1989 John Hancock Bowl

The 1989 John Hancock Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Pittsburgh Panthers.

1989 John Hancock Bowl
56th Sun Bowl
Pittsburgh Panthers Texas A&M Aggies
(7–3–1) (8–3)
Independent SWC
31 28
Head coach: 
Paul Hackett
(interim)		 Head coach: 
R. C. Slocum
APCoaches
24NR
APCoaches
1615
1234 Total
Pittsburgh 71077 31
Texas A&M 73126 28
DateDecember 30, 1989
Season1989
StadiumSun Bowl
LocationEl Paso, Texas
MVPQB Alex Van Pelt
Attendance44,887
United States TV coverage
NetworkCBS
AnnouncersTim Brant & Dan Jiggets
Sideline reporters: Greg Gumbel & Lesley Visser

This was the first edition of the annual game otherwise known as the Sun Bowl to be staged as the John Hancock Bowl, through a sponsorship agreement with John Hancock Financial.[1] The company had been the title sponsor of the three prior editions of the Sun Bowl, but their name "wasn't mentioned enough in national media to justify the expense" when it was known as the John Hancock Sun Bowl.[2] The bowl's name would later revert to Sun Bowl in 1994.

Background

The Aggies finished tied for 2nd in the Southwest Conference in Slocum's first season as coach. Meanwhile, Hackett was the interim head coach who was appointed after Pittsburgh and Mike Gottfried parted ways before the game. This was the Aggies' first Sun Bowl since 1977 and the Panthers' first since 1975.

Game summary

An 8 play, 93 yard drive by the Panthers led to a Curvin Richards 12 yard touchdown run to give them a 7-0 lead less than six minutes into the game. A&M responded with an 11 play 80 yard drive complete with a Lance Pavlas 9 yard touchdown run to tie the game with :16 in the first quarter. Ed Frazier's 24 yard field goal gave the Panthers the lead back at 10-7. Layne Talbot tied the game with a field goal of his own, from 39 yards. With :18 seconds remaining in the half, Ronald Redmond caught an 8-yard pass from Alex Van Pelt or a touchdown to give the Panthers a 17-10 lead. In the second half, Van Pelt ran in for a touchdown to give them a 24-10 lead. The Aggies soon went on the charge, responding with a Keith McAfee touchdown run to narrow the lead. However, their conversion attempt failed when Brian Ross fell short, making the margin stay at eight. McAfee rushed for another touchdown with :05 remaining in the quarter. On their second conversion attempt, the pass fell short, leaving the score at 24-22. A&M responded with another score, this time on a Randy Simmons touchdown run, to finally give them the lead, with 9:32 remaining. Once again however, their conversion attempt fell short, leaving it at 28-24. Pittsburgh went on a 9 play, 84 yard drive in two minutes, culminating in a Henry Tuten catch of Van Pelt's 44 yard pass for a touchdown to give the Panthers the lead with two minutes remaining. A&M was given one last chance, with the ball at their own 21. They managed to get to the 47 yard line, but on 3rd down with 1:05 remaining, Pavlas' pass was intercepted by Threats, and the Panthers ran out the rest of the time to win. Alex Van Pelt was named MVP for his performance in the game, in which he threw 20-of-40 for 354 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Curvin Richards went for 156 yards on 23 carries and 1 touchdown. In a losing effort, Keith McAfee went for 94 yards on 15 carries for 2 touchdowns.[3][4]

Aftermath

Hackett would be Pittsburgh's coach for the next three seasons, but he was fired before the final game after amassing a 12-20-1 record. Slocum and the Aggies would win three SWC titles in the next four years.

Statistics
StatisticsPittsburghTexas A&M
First Downs2221
Yards Rushing176252
Yards Passing354196
Total Yards530448
Punts-Average5-42.44-46.8
Fumbles-Lost2-11-0
Interceptions13
Penalties-Yards4-198-65

References
  1. Modoono, Bill (December 17, 1989). "John Hancock puts signature on Sun Bowl". The Daily Item. Sunbury, Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh Press. p. 9D. Retrieved December 25, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  2. "Sun Bowl renamed John Hancock Bowl". Kerrville Times. Kerrville, Texas. AP. June 20, 1989. p. 8. Retrieved December 25, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  3. http://www.sunbowl.org/system/game_recaps/documents/56/original/1989.pdf
  4. http://www.sunbowl.org/the_sun_bowl_game/recap/56
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