1996 Liberty Bowl

Syracuse, who had finished as co-champion of the Big East Conference (alongside Virginia Tech and Miami, who went to the Orange and Carquest Bowls, respectively), was invited to play in the Liberty Bowl, their first Liberty Bowl since 1961. This was their fifth bowl game in the decade, and 8th in the past 10 seasons.^[1] As for Houston, they had finished as co-champion of Conference USA (along with Southern Miss) in the inaugural year of the conference. This was their first bowl game since 1988.

Game summary

The game found two future first rounders and Super Bowl participants: Syracuse's Donovan McNabb and Houston's Antowain Smith. Although only completing four of ten pass attempts, McNabb rushed for 49 yards and two touchdowns. Smith rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown, as well as receiving for 44 yards and a touchdown. Orangemen running back Malcolm Thomas ran for 201 yards and a touchdown earning MVP honors.^[2]^[3]

Scoring summary

Syracuse – Donovan McNabb 1 yard touchdown run (Trout kick) – 13:16 remaining in the 1st quarter
Houston – Justin Davis 21 yard touchdown pass from Chuck Clements (Villarreal kick) – 11:48 remaining in the 1st quarter
Syracuse – Rob Konrad 2 yard touchdown run (Trout kick) – 9:02 remaining in the 2nd quarter
Syracuse – Team safety (snap sailed over the head of punter Ignacio Sauceda, landing in the end zone) – 3:58 remaining in the 2nd quarter
Houston – Justin Davis 3 yard touchdown run (Villarreal kick) – 0:30 remaining in the 2nd quarter
Syracuse – Donovan McNabb 2 yard touchdown run (Trout kick) – 13:52 remaining in the 4th quarter
Houston – Sebastian Villarreal 23 yard field goal – 10:50 remaining in the 4th quarter
Syracuse – Malcolm Thomas 6 yard touchdown run (Trout kick) – 5:29 remaining in the 4th quarter

Statistics

Statistics	Houston	Syracuse
First downs	13	25
Rushing yards	124	396
Passing yards	217	76
Passing (C–A–I)	14–28–1	4–10–0
Total offense	341	472
Return yards	148	80
Punts–average	3–35.0	4–42.5
Fumbles–lost	0–0	0–0
Third-down conversions	3–11	9–15
Penalties–yards	5–30	5–41
Time of possession	21:59	38:01

References

^ "Syracuse Takes Liberty Bowl". The New York Times. December 4, 1996.
^ "History: Bowl Recaps". 2010 Houston Cougars Football Media Almanac (PDF). Houston, Texas: University of Houston Department of Athletics. 2010. p. 92. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
^ "Miami University Football 2015" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2015.

v t e 1996–97 NCAA football bowl game season
Las Vegas (Dec. 19) Aloha (Dec. 25) Carquest (Dec. 27) Liberty (Dec. 27) Copper (Dec. 27) Peach (Dec. 28) Alamo (Dec. 29) Holiday (Dec. 30) Independence (Dec. 31) Sun (Dec. 31) Outback (Jan. 1) Cotton (Jan. 1) Gator (Jan. 1) Florida Citrus (Jan. 1) Rose (Jan. 1)
Bowl Alliance games: Orange (Dec. 31) Fiesta (Jan. 1) Sugar (Jan. 2)

v t e Liberty Bowl
History & conference tie-ins	History Philadelphia Municipal Stadium Convention Hall Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium Broadcasters Big 12 Conference Southeastern Conference American Athletic Conference
Games	1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2009 2010 (January) 2010 (December) 2011 2012 2013 2014 2016 (January) 2016 (December) 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Notes	There was no Liberty Bowl in 2008 or 2015. There was a Liberty Bowl in January and December of 2010 and 2016.