1980 Garden State Bowl , part of the 1980 bowl game season , took place on December 14 , 1980 , at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford , New Jersey . The competing teams were the Navy Midshipmen , which competed as a football independent , and the Houston Cougars , representing the Southwest Conference ( SWC ) . Houston dominated both sides of the ball in their 35 – 0 shutout of the Midshipmen . Despite playing in eight bowl games after the 1980 Garden State Bowl , this was Houston 's last bowl game win until the 2008 Armed Forces Bowl , which marked the end of an eight game , bowl game losing streak
football independent
NCAA Division I FBS independent schools
1980 Garden State Bowl