1977 Fiesta Bowl

The 1977 Fiesta Bowl matched the Arizona State Sun Devils and the Penn State Nittany Lions.

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. ^[1] 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. ^[2]

Aftermath

Penn State would return to the Fiesta Bowl in 1980; Arizona State would return in 1983.

Statistics

References