| 1984 Fiesta Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 13th Fiesta Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Sun Devil Stadium inTempe, Arizona, hosted the Fiesta Bowl. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 2, 1984 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1983 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Sun Devil Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Tempe, Arizona | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | John Congemi (Pitt QB) Rowland Tatum (OSU LB) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Ohio State by 2½ points[1][2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Gene Wurtz (WAC) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 66,484 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Charlie Jones,Bob Griese | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | 7.9 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The1984 Fiesta Bowl was the thirteenthedition of thecollege footballbowl game, played atSun Devil Stadium inTempe, Arizona on Monday, January 2.[3] Part of the1983–84 bowl game season, it matched thefourteenth-rankedOhio State Buckeyes of theBig Ten Conference, and the #15Pittsburgh Panthers, anindependent. Slightly favored,[1] Ohio State rallied late in the fourth quarter to win 28–23.[4][5][6][7][8][9]
New Year's Day was on Sunday in 1984, and the college bowl games were played the following day.
The Buckeyes were ranked third until a loss atIowa in late September; they later lost on the road toIllinois andrivalMichigan. This was their second Fiesta Bowlappearance.
The Panthers opened with two wins, but lost two road games atMaryland andWest Virginia. They won six straight, then tied rivalPenn State. This was Pittsburgh's third Fiesta Bowlappearance.
The first game of a tripleheader (Rose,Orange) onNBC, the Fiesta kicked off shortly after 11:30 a.m.MST, as did theCotton Bowl onCBS.
Ohio State scored first when quarterbackMike Tomczak scored on a three-yardquarterback keeper. Pittsburgh tied the score at seven on a 6-yard pass from John Congemi to wide receiver Clint Wilson. Running backKeith Byars scored on an 11-yard run before halftime, to give Ohio State a 14–7 halftime lead.
After a scoreless third quarter, the action increased in the fourth. Pitt wide receiver Clint Wilson recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown to tie the game at 14. Byars took the kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, and Ohio State reclaimed the lead at 21–14. Congemi then foundDwight Collins for a touchdown, but the two-point conversion attempt failed, and Ohio State held on to a one-point lead. A 37-yard field goal from Tom Everett with 2:39 left, gave Pittsburgh a 23–21 lead. Tomczak threw a 39-yard touchdown strike toThad Jemison for the game-winning touchdown, with 39 seconds left, and Ohio State escaped with a 28–23 win.[4][6][9][10]
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
| Statistics | Ohio State | Pittsburgh |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 21 | 27 |
| Yards rushing | 46–184 | 37–146 |
| Yards passing | 226 | 341 |
| Passing | 15–32–1 | 31–46–2 |
| Return yards | 17 | 72 |
| Total Offense | 78–410 | 83–487 |
| Punts–Average | 4–37.3 | 3–39.0 |
| Fumbles–Lost | 3–1 | 2–1 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 3 |
| Penalties–Yards | 8–70 | 8–60 |
| Time of Possession | 29:13 | 30:47 |
Ohio State climbed to ninth in thefinal AP poll, and Pittsburgh fell to eighteenth.