DECEMBER 30TH, 1986 - THE HOLIDAY BOWL: #19 IOWA 39, San Diego State 38. The most exciting and tense bowl game in the Hayden Fry era. Iowa, essentially having to play a true road game for a bowl game, spent most of the night play catch-up, as Aztec Jr. QB Todd Santos, who had finished the regular season as the 5th best QB in the country in terms of passing efficiency, passed for 298 yards and 3 touchdowns, having a field night against the Iowa secondary.
While Iowa tried to stay close, they found themselves trailing 35-21 with just under 9 minutes to play. Iowa's QB Mark Vlasic, the man who had to fill the shoes of Chuck Long, had been an unremarkable 10-21 for only 137 yards, and faced a 4th down and 4 at the SDSU 30 yard line. If Iowa had failed on that play, the Aztecs probably would have won in a laugher.
Instead, Vlasic threw a TD pass to a reserve tight end by the name of Marv Cook. Then Hayden pulled out his exotics, and the holder, a reserve QB by the name of Chuck Hartlieb, faked the extra point and threw a 2-pt. conversion pass to TE Mike Flagg to give Iowa the additional point that was ultimately the difference in the final score.
The end of the game provided even more heroics which you can watch either in the full game or in the highlights - links are below. Let's just say that, once again, Rob Houghtlin added to his legacy with the game-winning kick. And ultimately, the Holiday Bowl committee members ended up with egg on their face, as they had already decided who they thought would win the game and made two Aztec players the game MVP's. A REALLY, REALLY satisfying win.
The whole game is here:
Some selected highlights are here: .
While Iowa tried to stay close, they found themselves trailing 35-21 with just under 9 minutes to play. Iowa's QB Mark Vlasic, the man who had to fill the shoes of Chuck Long, had been an unremarkable 10-21 for only 137 yards, and faced a 4th down and 4 at the SDSU 30 yard line. If Iowa had failed on that play, the Aztecs probably would have won in a laugher.
Instead, Vlasic threw a TD pass to a reserve tight end by the name of Marv Cook. Then Hayden pulled out his exotics, and the holder, a reserve QB by the name of Chuck Hartlieb, faked the extra point and threw a 2-pt. conversion pass to TE Mike Flagg to give Iowa the additional point that was ultimately the difference in the final score.
The end of the game provided even more heroics which you can watch either in the full game or in the highlights - links are below. Let's just say that, once again, Rob Houghtlin added to his legacy with the game-winning kick. And ultimately, the Holiday Bowl committee members ended up with egg on their face, as they had already decided who they thought would win the game and made two Aztec players the game MVP's. A REALLY, REALLY satisfying win.
The whole game is here:
Some selected highlights are here: .
