| 1997 Poulan/Weed Eater Independence Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Date | December 28, 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Independence Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Shreveport, Louisiana | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | RBRondell Mealey DE Arnold Miller | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | David Neal (MAC) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 50,459 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Ron Franklin,Mike Gottfried andAdrian Karsten | ||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
The1997 Independence Bowl was acollege football postseasonbowl rematch between theLSU Tigers and theNotre Dame Fighting Irish.
The Tigers had finished 2nd in the Western Division of theSEC. The Irish went from 1–4 early in the season to 7–5 with wins over Boston College, LSU and West Virginia. This was the second time they faced LSU in 1997. This was LSU's first Independence Bowl since 1995.
Notre Dame could only muster two field goals in the first half, but they led 6–3 at halftime in a game clouded by light rain and blustery, cold temperatures. HoweverWade Richey and Abram Booty got the Tigers into the lead (on a field goal and touchdown reception, respectively) in the 3rd quarter. Trailing 13–6, Notre Dame could only muster one more field goal to narrow the lead as LSU scored twice onRondell Mealey touchdown runs.[1] Mealey had 34 carries for 222 yards and 2 touchdowns.[2]
Notre Dame defeated LSU 39–36 in South Bend late in the 1998 season. LSU finished 1998 4–7 and was 2–8 in 1999 when coachGerry DiNardo, an All-American offensive guard at Notre Dame underAra Parseghian from 1972–74, was fired.
LSU wouldn't reach a bowl game again until 2000 under new coachNick Saban. Davie led the Irish to the2001 Fiesta Bowl, where they were blown out by Oregon State. He was fired following a 5–6 campaign in 2001.
Neither team has returned to this bowl since this game.
The Tigers and Fighting Irish have met in three subsequent bowls; LSU won the 2007 Sugar Bowl and Notre Dame the 2014 Music City Bowl and 2018 Citrus Bowl.
| Statistics | LSU | Notre Dame |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 19 | 19 |
| Yards Rushing | 265 | 128 |
| Yards Passing | 61 | 115 |
| Total Yards | 326 | 243 |
| Punts-Average | 4-35.8 | 5-45.0 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Interceptions | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties-Yards | 5-55 | 5-30 |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) | Thiscollege footballbowl article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |