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College football game
The
1995 Independence Bowl
was a
college football
postseason
bowl game
between the
LSU Tigers
and the
Michigan State Spartans
.
Background
[
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]
This was the first Independence Bowl to have an at large bid for the
Southeastern Conference
, which continued on until 2009. The Spartans were 5th in the
Big Ten Conference
in Nick Saban's first year with the program. LSU was 4th in the Western Division of the
Southeastern Conference
in Gerry DiNardo's first year with the program as well. This was the first Independence Bowl for both teams.
Game summary
[
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]
Muhsin Muhammad
gave the Spartans the lead after catching a touchdown pass from
Tony Banks
in the first quarter. LSU tied the game on a touchdown run before the quarter ended. Michigan State took the lead again on a Greene touchdown run. A kickoff return for a touchdown by the Spartans along with a field goal by Gardner made it 24-7.
Eddie Kennison
, however, would give the Tigers life. A 92-yard kickoff return narrowed the lead to 10, and
Kevin Faulk's
51 yard touchdown run made the halftime deficit 24-21. The second half was all LSU as Faulk ran for a second touchdown,
Gabe Northern
recovered a fumble 37 yards for a touchdown, and Kennison caught a touchdown pass from
Herb Tyler
to give LSU a 42-24 lead by the time the fourth quarter started. The final period had only a LSU field goal and a Spartan safety as the Spartans' six turnovers and limited success with rushing doomed them as LSU won their first Independence Bowl. MVP Kevin Faulk had 234 yards on 25 carries for an average of 9.5 yards. Both the yards and yards per carry are Independence Bowl records.
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Aftermath
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]
The Tigers returned to Shreveport for the Independence Bowl two years later, in
1997
. The Spartans have not returned to Shreveport since this game. Saban left Michigan State for LSU after the 1999 season.
Statistics
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]
Statistics
|
LSU
|
Michigan State
|
First Downs
|
17
|
23
|
Yards Rushing
|
272
|
100
|
Yards Passing
|
146
|
348
|
Total Yards
|
418
|
448
|
Punts-Average
|
4-44.5
|
6-37.5
|
Fumbles-Lost
|
2-1
|
4-3
|
Interceptions
|
1
|
3
|
Penalties-Yards
|
5-42
|
9-80
|
References
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]
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History & conference tie-ins
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Games
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