Tampa Bay Football History Network - 1990 Hall of Fame Bowl

1990 Hall of Fame Bowl

Tampa's fourth Hall of Fame Bowl was the first time the game was played on January 1. When the ninth ranked Auburn Tigers accepted a bid to the game, they became the first team ranked in the top ten to make the trip to Tampa Stadium. Auburn had a 9-2 record and would play the Ohio State Buckeyes, who were ranked number twenty-one with a 7-4 record. It was the first meeting between the two schools since 1917. Pat Dye was the head coach at Auburn and John Cooper was the coach at Ohio State. The game set a record for attendance at 68,085.

Auburn quarterback Reggie Slack had his problems early and two first half interceptions helped Ohio State take a 14-3 lead in the second quarter. Buckeye quarterback Greg Frey (16 of 31 for 232 yards and an INT) tossed a touchdown pass and his favorite receiver was Jeff Graham (5 catches for 103 yards). Slack would get hot and Auburn scored on its last possession of the half and the first three times they had the ball in the second half. Slack (16 of 22 for 141 yards) completed his last twelve passes, threw for three TDs and ran for a touchdown. The Tigers scored the last 28 points to post their sixth straight win. Auburn held the Big Ten's top rated offense to 81 total yards in the second half. Slack was named the MVP in the 31-14 victory. Ohio State coach John Cooper agreed with the selection, stating "Reggie Slack was the difference."

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