42 30 14 3 Arizona State 0 Date 25 December 1977 Announcers Lindsey Nelson, Tom Matte | 15 12 18 42 14 0 Stadium Sun Devil Stadium | |
Champion Penn State Nittany Lions football Location Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona, United States Similar 1973 Fiesta Bowl, 2016 Fiesta Bowl, 1985 Florida Citrus Bowl | ||
The 1977 Fiesta Bowl matched the Arizona State Sun Devils and the Penn State Nittany Lions.
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Background
In the Sun Devils' final year in the Western Athletic Conference, they were co-champion of the WAC for the 7th and last time, playing in their fifth Fiesta Bowl. They were invited to the Fiesta Bowl after co-champion BYU backed out due to the bowl being slated to play on a Sunday. Penn State was once ranked #4 before a loss to Kentucky, but won seven straight after that in their first Fiesta Bowl appearance.
Game summary
Joe Lally blocked a punt and returned it 21 yards to give Penn State the lead early in the first quarter. Bob Torrey caught a touchdown pass from Chuck Fusina to make it 14-0. Arthur Lane caught a touchdown pass from Dennis Sproul to narrow it to 14-7. Bahr made it 17-7 with a field goal. Ron Washington caught a touchdown pass from Sproul to narrow it to 17-14 at halftime. A touchdown run by Steve Geise made it 24-14 at the end of the third, and a touchdown run by Matt Suhey made it 31-14 early in the fourth. Washington caught another touchdown pass from Sproul to narrow it to 31-21, but Bahr kicked another field goal to make it 34-21. George Perry ran in for a touchdown to make the lead 34-28, but Suhey's second touchdown run and a safety late in the game sealed the game for Penn State, who won their first ever Fiesta Bowl.
Aftermath
Penn State would return to the Fiesta Bowl in 1980; Arizona State would return in 1983.