Official recap
A great passing performance by senior Jeff Quinn and a stout defensive effort enabled Nebraska to enjoy a successful return to the Sun Bowl by downing Mississippi State 31-17. The 1980 Classic marked a reunion of sorts, since it was in the 1969 Sun Bowl that the Huskers started their present streak of 12 straight bowl appearances.
The Huskers drew first blood, when Todd Brown took a pitch on an end around play and ran 23 yards for the score with only 2:30 gone in the game. Brown's score was set up on a fumbled punt by MSU's Mardye McDole on the previous play.
The Huskers added 10 points in the second quarter—on a 22-yard Kevin Seibel field goal and an eight yard Jeff Quinn to Jeff Finn pass—to take a 17-0 lead into the dressing room at halftime.
MSU finally scored in the 3rd quarter on a 47 yard field goal and appeared to be gaining momentum when Husker defensive end Jimmy Williams recovered a fumble at the Bulldog 25 to set up a 2 yard run by Andra Franklin.
After State scored to open the final quarter, Williams again thwarted any further MSU chances with a sack and another fumble recovery. The Huskers then iced the game with a 52-yard Jeff Quinn to Tim McCrady pass late in the game. For their efforts, Williams and Quinn were named the outstanding players of the 1980 Sun Bowl.
Full recap here.
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Nebraska 31
Mississippi State 17
Dec. 27, 1980
El Paso, TXNebraska 7 10 7 7 - 31
Mississippi State 0 0 3 14 - 17
First Quarter
NEB - Todd Brown, 23 run (Kevin Seibel kick) 12:30
Second Quarter
NEB - Kevin Seibel, 22 field goal, 3:23
NEB - Jeff Finn, 8 pass from Jeff Quinn (Seibel kick) 1:57
Third Quarter
MSU - Dana Moore, 47 field goal 7:12
NEB - Andra Franklin, 2 run (Seibel kick) 2:16
Fourth Quarter
MSU - John Bond, 1 run (Bob Morgan kick) 11:44
NEB - Tim McCrady, 52 pass from Quinn (Seibel kick) 3:21
MSU - Mike Haddix, 3 pass from Bond (Morgan kick) 1:00
Attendance: 34,723
MSU NEB
First Downs ...................... 15 16
Rushing ........................ 10 12
Passing ......................... 3 4
Penalty ......................... 2 0
Rushing attempts-Net yards .... 53-93 54-159
Yards gained rushing .......... 173 187
Yards lost rushing ............. 79 28
Net Yards Passing ............... 102 159
Comp-Att-Int ............... 7-19-2 9-19-1
Total Offense ................ 72-195 73-318
Average gain per play ......... 2.7 4.4
Fumbles-Lost .................... 5-4 1-1
Penalties-Yards ................ 4-30 4-37
Interceptions-Yards ............. 1-0 3-10
Punts-Average ................ 5-50.0 8-42.0
Punt returns-Yards .............. 1-3 3-32
Kickoff returns-Yards ......... 4-116 2-39
RUSHING
MISS. STATE Att. Gain Lost Net TD Long
Bond......... 16 40 48 8 1 9
Haddix....... 4 14 0 14 0 7
King......... 23 96 0 96 0 12
McDole....... 5 11 4 7 0 6
Collins...... 1 2 0 2 0 2
Parenton..... 2 2 6 -4 2 0
Wonsley...... 1 8 0 8 0 8
Moore........ 1 0 21 -21
NEBRASKA Att. Gain Lost Net TD Long
Quinn........ 11 16 21 -5 0 7
Johnson...... 3 5 2 3 0 4
Franklin..... 17 67 0 67 1 6
Brown........ 1 23 0 23 1 23
Redwine...... 13 47 5 42 0 12
Kotera....... 2 7 0 7 0 4
Craig........ 5 13 0 13 0 6
Steels....... 2 9 0 9 0 7
PASSING
MISS. STATE Att. Com. Int. Yds. TD Long
Bond........ 19 7 2 102 1 25
NEBRASKA Att. Com. Int Yds. TD Long
Quinn....... 19 9 1 159 2 55
PASS RECEIVING
MISS. STATE No. Yds. TD Long
Haddix............ 1 11 1 11
McDole............ 4 69 0 25
Price............. 1 25 0 25
Doss.............. 1 7 0 7
NEBRASKA No. Yds. TD Long
McCrady............ 2 107 1 55
Brown.............. 2 16 0 11
Davies............. 1 9 0 9
Steels............. 2 14 0 8
Finn............... 1 8 1 8
Kotera............. 1 5 0 5
PUNTING
MISS. STATE No. Yds. Avg. Long
Moore......... 5 250 50.0 64
NEBRASKA No. Yds. Avg. Long
Seibel........ 8 334 42.0 45
FIELD GOALS
MISS. STATE Att. Made Long
Moore....... 1 1 47
NEBRASKA Att. Made Long
Seibel....... 1 1 22 |
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ALL RETURNS
MISS. STATE Punts Kickoffs Inter.
McDole....... 1-3
Young........ 3-99
Worsley...... 1-17
NEBRASKA Punts Kickoffs Inter.
Liegl........ 3-32
Lindquist.... 1-6
Van Norman... 1-4
Steals....... 1-18
Simmons...... 1-21 |
DEFENSIVE STATISTICS |
MISS. STATE UT AT TT
Keys................... 4 1 5
Barnes ................ 2 2
Collins................ 9 3 12
Jackson................ 5 5
Edwards................ 7 3 10
Cooks ................ 10 2 12
Martin ................ 3 3
Jackson................ 5 5
Evans ................. 3 1 4
Fesmire................ 7 7
Friday................. 1 1
Lambert................ 1 1
Haddix................. 1 1
Koontz................. 1 1
Peterson............... 1 1 2
Berry.................. 1 1
Price.................. 2 2
McDole................. 1 1
Worsley................ 1 1
George ................ 1 1
Robertson.............. 1 1
Stowers................ 1 1 2 |
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NEBRASKA UT AT TT
Williams, J............ 5 1 6
Clark ................. 2 2 4
Hineline............... 3 3
Waechter............... 6 6
Nelson................. 3 3
Damkroger.............. 4 1 5
Williams, B............ 4 2 6
Lindquist.............. 2 1 3
Gary................... 8 1 9
Sims................... 2 1 3
Means.................. 1 2 3
McCrady................ 1 1
Stromath............... 4 1 5
Schleusener............ 2 2
McElroy................ 2 1 3
Williams, T............ 4 1 5
Lindstrom.............. 1 1
Baker.................. 3 1 4
Lewis.................. 2 2
McWhirter.............. 4 2 6
Van Norman............. 1 1
Liegl ................. 1 1 |
Mississippi State-Fumble Recovery, Collins; Interceptions, Martin; Pass Deflections, Jackson, Fesmire.
Nebraska-Fumble Recovery, Davies, J. Williams (2), T. Williams; Interceptions, Lindquist; Pass Deflections, Lindstrom, Sims, Lewis (2).
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