 the garden state bowl was an annual post-season college football bowl game played at giants stadium in east rutherford, new jersey, from 1978 to 1981.foldesy, jody. "bowls burgeon as big business", the washington times. december 21, 1997. page a1. freezing temperatures and a lack of successful local college teams contributed to its demise. ==game results== {| class="wikitable" |- !date !winning team !losing team !notes |- |december 16, 1978 |arizona state 34 |rutgers 18 |notes |- |december 15, 1979 |temple 28 |california 17 |notes |- |december 14, 1980 |houston 35 |navy 0 |notes |- |december 13, 1981 |tennessee 28 |wisconsin 21 |notes |} ==effects== after the demise of the garden state bowl following the 1981 game, the new jersey sports and exposition authority, which operated and scheduled events at giants stadium, decided to host a game in the beginning of the season, rather than the end. this led to the formation of the kickoff classic, which was held either the last week of august or the first week of september every year for 20 seasons. ==see also== *list of college bowl games *kickoff classic ==references==  
American_football_in_New_Jersey Defunct_college_football_bowls Garden_State_Bowl Recurring_events_disestablished_in_1981 Recurring_sporting_events_established_in_1978