1980 Independence Bowl

August 2023 March 2026 August 2015 Independence Bowl December 13 1980 1980 McNeese State Cowboys 10–1 Southland Conference Ernie Duplechin 0 7 7 0 QB Stephen Starring, McNeese StateNG Jearld Baylis, Southern Miss Southern Miss Golden Eagles 8–3 Independent Bobby Collins 10 0 0 6 Mizlou bg Independence Stadium Shreveport, Louisiana 42,600 The 1980 Independence Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game between the McNeese State Cowboys and the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. Background Once again, the Cowboys were champions of the Southland Conference and were thus invited to their third Independence bowl in four years. The Golden Eagles were in their first bowl game since 1958. This was the final year of the agreement between the Bowl and the Southland Conference. Game summary Winston Walker gave the Golden Eagles a 3–0 lead on his 36-yard field goal. Cleom Terrell made it 10–0 on his 14-yard run for a touchdown. The Cowboys responded in the next two quarters with a Buford Jordan touchdown run and a Stephan Starring touchdown run to give them a 14–10 lead going into the final quarter. Mike Woodard gave Southern Miss the go-ahead lead on his one-yard touchdown plunge as the Golden Eagles held on to win. Despite outgaining Southern Miss on yards, the Cowboys' four turnovers (compared to Southern Miss' two) doomed the team. In an MVP (but losing) effort, Stephen Starring threw 6-of-12 for 129 yards and ran for 82 yards on 23 carries for McNeese State.http://independencebowl.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/2014-IBowl-Media-Guide.pdf PDF 2014 Duck Commander Independence Bowl : Media Guide Independencebowl.org 2015-08-11 https://web.archive.org/web/20150719000404/http://independencebowl.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/2014-IBowl-Media-Guide.pdf# 2015-07-19 dead Aftermath McNeese State did not win another conference title until 1991, but by this point the conference had dropped below Division I-A (now FBS). This remains their final bowl game. Southern Miss returned to the Independence Bowl in 1988. Statistics Statistics Southern Miss McNeese StateFirst downs 14 14Rushing yards 181 262Passing yards 69 139Interceptions 1 0Total Net Yards 250 401Fumbles–lost 1–1 4–4Penalties–yards 8–75 4–35Punts–average 8–44.5 5–37.4 References Independence Bowl Category:Independence Bowl Category:McNeese Cowboys football bowl games Category:Southern Miss Golden Eagles football bowl games Category:December 1980 sports events in the United States Independence Bowl