LaDainian Tomlinson shares what motivated TCU in its 1998 Sun Bowl victory over USC
One of the signature moments in TCU football history is when the program knocked off perennial power USC in the 1998 Sun Bowl.
That victory is what many point to as the start of the Horned Frogs’ rise to prominence over the last two decades. Former TCU great LaDainian Tomlinson was part of that team and remembers it well.
“Obviously USC has the tradition and history, so we wanted to make a statement,” Tomlinson said earlier this month. “We wanted to let the whole nation know that, ‘Hey, we can hang with the Pac-12. We can hang with the national powers.’”
USC provided extra motivation just before kickoff, too, as Tomlinson vividly recalled.
“You know what else? I remember the USC players disrespecting the horn, the TCU horn,” Tomlinson said. “They spit on it during their walkthrough. That’s what I remember.
“That was extra motivation for sure. It’s been about 20 years, so if I still remember that, everyone on that team remembers that.”
TCU went on to a 28-19 victory over USC, the program’s first bowl win in 41 years. Tomlinson made his mark mostly on special teams with 91 yards on kickoff returns. The then-sophomore also added 30 yards rushing, as well as a 25-yard reception.
Tomlinson was named to the 75th Anniversary All-Sun Bowl Team as a kick returner and he’s still a proud alum of the game.
Tomlinson served as a headliner for a charity event put on by the bowl game earlier this month in El Paso. The game, now called the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl, had Tomlinson and the Tony the Tiger mascot surprise middle schoolers with truckloads of new sports equipment and announced a $500,000 donation to give every El Paso middle schooler the chance to play sports, courtesy of the Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes’ Mission Tiger and The Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation Sports Matter.
“There’s a lack of funding in the school system, so a lot of sports programs are going away because they just can’t afford to have these teams anymore,” Tomlinson said. “There’s no equipment. They don’t have the money. When I heard about this, I had to be a part of it. For one, I’ve been here. I’ve been in El Paso, I was a part of this bowl game, I know what it stands for. I know how important this is to the people here in El Paso.
“I wanted to come be a part of what they’re doing today.”
This year’s Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl features Florida State and Arizona State. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. today at the Sun Bowl in El Paso.
