1977 Fiesta Bowl

In the Sun Devils' final year in the Western Athletic Conference, they were co-champion of the WAC for the 7th and last time, playing in their fifth Fiesta Bowl. Penn State was once ranked #4 before a loss to Kentucky, but won seven straight after that in their first Fiesta Bowl appearance.

Game summary

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 from Chuck Fusina to make it 14-0. Arthur Lane caught a touchdown pass from Dennis 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. A touchdown run by Steve Geise made it 24-14 at the end of the third, and a touchdown run by Matt Suhey made it 31-14 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. George Perry ran in for a touchdown to make the lead 34-28, but Suhey's second touchdown run and a safety late in the game sealed the game for Penn State, who won their first ever Fiesta Bowl. ^[1]

Aftermath

Penn State would return to the Fiesta Bowl in 1980; Arizona State would return in 1983.

Statistics

Statistics	Penn State	ASU
First Downs	18	29
Yards Rushing	268	90
Yards Passing	83	336
Return Yards	91	1
Total Yards	442	427
Punts-Average	7-40.0	5-34.8
Fumbles-Lost	1-0	1-1
Interceptions	0	2
Penalties-Yards	12-126	5-33

References

↑ https://www.fiestabowl.org/fiesta-bowl/fiesta-bowl-game-history/game-results-recaps/1977-fiesta-bowl.php

1977–78 NCAA football bowl game season

Independence (Dec. 17) Liberty (Dec. 19) Hall of Fame Classic (Dec. 22) Tangerine (Dec. 23) Fiesta (Dec. 25) Gator (Dec. 30) Peach (Dec. 31) Sun (Dec. 31) Bluebonnet (Dec. 31) Sugar (Jan. 2) Cotton (Jan. 2) Orange (Jan. 2) Rose (Jan. 2)

Fiesta Bowl Game

History & conference tie-ins	History Sun Devil Stadium University of Phoenix Stadium College Football Playoff Broadcasters College Football Playoff At-Large Group of Five Bid

Games	1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1997 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2014 2016 2016

Notes	The game was also the national title game for either the Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, or Bowl Championship Series in 1996, 1999, and 2003. There was a Fiesta Bowl in January and December in 1997, 2014, and 2016. The game will be a College Football Playoff semifinal in its December 2016 edition.

Arizona State Sun Devils bowl games

Penn State Nittany Lions bowl games

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