Outback Bowl 25th Anniversary

January 1, 1992 - No. 16 Syracuse 24, No. 23 Ohio State 17

GAME RECAP - In the second appearance in the bowl for each school, 1992 marked the only time the bowl has not had a southern team in the game.

It was the game of the "big play." The 16th ranked Orangemen opened up a 14-0 lead in the first quarter with the help of a 50-yard TD pass to Shelby Hill and another TD setup by a 57-yard pass to Qadry Ismail.

But the Buckeyes slowly scraped their way back. PK Tim Williams hit a 34 yard field goal before the half. Then in the third period Carlos Snow returned a kickoff 50 yards to setup an 11 play drive that was capped-off with a 2 yard Snow TD run.

Ohio State finally tied the game at 17-17 when Steve Tovar blocked a punt and Tito Paul recovered the ball in the end zone with less than 8 minutes remaining in the game.

However, Syracuse's deep threat proved the difference in the end. The Buckeyes were stung again less than a minute later when they bit on a Marvin Graves play-action/option pass and allowed a wide open Antonio Johnson to pull down a 60-yard bomb for the winning TD.

First year coach Paul Pasqualoni was carried off the field as Syracuse collected its second Hall of Fame Bowl trophy. Graves was voted the game MVP with an 18-31-1 showing for 309 yards and 2 TDs.

Game Summary

MVP: Marvin Graves, QB, Syracuse

PLAY OF THE GAME: With the game tied midway through the fourth quarter, Syracuse QB Marvin Graves executed a perfect play-action/option pass that fooled the Buckeye defense and allowed a wide open Antonio Johnson to pull down a 60-yard bomb for the winning TD.

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