| 1974 Fiesta Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 4th Fiesta Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Sun Devil Stadium inTempe, Arizona, hosted the Fiesta Bowl. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 28, 1974 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1974 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Sun Devil Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Tempe, Arizona | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Kenny Walker (OSU RB) Phil Dokes (OSU DT) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | BYU[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 50,878 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Payout | US$201,898 each | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | CBS | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Ray Scott,Wayne Walker | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The1974 Fiesta Bowl was the fourthedition of thecollege footballbowl game, played atSun Devil Stadium inTempe, Arizona on Saturday, December 28. Part of the1974–75 bowl game season, it matched theunrankedOklahoma State Cowboys of theBig Eight Conference and #17BYU Cougars of theWestern Athletic Conference (WAC). After falling behind early, underdog Oklahoma State won 16–6.[2][3][4]
The 1974 Fiesta Bowl featured theOklahoma State Cowboys from theBig Eight Conference (Big 8) and the no. 17BYU Cougars from theWestern Athletic Conference (WAC). This was the first Fiesta Bowl appearance for both teams, with this being the first bowl appearance in program history for BYU.
Led by second-year head coachJim Stanley, Oklahoma State entered the game with an overall record of 6–5, going 4–3 in Big 8 play to finish fourth in the conference. The Cowboys went 1–3 against AP-ranked opponents, defeating no. 10Arkansas, with losses to no. 10Texas Tech, no. 9Nebraska, and no. 1Oklahoma
Led by third-year head coachLaVell Edwards, BYU entered the game with an overall record of 7–3–1, going 6–0–1 in WAC play to finish first in the conference. The Cougars started the season with a record of 0–3–1 before winning seven games in a row. BYU went 2–0 against AP-ranked opponents, defeatingArizona andArizona State, who were both ranked 16 in their respective games against BYU. The Cougars were ranked no. 17 entering the Fiesta Bowl.
The kickoff was shortly after 2 p.m.MST, following theSun Bowl, both televised byCBS.[5] The weather in Tempe was cloudy with light rain.
A shoulder injury to BYU quarterbackGary Sheide late in the first quarter led to a defensive battle. After completing four of five passes for 43 yards and leading the Cougars to two field goals, he was knocked out of the game, hit from behind by Cowboy defensive linemanPhil Dokes.
Oklahoma State quickly took advantage, as Tony Buck returned an interception of BYU backup Mark Giles to the Cougar 26-yard line. Three plays later, Kenny Walker took a pitch and raced around the left end for a twelve-yard touchdown run to lead by a point at halftime.
Oklahoma State scored again in the third quarter on a 42-yard field goal by Abby Daigle to take a 10–6 lead. With under ten minutes left in the game, BYU began a long drive from their own two. Giles marched his club all the way to the OSU 28 on short passes and runs, but turned the ball over on downs when a fourth down pass fell incomplete. The Cowboys then took control of the ball and clock and scored with 1:14 remaining on a forty-yard halfback pass play fromLeonard Thompson to Gerald Bain.[2][3][4]
Walker finished with 34 yards rushing and was named theoffensive player of the game; Dokes took the defensive honor.
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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| Cowboys | 0 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 16 |
| No. 17 Cougars | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
atSun Devil Stadium,Tempe, Arizona
| Game information |
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First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
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| Statistics | OKST | BYU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 14 | 17 |
| Rushes–yards | 55–147 | 36–120 |
| Passing yards | 77 | 181 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 7–18–0 | 15–31–3 |
| Return yards | 64 | 3 |
| Plays–yards | 73–224 | 67–301 |
| Punts–average | 7–41.9 | 6–41.8 |
| Fumbles–lost | 6–0 | 3–1 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 4 |
| Penalties–yards | 12–84 | 9–66 |
| Time of possession | 31:09 | 28:51 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma State | Passing | Charlie Weatherbie | 6/16, 64 yards, TD |
| Rushing | Kenny Walker | 6 rushes, 34 yards, TD | |
| Receiving | Leonard Thompson | 3 receptions, 42 yards, TD | |
| BYU | Passing | Mark Giles | 12/27, 138 yards, 3 INT |
| Rushing | Jeff Blanc | 19 rushes, 53 yards | |
| Receiving | Sam LoBue | 3 receptions, 50 yards |