authored by Nate Smithson
On an unseasonably warm January day, Green Bay, Wisconsin found itself playing host once again to the world's largest Tecmo Super Bowl qualifying tournament. For a fourth year in a row, the number of paid participants broke a Tundra Bowl record. We gave away over $2,000 in cash and prizes, and introduced something never before seen in Tecmo Super Bowl tournaments: The Tundra Bowl RedZone Stream. Over 20,000 people were watching the stream LIVE, and over 380,000 people have been reached, which is insane to think about! The Tecmo Super Bowl community is unlike any other, and I am grateful for the exposure on the various platforms to allow Tundra Bowl V to reach so many people. From start to finish, this year's Tundra Bowl was the biggest and grandest one yet! TBV was a very humbling experience for me personally, and I have to thank our incredible team. Swagz is our graphics guy and tournament official since the first Tundra Bowl. Stephen was brought on starting at TBIV, and his organizational and analytical abilities help tremendously with both the seeding and brackets. I cannot say enough about Jon, Mike T. and Michael C. for their prowess at running the online stream. They turned what was a good online stream in the past, into the best online stream out there. They were largely the ones interacting with the people watching on Twitch and on Facebook while I was running around playing, and directing the tourney. Without this team, Tundra Bowl wouldn't be where it is at today, and where it will be in the future, and TBV was a huge success largely because of their gameday efforts.
Pound-for-pound taken as a whole, Tundra Bowl V had, arguably, the most talented pool of players in any live tournament in the history of Tecmo Super Bowl tournaments. Two-time defending World Champion JoeyGats made his much anticipated Tundra Bowl debut this year. He was joined by two-time defending World Championship runner-up, and TBIV Champion, Regulator. Last year, Regulator went undefeated in his first ever Tundra Bowl appearance, and had his eyes focused on repeating the feat this year. Other marquee players included Josh H. (Sonofpatbeach: TBI Champion, and Tecmo Madison co-founder), Coconuts (TBIII Champion), Mort (2x 2017 Tournament Champion), Louis B. (Red98sethuthut: 2017 Tecmo Columbus Champion), Rico (Thunderdome X Runner-Up), Ones11Fahzu, and many more, including travelers from Florida (Dave M. - Tecmo Madison owner) and New York (Louis and Dave H. - HoffNasty9)! This year, we started a new incentive for winning any Tundra Bowl tournament, and that's free lifetime admission to any future Tundra Bowl tournament...with this sort of field, you can see why we'd do it - because you truly earn it if you survive this field!
Starting out the Group Play stage had a little different feel to this year's tournament as we introduced slight changes to our Bracket Stage. First, the top 32 players would make the Tournament Bracket. It would be a single-elimination first round (double from Sweet 16 and beyond) to provide excitement and lay the foundation for some serious upsets, while the remaining players would be entered into the single-elimination Consolation Bracket. The thinking behind this was to get everyone a minimum of five games, and gets to enjoy their stay in the tournament that much more if they were to be eliminated. Having more games for the players is always a good addition.
The TB RedZone Stream featured five high-quality matchups in Group Play, allowing viewers to see competitive games right from the start. Two game found themselves with a larger margin of victory than anticipated (JustinPeters51 over Ryan11p by 17, and Coconuts over Kevin Cabarello by 14), but the other three were decided by one score or less. PrimeTime beat HoffNasty9 by a touchdown, securing himself as the Group 11 winner with the victory. Levi L. (Nelson79) took Ones down to the wire, losing by 1. Gio took down RetroNathan in overtime, winning by 6. Gio's upset proved to be the difference in Group 6.
On an unseasonably warm January day, Green Bay, Wisconsin found itself playing host once again to the world's largest Tecmo Super Bowl qualifying tournament. For a fourth year in a row, the number of paid participants broke a Tundra Bowl record. We gave away over $2,000 in cash and prizes, and introduced something never before seen in Tecmo Super Bowl tournaments: The Tundra Bowl RedZone Stream. Over 20,000 people were watching the stream LIVE, and over 380,000 people have been reached, which is insane to think about! The Tecmo Super Bowl community is unlike any other, and I am grateful for the exposure on the various platforms to allow Tundra Bowl V to reach so many people. From start to finish, this year's Tundra Bowl was the biggest and grandest one yet! TBV was a very humbling experience for me personally, and I have to thank our incredible team. Swagz is our graphics guy and tournament official since the first Tundra Bowl. Stephen was brought on starting at TBIV, and his organizational and analytical abilities help tremendously with both the seeding and brackets. I cannot say enough about Jon, Mike T. and Michael C. for their prowess at running the online stream. They turned what was a good online stream in the past, into the best online stream out there. They were largely the ones interacting with the people watching on Twitch and on Facebook while I was running around playing, and directing the tourney. Without this team, Tundra Bowl wouldn't be where it is at today, and where it will be in the future, and TBV was a huge success largely because of their gameday efforts.
Pound-for-pound taken as a whole, Tundra Bowl V had, arguably, the most talented pool of players in any live tournament in the history of Tecmo Super Bowl tournaments. Two-time defending World Champion JoeyGats made his much anticipated Tundra Bowl debut this year. He was joined by two-time defending World Championship runner-up, and TBIV Champion, Regulator. Last year, Regulator went undefeated in his first ever Tundra Bowl appearance, and had his eyes focused on repeating the feat this year. Other marquee players included Josh H. (Sonofpatbeach: TBI Champion, and Tecmo Madison co-founder), Coconuts (TBIII Champion), Mort (2x 2017 Tournament Champion), Louis B. (Red98sethuthut: 2017 Tecmo Columbus Champion), Rico (Thunderdome X Runner-Up), Ones11Fahzu, and many more, including travelers from Florida (Dave M. - Tecmo Madison owner) and New York (Louis and Dave H. - HoffNasty9)! This year, we started a new incentive for winning any Tundra Bowl tournament, and that's free lifetime admission to any future Tundra Bowl tournament...with this sort of field, you can see why we'd do it - because you truly earn it if you survive this field!
Starting out the Group Play stage had a little different feel to this year's tournament as we introduced slight changes to our Bracket Stage. First, the top 32 players would make the Tournament Bracket. It would be a single-elimination first round (double from Sweet 16 and beyond) to provide excitement and lay the foundation for some serious upsets, while the remaining players would be entered into the single-elimination Consolation Bracket. The thinking behind this was to get everyone a minimum of five games, and gets to enjoy their stay in the tournament that much more if they were to be eliminated. Having more games for the players is always a good addition.
The TB RedZone Stream featured five high-quality matchups in Group Play, allowing viewers to see competitive games right from the start. Two game found themselves with a larger margin of victory than anticipated (JustinPeters51 over Ryan11p by 17, and Coconuts over Kevin Cabarello by 14), but the other three were decided by one score or less. PrimeTime beat HoffNasty9 by a touchdown, securing himself as the Group 11 winner with the victory. Levi L. (Nelson79) took Ones down to the wire, losing by 1. Gio took down RetroNathan in overtime, winning by 6. Gio's upset proved to be the difference in Group 6.
When Group Play was all said and done, the number one and number two seeds performed mostly as they were supposed to. RetroNathan and Sonofpatbeach were the only two group #1 seeds that did not win their group (Retro by a point differential tiebreaker, Sonofpatbeach outright by a game), as Tim O. (TimPapi) scored the upset in Group 5 and advanced as the group winner. In a Group 2 surprise, #2 seed SammieSmith33 didn't make it into the Top 32, having to instead settle as the top seed in the Consolation Bracket. Levi was the only other #2 seed having to continue their play in the Consolation Bracket. Other number two seeds that failed to capture at least the runner-up position in their respective groups, but still made the Tournament Bracket were Kevin Cabarello (Nate V. - The Legend got runner-up in Group 4) and Flash80 (FabulasFulcher as the runner-up in Group 9).
Once Group Play concluded, we got on getting the seedings calculated. While this time typically can be quite the lull, we believe we've gotten it down to a science. While there was roughly 30 minutes of calculation needed, we knew that we could offer something not only to our players, but also the the viewers watching the stream as well. I was approached by Ryan11p prior to the tourney, and he had stated he wanted to attempt an NBA Jam TE World Record for point differential in a 2v2 game, and asked if that would be possible at Tundra Bowl. I thought it was a stellar idea to do so, and placing it in the time where we were calculating would allow participants to experience the pure Jam talent level of Ryan and Kevin Cabarello (who, just a couple weeks before, set a World Record for individual point differential). The game went off without a hitch on the stream. Starting a little slower than they wanted (only up by 25 at the half), the two players quickly found their rhythm and crushed the World Record, live at Tundra Bowl! The previous record held was at +61 point differential, and at the tournament, they managed to achieve a +78 point differential. It was a perfect event for the intermission between the Group Play and Bracket Stage for TBV, and we look forward to their next video game World Record at Tundra Bowl VI!
Once Group Play concluded, we got on getting the seedings calculated. While this time typically can be quite the lull, we believe we've gotten it down to a science. While there was roughly 30 minutes of calculation needed, we knew that we could offer something not only to our players, but also the the viewers watching the stream as well. I was approached by Ryan11p prior to the tourney, and he had stated he wanted to attempt an NBA Jam TE World Record for point differential in a 2v2 game, and asked if that would be possible at Tundra Bowl. I thought it was a stellar idea to do so, and placing it in the time where we were calculating would allow participants to experience the pure Jam talent level of Ryan and Kevin Cabarello (who, just a couple weeks before, set a World Record for individual point differential). The game went off without a hitch on the stream. Starting a little slower than they wanted (only up by 25 at the half), the two players quickly found their rhythm and crushed the World Record, live at Tundra Bowl! The previous record held was at +61 point differential, and at the tournament, they managed to achieve a +78 point differential. It was a perfect event for the intermission between the Group Play and Bracket Stage for TBV, and we look forward to their next video game World Record at Tundra Bowl VI!
After calculating the records and point differentials, the single-elimination Consolation Bracket got underway. The Consolation Bracket had some notable players in it, and because of this, some pretty competitive games ensued. In the second round, Retro4Ever alum Kevin M. (Sw33ts) squeaked out a narrow victory 10-7 over Randy S., who had made the Tournament Bracket in TBIV. The closest game of the second round was when SammieSmith33 beat CrestedChris by a narrow margin, 27-21, the Bears over the Bengals. In round 3 of the Consolation Bracket, a nailbiter between Rob C. and Chase M. came down to only a 1-point differential as Chase defeated Rob 10-9. Chase's run would end one round later when Troy F. defeated him 28-7 to make it to the CBC. Sw33ts would continue his run of 3-point victories (10-7, 10-7, 13-10), defeating Jared M. (TundraYeti) to make the finals against Troy F. However, his run would come to an end as Troy beat him 28-0 to win the Consolation Bracket, and take home a $20 Gift Card, a 1991 Score NFL Card set, and a Bobby Humphrey Starting Lineup figurine.
The Tournament Bracket was fully seeded and got under way as the CB was going on. The top 32 players were seeded, with Louis (Red98sethuthut) taking over the #1 overall seed. The #2 seed overall went to Orenga (AverageTSBPlayer), followed by Rico, Coconuts, and PrimeTime to round out the Top 5. With a 1st round single-elimination, the stakes were higher than ever. A number of marquee players made it through the first round in decisive fashion with Louis taking out Dan V. (Chopper) 24-0, JoeyGats defeating DarthRockman 17-0 (SD over CHI), and Regulator taking out Josh W. 35-0, DEN over SD. All did not go according to plan for some players though, as the 3rd and 5th seeded players in the Tournament Bracket were eliminated. Rico lost to Tundra Bowl veteran #30 Nick S. (Sanchez) 28-7 in a suprise upset. However, the most shocking upset of the day went to #28 Troy E. (NMUFred) when he kicked a game-winning field goal to defeat PrimeTime 13-10, the Steelers over the Rams. The single-elimination set up some possible Cinderella stories as we moved into the double-elimination portion of our bracket in the Sweet 16 and beyond.
Making it to the Sweet 16 is no easy task at the Tundra Bowl. Not only do you have to make it through Group Play at .500 or above, you need to win in the Tournament Bracket. The Sweet 16 this year found us with some unfamiliar faces. NMUFred, Sanchez, The Legend, TimPapi and the_shield all made their first or second appearance this deep in the tourney. Because of how seeding shook out, a powerhouse game of Mort versus Regulator headlined the second round of the Tournament Bracket. While it was a back and forth game of possession and control, Regulator managed to squeak one out 17-14 to send Mort to the Loser's Bracket. Other action in Round 2 of the Winner's Bracket saw Coconuts beat Sonofpatbeach 17-14 (DEN-SD), Louis beat The Legend 13-3 (PIT-GB), Ones defeated Gio 17-14 (DEN-WAS), Gats dominated NMUFred 31-0 (CLE-GB), RetroNathan shut out Orenga 17-0 (RAMS-WAS), TimPapi narrowly defeat JustinPeters51 10-7 (DAL-PHX) and the_shield defeat Sanchez 17-10 (MIA-CHI).
Round 3 in the Winner's Bracket was full of monster matchups. Louis and Ones squared off in a TB-DAL matchup called by Ones. Louis ended up taking TB, which I have a feeling most players would. It came as a surprise to no one that just two points would separate the winner in this one, as Louis narrowly escaped with a 14-12 victory, keeping him undefeated on the day. Coconuts and JoeyGats had another excellent game decided by only a score. Both Coconuts and Gats favor SD, so when Gats called a CIN-SD matchup, while difficult to take, Coconuts opted for the Chargers. San Diego, however, would be on the losing end of this contest 21-14 as the Bengals offense was just too much for him. Two possible Cinderella stories remained with TimPapi taking on RetroNathan, and the_shield facing Regulator. Unfortunately for the_shield, Regulator dominated from start to finish, winning 27-7 in a RAI-KC matchup. In TimPapi's game against RetroNathan, late in the 4th quarter, Retro recovered a fumble to set up a game-winning field goal with the Dolphins. Somehow, what looked like the dagger pinged off the goalpost and sent the game into overtime. TimPapi won the toss, and never looked back, scoring the winning TD on the opening drive, and sealing the victory 23-17.
With many big names losing their Sweet 16 and Round 3 matchups, it set up some major elimination games in Rounds 1 and 2 of the Loser's Bracket. The biggest elimination game in Round 1 of the LB was JustinPeters51 and Orenga squaring off in a MIA-RAMS matchup. As most people know...don't EVER give Orenga the Rams. He's got a 93%* win rate with them (unofficial statistic). This game turned out to be one of the few times where Orenga wouldn't come out victorious with LA, having his day ended with a 21-7 defeat. Round 2 of the LB saw more huge matchups, including Ones and Mort, Sonofpatbeach and Retro, JP51 and Coconuts, and Gio versus the_shield. In three of the cases, the higher seed won, and ended the days of Mort (20-17), JP51 (17-0), RetroNathan (17-0); the_shield was the only slight upset as he defeated Gio 17-14. Both RetroNathan (4th) and Mort (2nd) placed in the Final Four in Tundra Bowl IV, and could get no further than the Sweet 16 this year.
Round 3 in the Winner's Bracket was full of monster matchups. Louis and Ones squared off in a TB-DAL matchup called by Ones. Louis ended up taking TB, which I have a feeling most players would. It came as a surprise to no one that just two points would separate the winner in this one, as Louis narrowly escaped with a 14-12 victory, keeping him undefeated on the day. Coconuts and JoeyGats had another excellent game decided by only a score. Both Coconuts and Gats favor SD, so when Gats called a CIN-SD matchup, while difficult to take, Coconuts opted for the Chargers. San Diego, however, would be on the losing end of this contest 21-14 as the Bengals offense was just too much for him. Two possible Cinderella stories remained with TimPapi taking on RetroNathan, and the_shield facing Regulator. Unfortunately for the_shield, Regulator dominated from start to finish, winning 27-7 in a RAI-KC matchup. In TimPapi's game against RetroNathan, late in the 4th quarter, Retro recovered a fumble to set up a game-winning field goal with the Dolphins. Somehow, what looked like the dagger pinged off the goalpost and sent the game into overtime. TimPapi won the toss, and never looked back, scoring the winning TD on the opening drive, and sealing the victory 23-17.
With many big names losing their Sweet 16 and Round 3 matchups, it set up some major elimination games in Rounds 1 and 2 of the Loser's Bracket. The biggest elimination game in Round 1 of the LB was JustinPeters51 and Orenga squaring off in a MIA-RAMS matchup. As most people know...don't EVER give Orenga the Rams. He's got a 93%* win rate with them (unofficial statistic). This game turned out to be one of the few times where Orenga wouldn't come out victorious with LA, having his day ended with a 21-7 defeat. Round 2 of the LB saw more huge matchups, including Ones and Mort, Sonofpatbeach and Retro, JP51 and Coconuts, and Gio versus the_shield. In three of the cases, the higher seed won, and ended the days of Mort (20-17), JP51 (17-0), RetroNathan (17-0); the_shield was the only slight upset as he defeated Gio 17-14. Both RetroNathan (4th) and Mort (2nd) placed in the Final Four in Tundra Bowl IV, and could get no further than the Sweet 16 this year.
Round 3 of the LB proved to be an interesting one. Sonofpatbeach was riding high after completing a million CCs in his previous game, and tried to get another similar game called, going with the RAMS-KC matchup. However, the_shield wasn't about to give him those opportunities, and took the superior Chiefs instead. In the end, Josh's Tecmo experience proved to be the difference, coming away the victor 24-13, ending the_shield's run in the Elite 8. The other elimination game for the Elite 8 saw Ones take on Coconuts. The tactical nature of both of the players is something to behold, and likely would result in a low-scoring game. Ones called PHX-NO, giving Coconuts his other favorite team, the Saints. While the game stayed close throughout, Ones came out victorious 13-10 in overtime, ending the TBIII Champion's day.
Round 4 of the Winner's Bracket saw Louis and Gats square off, and Regulator facing TimPapi. Typically, this round holds some very tight and competitive games, but this year, both games were blowouts. Regulator took care of business versus the underdog TimPapi, 23-3. Surprisingly, JoeyGats was shutout in his game against Louis, 24-0. Gats couldn't get anything going with QB Eagles, and wasn't able to put any points up on the board. This sent Gats to the 4th round Loser's Bracket to face red hot Sonofpatbeach, while TimPapi would go against Ones. The winner of both games would make the Final Four, joining Louis and Regulator who were still alive in the Winner's Bracket. Ones methodically ended TimPapi's fantastic run, winning 14-3. Gats looked to have a command of the game with Miami in a Dolphins-Chiefs matchup with Josh...that was, until Emile Harry made his presence known. Down 14-21, Josh was looking to score late in the 4th quarter. Facing a 4th and 11 with only 16 seconds left, Josh tried a JJ to Harry, only Harry didn't jump. Somehow, he completes the pass as two Dolphins defenders stand waiting for the pick, and he forces overtime against Gats. It was something never before seen on a Tecmo stream, and everyone went crazy at the absurdity of it. The rest, as they say, is history. After a fumble that went out of bounds for the Chiefs, Josh ended up scoring a TD on the first overtime drive to win 27-21, going on to face Ones in the Final Four.
Round 4 of the Winner's Bracket saw Louis and Gats square off, and Regulator facing TimPapi. Typically, this round holds some very tight and competitive games, but this year, both games were blowouts. Regulator took care of business versus the underdog TimPapi, 23-3. Surprisingly, JoeyGats was shutout in his game against Louis, 24-0. Gats couldn't get anything going with QB Eagles, and wasn't able to put any points up on the board. This sent Gats to the 4th round Loser's Bracket to face red hot Sonofpatbeach, while TimPapi would go against Ones. The winner of both games would make the Final Four, joining Louis and Regulator who were still alive in the Winner's Bracket. Ones methodically ended TimPapi's fantastic run, winning 14-3. Gats looked to have a command of the game with Miami in a Dolphins-Chiefs matchup with Josh...that was, until Emile Harry made his presence known. Down 14-21, Josh was looking to score late in the 4th quarter. Facing a 4th and 11 with only 16 seconds left, Josh tried a JJ to Harry, only Harry didn't jump. Somehow, he completes the pass as two Dolphins defenders stand waiting for the pick, and he forces overtime against Gats. It was something never before seen on a Tecmo stream, and everyone went crazy at the absurdity of it. The rest, as they say, is history. After a fumble that went out of bounds for the Chiefs, Josh ended up scoring a TD on the first overtime drive to win 27-21, going on to face Ones in the Final Four.
In the Winner's Bracket, Louis and Regulator fought it out to get to the Championship game. Both players were undefeated up until this point, and Regulator hadn't lost in his Tundra Bowl playing history. Regulator won the toss, and had to really contemplate the matchup. At Tundra Bowl, matchup calls don't reset after Group Play, so it makes it all the more interesting as time goes on in the tournament. Regulator called KC-PHI, and just like you don't give Orenga the Rams, you DEFINITELY don't give Regs the Eagles. That is Tecmo 101 right there for anyone who matches up against him. Louis wisely chose Philly, and Regs ended up with KC. Twists and turns ensued, including just before the end of regulation. Regulator had the ball inside the redzone, and substituted in Emile Harry. Yes, the very same one who made an incredible grab in a game earlier. Harry would pull double duty, making an unlikely diving catch in the endzone to tie it up and send the game into overtime. Louis won the toss, and managed to drive the ball down in OT though, handing Regulator his first ever TB loss as he kicked the winning FG, victorious at 24-21.
The winner of Ones and Josh would move onto face Regulator for the chance to go to the Championship Round against Louis. The GIA-BUF matchup called brought out former Giants player Stephen Baker tuning into the stream. Josh would have his good fortunes continue as he went up 17-7 early in the second half. Ones would score a TD to pull within three, but Josh managed to run the clock out, sending Ones to a 4th place finish. Between last year (3rd) and this year, Ones has had an impressive Tundra Bowl career so far. In the next round against Regulator, Josh, feeling either lucky or slightly inebriated, called a KC-PHI matchup, effectively handing Regulator the chance to seek his revenge against Louis in the Championship. Regulator didn't disappoint in his QB Eagles prowess, making the Chiefs look lost for most of the game. Regulator ended Josh's impressive day, 32-13, with Josh securing his best finish (3rd) since his Tundra Bowl I title.
The winner of Ones and Josh would move onto face Regulator for the chance to go to the Championship Round against Louis. The GIA-BUF matchup called brought out former Giants player Stephen Baker tuning into the stream. Josh would have his good fortunes continue as he went up 17-7 early in the second half. Ones would score a TD to pull within three, but Josh managed to run the clock out, sending Ones to a 4th place finish. Between last year (3rd) and this year, Ones has had an impressive Tundra Bowl career so far. In the next round against Regulator, Josh, feeling either lucky or slightly inebriated, called a KC-PHI matchup, effectively handing Regulator the chance to seek his revenge against Louis in the Championship. Regulator didn't disappoint in his QB Eagles prowess, making the Chiefs look lost for most of the game. Regulator ended Josh's impressive day, 32-13, with Josh securing his best finish (3rd) since his Tundra Bowl I title.
The stage had been set, and we were off to a rematch between Louis and Regulator. Louis, undefeated up until this point in the tournament, won the toss and called a Houston-Buffalo matchup. Regulator took Buffalo, the more consistent team overall. With Louis up 17-14 in the late 3rd quarter, he had a chance to seal the deal with the ball inside the 10. A third down, Redgun call had options open, but being conservative, Louis held the ball for the sack. A cutscene leap later on the FG didn't result in a block, and Louis took the lead 20-14 over Regulator with 49 seconds to go in the 4th quarter. Regulator would answer on the following drive with a CC to Andre Reed over Ray Childress, going up 21-20 with just over 3 minutes left in the 4th quarter. In a matter of just a handful of plays, Louis drove down and scored with 1:54 remaining on the clock, taking the lead 27-21. Regulator had plenty of time left on the clock to answer, and has the ability to wind it down to the end to win. The first play by Regulator was a bomb to Thurman Thomas, that was shockingly in range for a JJ, but when that passed over Thomas, was falling directly to a waiting Richard Johnson. Neither the JJ, nor the INT would happen on the play, allowing Regs to breathe a sigh of relief from not turning it over. A failed bomb to Reed, a called play, and a pass tipped at the line ended Regulator's quest to be repeat champion. Louis hung on for his first ever Tundra Bowl victory, and with that, gained entrance into the exclusive club of TB Champions that have earned lifetime membership.
All told, we had a fantastic amount of support and attendance for Tundra Bowl V. Many prizes were given away, including an autographed Jerry Rice jersey, and autographed Henry Ellard jersey, and dozens of other prizes. Our cash prizes totaled nearly $1,200 for our top 8 finishers. Tundra Bowl V was an even greater success than what we had hoped, and because of that following, we have some great ideas already lined up for Tundra Bowl VI. While we hope to catch you all in Madison, we hope that you will join us next January when Tundra Bowl returns to The Watering Hole in Green Bay, Wisconsin!
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Tundra Bowl V Championship
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