The company had served as title sponsor of the game for all eight years of the bowl's existence.
This was followed by an even worse loss against Stanford in the Coliseum by a 55–21 margin that eliminated USC from Rose Bowl contention for the first time in seven years as well as its worst loss in 43 years while Stanford's 55 points were the most points ever scored by an opponent against USC.
USC fell out of the AP Top 25 for the first time in eight years after the loss to Wildcats.
USC had won both games in the series, a 23–17 victory in Los Angeles in 1987 and a 34–7 win in Chestnut Hill in 1988.
Boston College was led by tailback Montel Harris, who rushed for 102 yards and also added a touchdown run.