Florida State to rise to #11. But a loss to #13 Florida dashed their conference title hopes, and they finished the regular season with a 17–15 loss to Alabama in the Iron Bowl. This was Auburn's third straight bowl game appearance, along with their first Liberty Bowl appearance since 1965.
The Razorbacks were in their first season under head coach Ken Hatfield, who had taken over after Lou Holtz was fired the previous year following a 6–5 season and a fourth place finish in the Southwest Conference. Hatfield's team won seven games while finishing tied for 2nd in the conference with TCU. They went 0-2 against ranked opponents, losing 24-18 to #3 Texas in the middle of the season and losing 31-28 to #11 SMU to close out the regular season. This was the 7th bowl game for Arkansas in eight seasons and first Liberty Bowl appearance since 1971.
This also served as the first meeting of the two teams.
Game summaryedit
Arkansas got on the board first on a 31-yard field goal from Greg Horne to make it 3–0 with 7:27 left in the first quarter. Auburn scored four minutes later on a Bo Jackson touchdown plunge that finished off an 80 yard drive, although the extra point was no good, making it 6–3. Auburn struck again after cornerback Kevin Porter intercepted a pass from Brad Taylor and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown. Auburn went for two and on the ensuing possession, quarterback Pat Washington ran in for the 2 point score to make it 14–3, which proved to be the end of scoring for the rest of the first half. The game heated back up in the fourth quarter, with Arkansas taking advantage of a Brent Fullwood fumble that Arkansas recovered on the Auburn 6, responding with a touchdown from fullback Marshall Foreman from two yards out. The two point conversion was no good, keeping it at 14–9. With 5:38 remaining in the game, Jackson took a pass from his left and ran 39 yards for a touchdown, making the score 21–9. Arkansas responded with 3:10 remaining on a 25 yard touchdown pass from Taylor to James Shibest, but the extra point was no good, making it 21–15. Auburn held on in the final minutes to clinch the victory. Jackson finished with 88 yards on 18 carries, with two touchdowns while also having one reception for 25 yards in an MVP effort. Foreman finished with 62 yards on 15 carries with one touchdown. Bobby Joe Edmonds caught 10 passes for 68 yards.[1]
Game statisticsedit
Statistics
Auburn
Arkansas
First downs
13
20
Rushing yards
168
130
Passing yards
84
226
Passing (C–A–I)
5–15–0
19–40–4
Total offense
252
356
Punts–average
9–37.9
4–38.3
Fumbles–lost
1–1
0–0
Penalties–yards
8–56
8–60
Time of possession
29:42
30:18
Aftermathedit
Auburn went on to play in four more bowl games in the decade, although they have not returned to the Liberty Bowl since this game. Arkansas went to five more bowl games in the decade, returning to the Liberty Bowl three years later. After Arkansas joined the SEC in 1992, the two teams began meeting regularly with each other. It was not until 1995 that Arkansas managed to beat Auburn.
Referencesedit
^"Auburn Triumphs In Liberty Bowl". The New York Times. December 28, 1984. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
December 15, 2023
1984, liberty, bowl, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, februa. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources 1984 Liberty Bowl news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message The 1984 Liberty Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game played on December 27 1984 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis Tennessee The 26th edition of the Liberty Bowl pitted the Auburn Tigers and the Arkansas Razorbacks 1984 Liberty Bowl26th Liberty BowlAuburn Tigers Arkansas Razorbacks 8 4 7 3 1 SEC SWC21 15Head coach Pat Dye Head coach Ken HatfieldAPCoaches16191234 TotalAuburn 14007 21Arkansas 30012 15DateDecember 27 1984Season1984StadiumLiberty Bowl Memorial StadiumLocationMemphis TennesseeMVPRB Bo Jackson Auburn RefereeBill McDonald CIFOA Attendance50 180United States TV coverageNetworkKatz SportsAnnouncersCurt Gowdy amp Len DawsonLiberty Bowl lt 1983 1985 gt Contents 1 Background 2 Game summary 3 Game statistics 4 Aftermath 5 ReferencesBackground editAuburn off the heels of an 11 1 season a Southeastern Conference championship and a win in the Sugar Bowl were ranked 1 to begin the 1984 season However they were beaten by 14 Miami 20 18 in the Kickoff Classic and a loss to 4 Texas the following game meant that the Tigers dropped all the way to 19 in the polls However the team won six straight from that point on including a victory over 9 Florida State to rise to 11 But a loss to 13 Florida dashed their conference title hopes and they finished the regular season with a 17 15 loss to Alabama in the Iron Bowl This was Auburn s third straight bowl game appearance along with their first Liberty Bowl appearance since 1965 The Razorbacks were in their first season under head coach Ken Hatfield who had taken over after Lou Holtz was fired the previous year following a 6 5 season and a fourth place finish in the Southwest Conference Hatfield s team won seven games while finishing tied for 2nd in the conference with TCU They went 0 2 against ranked opponents losing 24 18 to 3 Texas in the middle of the season and losing 31 28 to 11 SMU to close out the regular season This was the 7th bowl game for Arkansas in eight seasons and first Liberty Bowl appearance since 1971 This also served as the first meeting of the two teams Game summary editArkansas got on the board first on a 31 yard field goal from Greg Horne to make it 3 0 with 7 27 left in the first quarter Auburn scored four minutes later on a Bo Jackson touchdown plunge that finished off an 80 yard drive although the extra point was no good making it 6 3 Auburn struck again after cornerback Kevin Porter intercepted a pass from Brad Taylor and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown Auburn went for two and on the ensuing possession quarterback Pat Washington ran in for the 2 point score to make it 14 3 which proved to be the end of scoring for the rest of the first half The game heated back up in the fourth quarter with Arkansas taking advantage of a Brent Fullwood fumble that Arkansas recovered on the Auburn 6 responding with a touchdown from fullback Marshall Foreman from two yards out The two point conversion was no good keeping it at 14 9 With 5 38 remaining in the game Jackson took a pass from his left and ran 39 yards for a touchdown making the score 21 9 Arkansas responded with 3 10 remaining on a 25 yard touchdown pass from Taylor to James Shibest but the extra point was no good making it 21 15 Auburn held on in the final minutes to clinch the victory Jackson finished with 88 yards on 18 carries with two touchdowns while also having one reception for 25 yards in an MVP effort Foreman finished with 62 yards on 15 carries with one touchdown Bobby Joe Edmonds caught 10 passes for 68 yards 1 Game statistics editStatistics Auburn ArkansasFirst downs 13 20Rushing yards 168 130Passing yards 84 226Passing C A I 5 15 0 19 40 4Total offense 252 356Punts average 9 37 9 4 38 3Fumbles lost 1 1 0 0Penalties yards 8 56 8 60Time of possession 29 42 30 18Aftermath editAuburn went on to play in four more bowl games in the decade although they have not returned to the Liberty Bowl since this game Arkansas went to five more bowl games in the decade returning to the Liberty Bowl three years later After Arkansas joined the SEC in 1992 the two teams began meeting regularly with each other It was not until 1995 that Arkansas managed to beat Auburn References edit Auburn Triumphs In Liberty Bowl The New York Times December 28 1984 Retrieved February 24 2018 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1984 Liberty Bowl amp oldid 1170944706, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
