1984 Freedom Bowl

1984 Freedom Bowl
Inaugural Freedom Bowl Game
Texas Longhorns Iowa Hawkeyes (7–3–1) (7–4–1) 17 55 Head coach:  Fred Akers Head coach:  Hayden Fry AP Coaches 19 19
1 2 3 4 Total Texas 0 17 0 0 17 Iowa 14 10 31 0 55
Date	December 26, 1984
Season	1984
Stadium	Anaheim Stadium
Location	Anaheim, CA
MVP	Chuck Long (Iowa QB)[1] William Harris (Texas TE)[1]
Attendance	24,093
United States TV coverage
Network	TCS/Metrosports
Announcers	Sam Nover and Jack Snow

The 1984 Freedom Bowl was an American college football bowl game played on December 26, 1984 at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, CA. The inaugural edition of the Freedom Bowl matched the #19 Texas Longhorns of the Southwest Conference and the Big Ten's Iowa Hawkeyes. After leading 24–17 at halftime, the Hawkeyes blew the game open with 31 unanswered points in the third quarter to win 55–17.

Teams

Texas

Iowa

Game summary

Iowa’s Chuck Long threw for 461 yards and a bowl-record^[2] six touchdowns.^{[3] [4] [5]}

Team statistics

	Texas	Iowa
First Downs	15	28
Rushing Yards	35-115	41-91
Passing	17-34-2	30-40-0
Passing Yards	185	469
Total Offense	300	560
Fumbles Lost	3-3	5-2
Punts-Average	5-43.0	4-42.0
Penalties	6-50	4-27

Individual leaders

Passing
Texas: Dodge – 16-32, 180 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Iowa: Long – 29-39, 461 yds, 6 TD

Rushing
Texas: Orr – 12 carries, 67 yds; Johnson – 8 carries, 56 yds
Iowa: Gill – 17 carries, 61 yds

Receiving
Texas: Bryant – 3 catches, 50 yds, 1 TD; Duhon – 1 catch, 47 yds
Iowa: Smith – 4 catches, 115 yds, 1 TD; Happel – 8 catches, 104 yds, 1 TD

^[6]

References

1. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). "Bowl/All-Star Game Records: Most Valuable Players in Former Major Bowls" (PDF). 2012 NCAA Division I Football Records. NCAA.org. p. 94. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
2. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). "Bowl/All-Star Game Records: Individual Record Lists" (PDF). 2012 NCAA Division I Football Records. NCAA.org. p. 42. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
3. "Long Sets Records As Iowa Triumphs". New York Times. December 27, 1984. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
4. "FREEDOM BOWL : Charting Freedom's Trail : 1984". Los Angeles Times. December 29, 1992. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
5. "Long nearly perfect, Iowa rips Texas". Chicago Tribune. December 27, 1984. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
6. Box score