1991 Fiesta Bowl

1991 Sunkist Fiesta Bowl
Louisville Cardinals Alabama Crimson Tide (9–1–1) (7–4) 34 7 Head coach:  Howard Schnellenberger Head coach:  Gene Stallings AP Coaches 18 16 AP Coaches 25 22
1 2 3 4 Total Louisville 25 0 7 2 34 Alabama 0 7 0 0 7
Date	January 1, 1991
Season	1990
Stadium	Sun Devil Stadium
Location	Tempe, Arizona
MVP	QB Browning Nagle & DB Ray Buchanan
Attendance	69,098
United States TV coverage
Network	NBC
Announcers	Charlie Jones, Todd Christensen
Nielsen ratings	6.2

The 1991 Sunkist Fiesta Bowl, part of the 1990 bowl game season, took place on January 1, 1991, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. The competing teams were the Alabama Crimson Tide, representing the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and the Louisville Cardinals, competing as a football independent. In what was the 20th anniversary of the Fiesta Bowl, Louisville won the game 34–7.

Teams

Alabama

The 1990 Alabama squad opened the season ranked No. 13 only to be upset by Southern Miss in the opening game en route to an 0–3 start. Following a victory over Auburn in the Iron Bowl, the Crimson Tide finished the regular season with a record of 7–4 and accepted a bid to play in the Fiesta Bowl.^[1] The appearance marked the first for Alabama in the Fiesta Bowl, and the first for Gene Stallings as Alabama's head coach.

Louisville

Game summary

Cardinals quarterback Browning Nagle started the scoring with a 70-yard touchdown pass to Latrell Ware to give Louisville an early 7–0 lead.^[2] Running back Ralph Dawkins scored next on a 5-yard touchdown run to increase Louisville's lead to 13–0.^[2] Nagle later threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Cummings giving the Cards a 19–0 lead after the 2-point conversion attempt failed.^[2] Alabama's next possession resulted in a blocked punt, which Louisville recovered in the end zone for a touchdown. Another failed 2-point conversion kept the lead at 25–0, a huge lead Louisville raced to after one quarter.^[2]

In the second quarter, Louisville had the ball again, before backup quarterback Jeff Brohm threw an interception, that was returned 49 yards for an Alabama touchdown. The interception returned for a touchdown cut the lead to 25–7, but those would be the only points Alabama would score the entire game. Louisville's defense shut down the powerful Alabama offense.^[2]

In the third quarter, Nagle threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Cummings to give Louisville a 32–7 lead. Louisville's last points came in the fourth quarter on a safety, when Alabama's quarterback was called for intentional grounding in the end zone.^[2]

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Louisville Alabama 1 7:35 2 73 Louisville Latrell Ware 70-yard touchdown reception from Browning Nagle, Klaus Wilmsmeyer kick good 7 0 1 3:40 6 26 Louisville Ralph Dawkins 5-yard touchdown run, Klaus Wilmsmeyer kick no good (blocked) 13 0 1 00:54 6 77 Louisville Anthony Cummings 37-yard touchdown reception from Browning Nagle, 2-point pass incomplete 19 0 1 00:01 1 12 Louisville Ray Buchanan recovery of a blocked punt in the end zone for a touchdown, 2-point pass failed 25 0 2 7:32 1 49 Alabama Interception returned 49 yards for touchdown by Charles Garner, Philip Doyle kick good 25 7 3 10:17 5 59 Louisville Anthony Cummings 19-yard touchdown reception from Browning Nagle, Ron Bell kick good 32 7 4 10:16 1 5 Louisville Safety awarded after Danny Woodson was called for intentional grounding in the endzone 34 7 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 34 7

References

1. Hurt, Cecil (December 3, 1990). "Alabama's win defuses negatives in recruiting". The Tuscaloosa News. p. 1C.
2. Hurt, Cecil (January 2, 1991). "Nightmare returns; Cards stun Alabama". The Tuscaloosa News. p. 1B. Retrieved January 7, 2011.