The STRANGEST BOWL CONTROVERSY in USC HISTORY

In 1985, the USC Trojans got an invitation to the Aloha Bowl to play the Alabama Crimson Tide. The only problem? There was still a chance, and a realistic one at that, that USC would end the season with a losing record, and would be playing in a bowl at 5-6 at a time where teams never played in bowls with losing records. This is the story behind the 1985 USC Trojans, the 1985 Aloha Bowl, and the bizarre controversy surrounding it
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[@johncate9541]

There was no such thing as "bowl-eligible" in 1985. You could invite a .500 or sub-.500 team if you wanted to, although it basically never happened. But Iowa State in 1972 got invited to the Liberty Bowl when they were 5-3-1 and still got to go when they lost their last two regular-season games to be 5-5-1 going into the bowl. Also, that "unranked Tennessee team" that tied UCLA in 1985 ended up as SEC champions and ranked fourth in the country, and it was in the first game of the season. By the time bowl selections were made, that performance was not a negative and would not have kept the Bruins from consideration for the national title if they had beaten USC.

[@mkepioneet]

Speaking of Iowa State, they went 8-3 in 1976 and ranked 18/19 and didn't get an invite

[@jeffbovee6510]

True. The bowl eligible rule stated in this video started in 1991. The reason losing teams rare got considered for bowls is because there were a lot fewer bowls.

[@brianjacob8728]

guy doesn't know what he's talking about. Education is optional in the sec...

[@veggieoilerfan2940]

Tennessee was actually an unranked team at the start of the 1985 season. They didn’t enter the AP Top 20 until after they beat Auburn on September 28, 1985.

[@johncate9541]

@@veggieoilerfan2940 I never said otherwise. But JG8 said it was a reason they would not have been considered for the national title if they had beaten USC, and it simply wasn't. By November, Tennessee was in the top 10. UCLA would have finished 10-1-1 and that would have made it tough since Oklahoma finished 11-1, but after the bowls, only Fresno State was left unbeaten, at 11-0-1 against a very weak schedule. The Sooners lost at home to Miami, a team Tennessee blew out.

[@DolFan316]

I'm sure glad that Mulligan guy has nothing to do with who gets into the college football playoff today, he'd just pick the same four teams every year because "record means nothing".

[@hovtchil873]

I mean that's not that far off from what we have now

[@marquan1976]

BOWL CONTROVERSY? Clicked right away!

[@prodSpazeY]

Rice is 5-7 and made a bowl game

[@ZagLineGaming]

Is that a DeLorean just sitting on the sideline @13:55 ??

[@CutterHistorical]

This video leads to JG8's CNN video which he put out today

[@anthony0358]

I remember watching this game. This is another excellent video on college football

[@CTubeMan]

This unofficial Official Jaguar 8/9 historian will remind everyone you made a video about the NFL career of USC’s head coach, Ted Tollner.

[@chrisguardiano6143]

This is like UEFA allowing the 2nd-4th place teams (and some cases the 5th place team) in the top leagues of Europe such as the Premier League into the Champions League & allowing clubs that finish as low as 9th place in these top leagues into the Europa League or Conference League. Meanwhile the league champions of countries such as Scotland, Greece, Belgium & Switzerland (all of which have decent leagues) have to go through two rounds of qualifying (which cuts into their preseason) in order to simply make the group stages of the Champions League. Like with bowls, making the group stage of the Champions League is a financial lifeline for many teams, especially those in the leagues I described. There used to be a time (before UEFA got greedy in the late 90's & expanded the Champions League to what we know today) where only the league champion in every country qualified for the Champions League/European Cup & the 2nd-4th place teams played in the Europa League & no other teams that finished lower in the domestic league qualified for European competition unless they won their countries cup competition in which they would play in the Cup Winner's Cup. Now, you could finish as low as 8th or 9th in your domestic league & still qualify for European competition which is absolutely ridiculous.

[@tomdemay6147]

you have to remember at that time Oregon was nothing as a brand. Thats why they didn't do your "play in game" idea.

[@DolFan316]

This was the same UCLA team BTW that beat Iowa in the Rose Bowl thanks to Iowa's Ronnie Harmon fumbling four times (I kid you not) and convincing people to this day he threw the game on purpose.

[@brianarbenz7206]

I remember that game. That was a UCLA team that was in 4th place in the PAC 10 on the final day of regular season, and got to the Rose Bowl through a series of upsets, including a fumbled short snap in the final seconds by Arizona State that kept them out of the Rose Bowl (until the next year). Those Bruins seemed Holiday Bowl material, but absolutely rolled over a once-beaten Iowa. Same thing happened in 1984. Mediocre UCLA squads turned world beaters in the Rose Bowl.

[@tomdemay6147]

"arguably their biggest rival" - doubt any USC fan believes that. But great video.

[@daveporter0217]

I'm with you on bowls. Teams such as UConn, Kansas, and NMSU definitely appreciate having the plethora that are out there.

[@lf2417]

Buffalo beat Akron by 1 point to sneak into bowl eligibility LoL

[@UserName-ts3sp]

depends on who you’re a fan of. if you’re a fan of a blue blood or perennial contender, who cares about the quick lane bowl? but if you’re a new mexico state fan, you’re hella excited about the opportunity to go

[@daveporter0217]

@@UserName-ts3sp Exactly. It's only their second appearance in any bowl since the inauguration of JFK.

[@stout8807]

@@UserName-ts3spyup, my moms husband was ecstatic when Wyoming made a bowl game in 2019. That whole bar erupted after Wyoming beat whoever they were playing.

[@monorail4252]

Old Dominion/Norfolk division of William and Mary ended up at the 1932 Orange Bowl

[@daveporter0217]

They were invited by mistake, as the Miami officials meant to invite the main W&M team in Williamsburg (about 50 miles from Norfolk).

[@a.grimes4202]

Except the fact that the Korean War is literally still ongoing after 72 years.

[@vdubproductions2646]

I would’ve loved to see the egg all over the faces of Aloha Bowl Organizers if USC lost

[@marquan1976]

Oregon would have screamed " Hey what about us, Dammit?"

[@johncate9541]

@@marquan1976 There was a lot of controversy about this in '85. They should have said that whoever won the game got the bowl. Really, West Virginia should have gotten first dibs, but they weren't USC, so...

[@vdubproductions2646]

@@marquan1976 The would've for sure. As much as I am not an Oregon fan, they would have a legit gripe.

[@marquan1976]

@@johncate9541 Yes a 7-3-1 team sitting at home is awful. But that's how it was back then. I remember NC State in 1979 won the ACC title but was passed over for a bowl invite. UNC, Clemson and Wake Forest all got bowl bids though. Nc State beat Clemson and Wake, lost to UNC

[@curtisdavis2157]

#RealOddDistinctionHereForATeamThatHadPlentyOfUpsAndDownsOverTheYears!

[@veggieoilerfan2940]

If you take the payouts into consideration, I don’t think the Holiday Bowl was that much more prestigious than the Aloha Bowl in 1985. This episode mentioned that the 1985 Aloha Bowl paid each team $400,000. According to Wikipedia, the 1985 Holiday Bowl paid $546,957 per team. As far as I know the Holiday Bowl wasn’t really one of the better paying bowls back in the 80’s. According to Wikipedia, numerous teams had turned down an invitation to play in the 1984 Holiday Bowl against the undefeated BYU Cougars. As a result the 6-5 Michigan Wolverines ended up with the invitation. BYU ended up winning the 1984 National Championship by beating the unranked Wolverines 24-17.

[@marcus813]

I don't know why the Aloha Bowl couldn't either make the Mirage Bowl a play-in game for its 2nd spot or just invite West Virginia, which has a fanbase that travels well. The Aloha Bowl got lucky.

[@UserName-ts3sp]

i get not bringing west virginia. really far away. not the best idea to bring 2 eastern teams to hawaii. but mirage bowl should’ve been a play-in.

[@CyberchaoX]

I still find it crazy that bowl invites used to go out before the season ended.

[@mrmonty86]

I like more bowl games because no one is bored during the holidays. Plus as a progressive capitalist, it’s all about revenue and the more money the better.

[@daveporter0217]

ESPN owns so many of them essentially as easy schedule filler over the holidays. That way they have something to hype and broadcast.

[@runrafarunthebestintheworld]

Yes and I also don't think they should start on a Friday in the middle of December. Why not start them on Tuesday two days after Army Navy so there's something to watch during the week.

[@OGDeepStroke]

Get your PhD in history, then have a course over collegiate football history; could be the a degree for players or a minor for sports-science majors.

[@Tubewings]

The SMU Mustangs receiving an invite to the Sun Bowl despite a losing record happened in 1963, seven years before William & Mary at the Tangerine Bowl.

[@daveporter0217]

W&M won the SoCon that year despite the overall losing record. The champ was entitled to the Tangerine Bowl bid regardless of record. That's also how North Texas played in the inaugural New Orleans Bowl back in 2001 with a 5-6 record and the Sun Belt tiebreak.

[@orionparish9858]

I'd say that the 1970 Willam & Mary team should get its own video. But there are probably no actual videos from that season for them. Because who the hell is William & Mary?

[@UserName-ts3sp]

only reason i know william & mary is because it’s mike tomlin’s alma mater

[@Boldorion1958]

William & Mary is ne of the oldest colleges in the US. Its alumni include Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and John Tyler, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall, Sen. Henry Clay (Whig, Ky.), and General Winfield Scott.