| 1973 Fiesta Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 3rd Fiesta Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg) Sun Devil Stadium inTempe, Arizona, hosted the Fiesta Bowl. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 21, 1973 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1973 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Sun Devil Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Tempe, Arizona | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Greg Hudson (ASU SE) Mike Haynes (ASU CB) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Arizona State by 14 points[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 50,878 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Payout | US$185,000 each[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | Mizlou | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Ray Scott,John Sauer | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The1973 Fiesta Bowl was the thirdedition of thecollege footballbowl game, played atSun Devil Stadium inTempe, Arizona on Friday, December 21. Part of the1973–74 bowl game season, it matched theunrankedindependentPittsburgh Panthers and #10Arizona State Sun Devils of theWestern Athletic Conference (WAC).[1][3]
After falling behind early, favored Arizona State pulled away in the fourth quarter and won again on its home field, 28–7.[4][5][6]
In their first year under head coachJohnny Majors, the Panthers were ranked twice in theAP poll in November (at #20), but lost the next game (Notre Dame,Penn State). This was Pittsburgh's first bowlappearancein seventeen years.
The Sun Devils were co-champions of the WAC, the sole loss was an upset atUtah; ASU defeatedrivalArizona in the late November to clinch the share. This was their fifth straight WAC title and third consecutive Fiesta Bowlappearance; they had won the first two editions (1971, 1972).
Televised byMizlou, the kickoff on Friday night was shortly after 6 p.m.MST.[1][2] It was the Fiesta Bowl's second night game, and the last until January1987.
All-American freshman halfbackTony Dorsett gave Pittsburgh an early lead on his three-yard touchdown run. Arizona State responded, as its All-American halfbackWoody Green ran it in from three yards to make it 7–7 at the end of the first quarter; the second quarter was scoreless.
A field goal by Danny Kush gave Arizona State a 10–7 lead after three quarters. Split endGreg Hudson increased the lead with a 38-yard touchdown reception from quarterbackDanny White, and Green (who had 25 rushes for 131 yards) added two more touchdown runs. The game had thirteen punts and fourteen turnovers, with eight each by Pittsburgh.[4][5][6][7]
Hudson had eight receptions for 186 yards and was the offensiveplayer of the game; cornerbackMike Haynes had two interceptions and took the defensive honor.
| Statistics | Pittsburgh | Arizona State |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 12 | 18 |
| Yards Rushing | 47–151 | 45–164 |
| Yards Passing | 57 | 269 |
| Passing | 7–23–4 | 14–20–3 |
| Return Yards | 27 | −4 |
| Total Offense | 70–208 | 65–433 |
| Punts–Average | 8–39.3 | 5–46.0 |
| Fumbles–Lost | 5–4 | 4–3 |
| Turnovers | 8 | 6 |
| Penalties–Yards | 4–34 | 7–73 |
While in the WAC, Arizona State returned to the Fiesta Bowl twice more, in1975 and1977, their sole defeat. Pittsburgh came back in1979 with another heralded freshman, quarterbackDan Marino, and won.
