1983 Fiesta Bowl Explained

Year Game Played:1983
Game Name:Fiesta Bowl
Subheader:12th edition
Football Season:1982
Visitor Name Short:Arizona State
Visitor Nickname:Sun Devils
Home Name Short:Oklahoma
Home Nickname:Sooners
Visitor Record:9–2
Visitor Conference:Pac-10
Home Record:8–3
Home Conference:Big 8
Visitor Coach:Darryl Rogers
Home Coach:Barry Switzer
Visitor Rank Ap:11
Visitor Rank Coaches:11
Home Rank Ap:12
Home Rank Coaches:10
Visitor 1Q:0
Visitor 2Q:11
Visitor 3Q:7
Visitor 4Q:14
Home 1Q:7
Home 2Q:6
Home 3Q:8
Home 4Q:0
Date Game Played:January 1
Stadium:Sun Devil Stadium
City:Tempe, Arizona
Mvp:Marcus Dupree (OU HB)
Jim Jeffcoat(ASU DL)
Odds:Oklahoma by 2½ points[1]
Referee:Bill Parkinson
Attendance:66,484
Us Network:NBC
Us Announcers Link:List of announcers of major college bowl games
Us Announcers:Charlie Jones, Len Dawson
Ratings:7.9

The 1983 Fiesta Bowl was the twelfth edition of the college football bowl game, played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona on Saturday, January 1.[2] Part of the 1982–83 bowl game season, it matched the eleventh-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils of the Pacific-10 Conference and the #12 Oklahoma Sooners of the Big Eight Conference. A slight underdog,[1] Arizona State rallied in the fourth quarter to win on its home field, 32–21.[3] [4] [5]

Teams

See main article: 1982 NCAA Division I-A football season. This was the first-ever meeting between these two programs.[5]

Arizona State

See also: 1982 Arizona State Sun Devils football team. The Sun Devils opened with nine wins and were ranked third, but lost to Washington at home and at rival Arizona. This was ASU's sixth Fiesta Bowl appearance, which remains their only one since leaving the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in 1978.

Oklahoma

See also: 1982 Oklahoma Sooners football team. The Sooners' first two home games in September were losses, to West Virginia and USC. They won seven straight but lost to rival Nebraska on the road. This was their second appearance in the Fiesta Bowl.

Game summary

Televised by NBC, the game kicked off shortly after 11:30 a.m. MST, as did the Cotton Bowl on CBS.[2] The weather was sunny and .[5]

Oklahoma scored first on a one-yard run from running back Stanley Wilson, giving the Sooners a 7–0 lead. In the second quarter, Arizona State got a field goal from kicker Luis Zendejas to cut the lead to 7–3. Their defense later forced a safety, to make it 7–5. Zendejas kicked another 22-yard field goal to give Arizona State its first lead of the game at 8–7.

Wilson scored on his second rushing touchdown of the game to give Oklahoma a 13–8 lead. Zendejas answered with a 54-yard field goal to cut Oklahoma's lead to 13–11 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Darryl Clack scored on a 15-yard run and Arizona State regained the lead at 18–13. Sooner running back Fred Sims rushed 19 yards for a touchdown, and the ensuing two-point conversion attempt was successful, giving Oklahoma a 21–18 lead.

In the fourth quarter, the Sun Devils got a one-yard touchdown run from Alvin Moore to take a 25–21 lead. ASU quarterback Todd Hons threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to Ron Brown to make the score 32–21. The Sun Devils hung on to post that final score.

Though Arizona State won the game, Oklahoma tailback Marcus Dupree was named the offensive MVP with 239 rushing yards on 17 carries (14.0 avg.).[5] Amazingly, Dupree played only a little over half of the game, leaving three times due to a broken finger, an ankle injury, a rib injury, and a pulled hamstring. He set the rushing record for yards in the Fiesta Bowl, which still stands. ASU defensive lineman Jim Jeffcoat was the defensive MVP.[5]

Scoring

First quarter

Second quarter

Third quarter

Fourth quarter

[3]

Statistics

StatisticsArizona StateOklahoma
First Downs 25 19
Yards Rushing43–100 63–417
Yards Passing 329 40
Passing 17–35–24–10–1
Return Yards −335
Total Offense 78–42973–457
Punts–Average 6–43.54–29.5
Fumbles–Lost 3–06–4
Turnovers25
Penalties–Yards 7–648–68
Time of Possession 30:3129:29

[3]

Aftermath

Arizona State climbed to sixth in the final AP poll, and Oklahoma fell to sixteenth.

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: The latest line . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . January 1, 1983 . 13.
  2. News: Fiesta Bowl . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon) . wire services reports . January 1, 1983 . 3B.
  3. News: ASU gives Sooners a devil of a time, 32–21 . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon) . Associated Press . January 2, 1983 . 4D.
  4. News: ASU enjoys Fiesta feast . The Bulletin . (Bend, Oregon) . UPI . January 2, 1983 . F1.
  5. News: Devils down OU, 32–21 . Victoria Advocate . (Texas) . Associated Press . January 2, 1983 . 7B.