| Game Name: | Fiesta Bowl |
| Title Sponsor: | Tostitos |
| Subheader: | BCS Bowl Game 42nd Fiesta Bowl |
| Date Game Played: | January 3 |
| Year Game Played: | 2013 |
| Football Season: | 2012 |
| Stadium: | University of Phoenix Stadium |
| City: | Glendale, Arizona |
| Home School: | Kansas State University |
| Home Name Short: | Kansas State |
| Home Nickname: | Wildcats |
| Home Record: | 11–1 |
| Home Conference: | Big 12 |
| Home Rank Ap: | 7 |
| Home Rank Coaches: | 6 |
| Home Rank Bcs: | 5 |
| Home Coach: | Bill Snyder |
| Home 1Q: | 0 |
| Home 2Q: | 10 |
| Home 3Q: | 0 |
| Home 4Q: | 7 |
| Visitor School: | University of Oregon |
| Visitor Name Short: | Oregon |
| Visitor Nickname: | Ducks |
| Visitor Record: | 11–1 |
| Visitor Conference: | Pac-12 |
| Visitor Rank Ap: | 5 |
| Visitor Rank Coaches: | 3 |
| Visitor Rank Bcs: | 4 |
| Visitor Coach: | Chip Kelly |
| Visitor 1Q: | 15 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 10 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 3 |
| Mvp: | Offensive: Marcus Mariota (QB – Oregon) Defensive: Michael Clay (LB – Oregon) |
| Odds: | Oregon by 8[1] |
| Halftime: | Bands from participants |
| Referee: | Ron Cherry (ACC) |
| Attendance: | 70,242[2] |
| Us Network: | ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
| Us Announcers: | ESPN:ESPN Deportes |
| Ratings: | 7.4 |
| Different Next: | 2014 (Jan.) |
The 2013 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game played on Thursday, January 3, 2013, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The Kansas State Wildcats, champions of the Big 12 Conference, played the Oregon Ducks, an at-large selection from the Pac-12 Conference. It was the only bowl game of the season to feature two top-10 ranked teams, other than the 2013 BCS National Championship Game.
The game started at 6:30 p.m. (MST) and aired on ESPN. Oregon won the game by a score of 35 points to 17 over Kansas State, making its second Fiesta Bowl title for the Ducks (first since 2001 in the 2002 Fiesta Bowl).
This was the first time Kansas State and Oregon played each other. They were scheduled to meet during the 2012 regular season but the game was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts. On November 11, 2012, both schools were undefeated (10–0) and were ranked #1 or #2 in the polls and the BCS rankings. However, both schools lost their eleventh game of the season on November 17 to fall from the national championship race. Each finished the regular season with an 11–1 record.
This was the fourth Fiesta Bowl to match a Big 12 (formerly Big Eight) team and a Pac-12 (formerly Pacific-10) team. The previous such Fiesta Bowls occurred in 1983 (Oklahoma vs. Arizona State), 2002 (Colorado, then representing the Big 12, against Oregon) and 2012 (Oklahoma State vs. Stanford).
See also: 2012 Kansas State Wildcats football team. K-State attributed its success this season to a balanced offense led by quarterback Collin Klein and an opportunistic defense that included linebacker Arthur Brown. The Wildcats are leading the nation in turnover margin at +21. Klein rushed for 22 touchdowns this season, threw for 10 or more touchdowns in consecutive seasons, passed for more than 4,000 yards and rushed 2,000 yards for a career.
See also: 2012 Oregon Ducks football team. The Oregon Ducks were led by redshirt freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota, who was the Conference’s Offensive Freshman of the Year. Mariota, was sixth in the country in passing efficiency, completed 218 of 312 passes for 2,511 yards and 30 touchdowns with six interceptions. All-America running back Kenjon Barner ran for 1,624 yards and scored 22 touchdowns this season, fifth best in rushing (135.3 avg.) and sixth in scoring (11.0 ppg).
| Oregon | Kansas State | |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 22 | 20 |
| Total offense, plays – yards | 69–384 | 70–283 |
| Rushes-yards (net) | 45–218 | 37–132 |
| Passing yards (net) | 166 | 151 |
| Safeties (Conversion) | 1 | 0 |
| Passes, completions – attempts – interceptions | 12–24–0 | 17–33–2 |
| Time of possession | 26:54 | 33:06 |
A rare type of football scoring occurred during the third quarter on an attempted Oregon extra point, a one-point conversion safety. The one-point safety was awarded to Oregon after Kansas State blocked Oregon's extra-point attempt, recovered the ball in the field of play, then retreated into the end zone where the player with the ball was tackled. This was only the second one-point safety scored in the history of NCAA FBS competition; the other was converted by Texas against Texas A&M on November 26, 2004.