1995 Liberty Bowl
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| 1995 St. Jude Liberty Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 37th Liberty Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 30, 1995 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1995 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Memphis, Tennessee | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Kwame Ellis (CB, Stanford) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Courtney Mauzy (ACC) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 47,398 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Bob Carpenter and Mike Mayock | ||||||||||||||||||
The 1995 Liberty Bowl (December) game was a college football bowl game played on December 30, 1995, at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. The 37th edition of the Liberty Bowl, it featured the Stanford Cardinal and the East Carolina Pirates.
Although East Carolina did not reach the end zone on offense—they scored on four field goals and an interception return for a touchdown—that effort, combined with strong defense, was enough to defeat Stanford, 19–13. The Cardinal scored the game's only offensive touchdown, while cornerback Kwame Ellis returned a blocked punt for touchdown and was named the game's MVP in a losing effort.
Stanford
Led by first-year coach Tyrone Willingham who replaced Bill Walsh, the Cardinal had been expected to finish last in the Pac-10; instead, the team finished with a 7–3–1 record, good enough for fourth in the conference.[1] Stanford was led offensively by quarterback Mark Butterfield, who had thrown for over 2,500 yards and 19 touchdowns during the season and running back Anthony Bookman, who had run for 900 yards.[1][2]
East Carolina
East Carolina was led by fourth-year head coach Steve Logan. The Pirates were returning to the Liberty Bowl for the second-straight year after having been blown out 30–0 in the 1994 Liberty Bowl. East Carolina was led by quarterback Marcus Crandell, who had thrown for over 2,700 yards and 18 touchdowns and as a junior, was already East Carolina's all-time passing and offensive yardage leader.[2][3]