1986 Hall of Fame Bowl Preview

1986 Hall of Fame Bowl

Date	Tuesday December 23, 1986
Time	8 p.m.
Location	Tampa
Stadium	Tampa Stadium

The Hall of Fame Bowl became the first major bowl game held in the Tampa Bay area and the first college bowl game held at Tampa Stadium. It was hoped the University of Florida, coming off two years NCAA probation, would be one of the participants. When Florida lost its season finale to Kentucky and finished 6-5, bowl officials had to look elsewhere. They managed to bring Boston College and the University of Georgia to town for a Tuesday night game. The Mizlou Network paid $200,000 to syndicate the game and each team received the NCAA minimum payout of $500,000. Everything was in place for the first Hall of Fame Bowl in Tampa.

The Georgia Bulldogs (8-3) were ranked 17th and Vince Dooley was in his 20th season as the head coach. It was the seventh straight bowl game for the program and its 26th overall bowl appearance. The team had won five of its final six games with only a loss to Florida preventing the school a share of the Southeastern Conference crown. Georgia liked to run the ball with Lars Tate the leading rusher with 954 yards and 16 touchdowns. Fullbacks Keith Henderson (523 yards) and David McCluskey (407 yards), along with quarterback James Jackson (401 yards) also were weapons on the ground. Jackson, a junior, also passed for 1,475 yards and 9 TDs.

1986	Georgia Results	(8-3)
Date	Opponent	Result
Sat Sep 13	Duke	Won 31-7
Sat Sep 20	Clemson	Lost 31-28
Sat Sep 27	at South Carolina	Won 31-26
Sat Oct 4	Mississippi	Won 14-10
Sat Oct 11	at LSU	Lost 23-14
Sat Oct 18	Vanderbilt	Won 38-16
Sat Oct 25	at Kentucky	Won 31-9
Sat Nov 1	Richmond	Won 28-13
Sat Nov 8	Florida (Jacksonville)	Lost 31-19
Sat Nov 15	at Auburn	Won 20-16
Sat Nov 29	Georgia Tech	Won 31-24

The Boston College Eagles (8-3) won seven in a row after a 1-3 start under head coach Jack Bicknell. Shawn Halloran lost his starting quarterback job after the season opener, and then regained it after a 401 yard performance against Maryland. Halloran passed for 14 TDs and just one interception in the last seven games and finished with 2,090 yards with 17 TDs and 6 INTs. Receivers Kelvin Martin and Darren Flutie, Doug’s younger brother, combined for 1,077 yards and 13 TDs. Tailback Troy Stradford rushed for 100 yards in five of last six games and finished with 1,188 yards. It was the seventh bowl appearance for Boston College, who played football as an independent.

1986	Boston College Results	(8-3)
Sat Sep 6	Rutgers	Lost 11-9
Sat Sep 13	California	Won 21-15
Sat Sep 20	Penn State	Lost 26-14
Sat Oct 4	at SMU	Lost 31-29
Sat Oct 11	at Maryland	Won 30-25
Sat Oct 18	Louisville	Won 41-7
Sat Oct 25	at West Virginia	Won 19-10
Sat Nov 1	at Army	Won 27-20
Sat Nov 8	at Temple	Won 38-9
Sat Nov 15	Syracuse	Won 27-9
Sat Nov 22	at Holy Cross	Won 56-26

The game figured to be an interesting matchup of contrasting styles of play. Both schools had recent Heisman Trophy winners in Hershel Walker (Georgia RB) and Doug Flutie (Boston College QB) and continued their run/pass traditions. BC head coach Jack Bicknell remarked, “Georgia likes to run and we pass until our quarterback’s arm falls off.”

It had been 35 years since teams faced each other, the Bulldogs won meetings in 1950 and 1951, and the winner was expected to be ranked in the final AP Top Twenty. Georgia was a 2 ˝ point favorite.