1995 Florida Citrus Bowl

1995 CompUSA Florida Citrus Bowl
Ohio State Buckeyes Alabama Crimson Tide (9–3) (11–1) 17 24 Head coach:  John Cooper Head coach:  Gene Stallings AP Coaches 13 11 AP Coaches 6 6
1 2 3 4 Total Ohio State 0 14 0 3 17 Alabama 0 14 0 10 24
Date	January 2, 1995
Season	1994
Stadium	Florida Citrus Bowl
Location	Orlando, Florida
MVP	Sherman Williams, Alabama RB
Attendance	71,195
United States TV coverage
Network	ABC
Announcers	Mark Jones, Tim Brant

The 1995 CompUSA Florida Citrus Bowl, part of the 1994 bowl game season, took place on January 2, 1995, at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The competing teams were the Alabama Crimson Tide, representing the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and the Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten Conference (Big 10). Alabama was victorious in by a final score of 24–17. This was the 50th Citrus Bowl played.

Teams

Alabama

The 1994 Alabama squad finished the regular season undefeated and as champions of the SEC Western Division, only to lose to Florida in the SEC Championship Game by one point to finish with an 11–1 record. Following their loss against Florida, the Crimson Tide accepted an invitation to play in the Florida Citrus Bowl as the SEC runner-up.^[1] The appearance marked the first for Alabama in the Florida Citrus Bowl, and their 47th overall bowl game.

Ohio State

The 1994 Ohio State squad finished the regular season with losses to Washington, Illinois and Penn State to finish with a record of 9–3. Following their victory over Michigan to end a seven game losing streak against their rival, the Buckeyes clinched a spot in the Florida Citrus Bowl as Big 10 runner-up.^[2] Their appearance marked the third for Ohio State in the Florida Citrus Bowl, and their 27th overall bowl game.

Game summary

The first quarter was scoreless, with Ohio State missing a field goal and Alabama having one blocked. Play was briefly interrupted at one point by a dog that had wandered on the field.^[3] In the second quarter Alabama reached the endzone on a nine-yard Tarrant Lynch touchdown run to cap a 16 play, 80 yard drive and take a 7–0 lead.^[4] Ohio State responded with a pair of Joey Galloway touchdown receptions. With each coming from quarterback Bobby Hoying, the first was good from 69 yards and the second from 11 to give the Buckeyes a 14–7 lead.^[4] The Crimson Tide tied the game just before the half when Sherman Williams scored from seven yards out to knot the game at 14–14.^[4] After a scoreless third, each team hit a field goal to bring the score to 17–17.^[4] Alabama scored the game-winning touchdown with only 0:42 remaining in the game when Jay Barker hit Williams for a 50-yard touchdown reception and a 24–17 Crimson Tide victory.^[4] The halftime show that day was a real spectacle, having over 2,000 cheerleaders from all over the nation performing for the crowd.

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Ohio State Alabama 2 12:39 16 plays, 80 yards Alabama Tarrant Lynch 9-yard touchdown run, Michael Proctor kick good 0 7 2 12:26 1 play, 69 yards Ohio State Joey Galloway 69-yard touchdown reception from Bobby Hoying, Josh Jackson kick good 7 7 2 7:50 5 plays, 22 yards Ohio State Joey Galloway 11-yard touchdown reception from Bobby Hoying, Josh Jackson kick good 14 7 2 3:56 11 plays, 80 yards Alabama Sherman Williams 7-yard touchdown run, Michael Proctor kick good 14 14 4 8:41 6 plays, 36 yards Ohio State 34-yard field goal by Josh Jackson 17 14 4 4:29 5 plays, 44 yards Alabama 27-yard field goal by Michael Proctor 17 17 4 0:42 3 plays, 63 yards Alabama Sherman Williams 50-yard touchdown reception from Jay Barker, Michael Proctor kick good 17 24 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 17 24

References

1. Deas, Tommy (December 4, 1994). "Tide suffers painful loss". The Tuscaloosa News. p. 10C. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
2. Miller, Rusty (November 20, 1994). "Buckeyes end losing streak to Michigan". The Gadsden Times. Associated Press. p. C6. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
3. Deas, Tommy (January 3, 1995). "Visiting mutt proved most elusive of all". The Tuscaloosa News. p. 4B. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
4. Hurt, Cecil (January 3, 1995). "Bama logs 'Trademark' win". The Tuscaloosa News. p. 1B. Retrieved February 1, 2011.