| Year Game Played: | 1999 |
| Title Sponsor: | Tostitos |
| Game Name: | Fiesta Bowl |
| Subheader: | BCS National Championship Game |
| Football Season: | 1998 |
| Visitor Name Short: | Florida State |
| Visitor Nickname: | Seminoles |
| Visitor School: | Florida State University |
| Home Name Short: | Tennessee |
| Home Nickname: | Volunteers |
| Home School: | University of Tennessee |
| Visitor Record: | 11–1 |
| Visitor Conference: | ACC |
| Home Record: | 12–0 |
| Home Conference: | SEC |
| Visitor Coach: | Bobby Bowden |
| Home Coach: | Phillip Fulmer |
| Visitor Rank Ap: | 2 |
| Visitor Rank Coaches: | 2 |
| Visitor Rank Bcs: | 2 |
| Home Rank Ap: | 1 |
| Home Rank Coaches: | 1 |
| Home Rank Bcs: | 1 |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 9 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 7 |
| Home 1Q: | 0 |
| Home 2Q: | 14 |
| Home 3Q: | 0 |
| Home 4Q: | 9 |
| Date Game Played: | January 4 |
| Stadium: | Sun Devil Stadium |
| City: | Tempe, Arizona |
| Mvp: | Peerless Price, WR Dwayne Goodrich, CB |
| Odds: | Florida State by 5½ |
| Anthem: | Southwest Iowa and Mountain Pointe High School bands |
| Referee: | Bill Richardson (Pac-10) |
| Attendance: | 80,470 |
| Us Network: | ABC |
| Us Announcers Link: | List of announcers of major college bowl games |
| Us Announcers: | Keith Jackson, Bob Griese |
| Different Previous: | 1997 (Dec) |
| Navigation 2: | College Football Championship Game |
| Different Previous 2: | 1998 (Bowl Alliance) |
| Different Next 2: | 2000 |
The 1999 Fiesta Bowl, the designated BCS National Championship Game for the 1998 season, was played on January 4, 1999, in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil Stadium. The teams were the Tennessee Volunteers and Florida State Seminoles. Tennessee entered the contest undefeated and number one in the major polls, while Florida State had won 10 straight games after a Week 2 loss to NC State. Florida State sophomore QB Chris Weinke was injured in Florida State's final ACC game of the regular season and did not participate in the championship game. Ultimately, Tennessee won their sixth claimed national championship and first since 1967 by defeating the Seminoles, 23 - 16. The game was the first BCS National Championship.
After a scoreless first quarter, Tennessee's QB Tee Martin fired a 4-yard touchdown pass to FB Shawn Bryson for the Vols to open up an early 7 - 0 lead. Bryson's TD came after the Vols took a Jeff Hall field goal off the board due to a roughing-the-kicker penalty. Shortly thereafter, Florida State had the ball near midfield. Seminoles QB Marcus Outzen threw an interception to Vol CB Dwayne Goodrich who was covering WR Peter Warrick, and it was returned 54 yards for a touchdown; thus, Tennessee opened up a 14 - 0 lead. The two scores both occurred in the first 25 seconds of the second quarter. Goodrich's interception changed the complexion of the game and forced Florida State to play from behind.
Florida State did get on the board later in the second quarter with a 1-yard run by FB William McCray, but Sebastian Janikowski missed an extra point off the crossbar, so the score stood at 14 - 6. At the end of the half, Janikowski drilled a 34-yard field goal, and the lead was cut to 14 - 9.
The second half saw a new challenge for the Vols, who were clinging to a narrow lead. Cornerback Dwayne Goodrich, who had the interception for a touchdown in the first half, was unable to play in the second half due to an ankle injury. He was replaced by Gerald Griffin, who had not seen much action that season. Griffin was assigned to cover Warrick, and did an adequate job, limiting Warrick to one catch for the game.
The Vol defense, as a unit, also held its own. Once again, both teams failed to score for an entire quarter. After the scoreless third quarter, the Vols got back on the scoreboard again. Tee Martin fired a 79-yard touchdown pass to Peerless Price, and the Vols claimed a 20 - 9 lead after a missed extra point by K Jeff Hall.
Later, Tennessee added a 23-yard field goal by Hall, and the lead extended to 23 - 9. But Florida State was not conceding the outcome yet. Seminole quarterback Marcus Outzen scrambled for a 7-yard touchdown, capping a Florida State drive, and the lead was cut to 23 - 16. With less than 2 minutes to go in the game, Tennessee RB Travis Henry fumbled and turned the ball over to Florida State. However, Outzen threw an errant pass that was intercepted by CB Steve Johnson, which sealed the victory and the national championship for the Vols.
| Scoring Play | Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Quarter | |||||
| No Scoring | |||||
| 2nd Quarter | |||||
| Tennessee: Shawn Bryson 4-yard pass from Tee Martin (Jeff Hall kick), 14:05 | Tennessee 7–0 | ||||
| Tennessee: Dwayne Goodrich 54-yard interception return (Hall kick), 13:40 | Tennessee 14–0 | ||||
| Florida State: William McGray 1-yard run (kick failed), 8:59 | Tennessee 14–6 | ||||
| Florida State: Sebastian Janikowski 34-yard field goal, 1:17 | Tennessee 14–9 | ||||
| Third Quarter | |||||
| No Scoring | |||||
| Fourth Quarter | |||||
| Tennessee: Peerless Price 79-yard pass from Martin (kick failed), 9:17 | Tennessee 20–9 | ||||
| Tennessee: Hall 23-yard field goal, 6:01 | Tennessee 23–9 | ||||
| Florida State: Marcus Outzen 7-yard run (Janikowski kick), 3:42 | Tennessee 23–16 | ||||