| 1979 Fiesta Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 9th Fiesta Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
 Sun Devil Stadium inTempe, Arizona, hosted the Fiesta Bowl. | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 25, 1979 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1979 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Sun Devil Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Tempe, Arizona | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Mark Schubert (Pittsburgh K) Dave Liggins (Arizona SS) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Pittsburgh by 8 to 9 points[1][2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Percy Penn (SWC) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 55,347 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Charlie Jones,Len Dawson | ||||||||||||||||||
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The1979 Fiesta Bowl was the ninthedition of thecollege footballbowl game, played atSun Devil Stadium inTempe, Arizona on Tuesday, December 25. Part of the1979–80 bowl game season, it matched thetenth-rankedindependentPittsburgh Panthers and the unrankedArizona Wildcats of thePacific-10 Conference (Pac-10). Favored Pittsburgh never trailed and won 16–10.[3][4][5]
This was the last of four consecutive Fiesta Bowls played on Christmas Day.
This was Pittsburgh's second Fiesta Bowlappearance; the first wassix years earlier.
Despite finishing third in the Pac-10 with an overall record of 6–4–1, Arizona was invited; it was their first bowlappearancein eleven years.
Televised byNBC, the game kicked off onChristmas Day shortly after 1:30 p.m.MST.[1][2]
Pittsburgh kicker Mark Schubert gave his team a lead they never relinquished with two field goals for a 6–0 lead at halftime. Arizona responded with a Brett Weber field goal, but Panther tight end Benjie Pryor caught a touchdown pass from true freshman quarterbackDan Marino to increase the lead to 13–3 at the end of three quarters.
Schubert added a third field goal, but Arizona halfback Hubert Oliver scored from a yard out to close the margin to six points at 16–10. After Pittsburgh punted the ball back, the Wildcats looked to drive for the winning points with 1:05 left. But just seven seconds later, quarterback Jim Krohn's pass was intercepted by Terry White and the Panthers won their first Fiesta Bowl.[3][4][5]
Schubert was the first kicker namedoffensive MVP.[6]
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
| Statistics | Pittsburgh | Arizona |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 20 | 20 |
| Yards Rushing | 44–127 | 38–91 |
| Yards Passing | 172 | 226 |
| Passing | 15–29–2 | 18–35–3 |
| Return Yards | 37 | 46 |
| Total Offense | 73–299 | 73–317 |
| Punts–Average | 5–34.2 | 4–39.8 |
| Fumbles–Lost | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 4 |
| Penalties–Yards | 10–89 | 7–85 |
Pittsburgh returned to the Fiesta Bowlfour years later, but as of 2020[update] have yet to win another. Arizona finally won abowl game in 1986, and returned to the Fiesta Bowl in1994.