| 1977 Fiesta Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 7th Fiesta Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Sun Devil Stadium inTempe, Arizona, hosted the Fiesta Bowl. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 25, 1977 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1977 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Sun Devil Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Tempe, Arizona | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Matt Millen (Penn State LB) Dennis Sproul (Arizona State QB) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Penn State by 7 points[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Vincent Buckley (SWC) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 57,727 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | CBS | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Lindsey Nelson,Tom Matte | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The1977 Fiesta Bowl was the seventhedition of thecollege footballbowl game, played atSun Devil Stadium inTempe, Arizona on Sunday, December 25. Part of the1977–78 bowl game season, it matched theeighth-rankedPenn State Nittany Lions and the #15Arizona State Sun Devils of theWestern Athletic Conference (WAC). Favored Penn State took an early lead and won 42–30 on the Sun Devils' home field.[2][3][4][5]
Penn State was ranked as high as fourth until a home loss to #16Kentucky in early October, but then won seven straight. It was their first Fiesta Bowlappearance.
In the Sun Devils' final year in the WAC, they were co-champion for the seventh and last time, andappeared in their fifth Fiesta Bowl.[6] They were invited after co-championBYU backed out due to the bowl being slated to play on a Sunday.[7] ASU's sole loss in the WAC was atColorado State in a snowstorm.[8]
The game kicked off onChristmas Day (Sunday) shortly after 1 p.m.MST, televised by CBS.[1] There were no other bowl games on this day, and theNFL divisional playoffs were on a day either side of it; theAFC on Saturday, and theNFC on Monday.
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 fromChuck Fusina to make it 14–0. Arthur Lane caught a touchdown pass fromDennis 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.
An 18-yard touchdown run by halfback Steve Geise made it 24–14 at the end of the third, and a three-yard run by fullbackMatt Suhey increased the lead to seventeen points 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. Arizona State's George Perry ran in from a yard out to close the gap to 34–28, but Suhey's second touchdown run and a deliberate safety late in the game sealed the game for Penn State, who won their first-ever Fiesta Bowl.[3][9]
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
| Statistics | Penn State | ASU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 18 | 29 |
| Yards rushing | 50–268 | 45–90 |
| Yards passing | 83 | 336 |
| Passing | 9–23–0 | 23–47–2 |
| Return yards | 91 | 1 |
| Total Offense | 73–442 | 92–427 |
| Punts–Average | 7–40.0 | 5–34.8 |
| Fumbles–Lost | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 3 |
| Penalties–Yards | 12–126 | 5–33 |
Penn State's next Fiesta Bowl wasthree years later; Arizona State returned in January1983 as a member of thePacific-10 Conference.