The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Football featured on Fiesta Bowl's top-50 plays/moments
12.31.2020 | Football
The Longhorns had two plays featured in the Fiesta Bowl's look back at the game's greatest moments.
SCOTTSDALE, AZ – Several of college football's most-talked about moments occurred over the rich 50-year history of the Fiesta Bowl. These plays have been wildly celebrated by avid fanbases across the country and became icons on highlight reels years later.
As part of its 50th Anniversary celebration, the Fiesta Bowl has unveiled the Top 50 Plays and Moments in the Bowl's legendary history. These highlights signify key milestones that elevated the Fiesta Bowl from a newcomer out west to a significant component of Bowl Season.
The list includes elite performances, drop-your-jaw plays, national championship moments and historical 'firsts' by some of college football's biggest names.
This is one initiative that the Fiesta Bowl is undertaking to celebrate its 50th Anniversary. A commemorative logo includes the Bowl's trademark sunburst and script, along with a large 50 and five "laces" on a football, to signify the five decades the Fiesta Bowl has been in existence. It will be widely seen as the 50-yard marker on the field during the 50th playing of the PlayStation® Fiesta Bowl on January 2, 2021, between No. 25 Oregon and No. 10 Iowa State.
1971 – NCAA granting Fiesta Bowl certification
1971 – Inaugural Fiesta Bowl being played
1971 – Woody Green scores game-winning 2-yard TD to break 38-38 tie with :34 left in first-ever Fiesta Bowl
1972 – Woody Green runs for 202 yards
1972 – ASU/Missouri combined for Fiesta Bowl record 1,129 total yards
1974 – Fiesta Bowl played on CBS, the first Fiesta Bowl on network TV
1975 – Danny Kush game-winning FG to beat Nebraska and move ASU to #2
1981 – Dr. Morrison Warren becomes first African-American to be president of a bowl game
1982 – First-ever game on January 1 with 1982 Penn State vs. USC
1983 – Marcus Dupree rushing for 239 yards on 17 carries in less than three quarters before injury
1983 – Luis Zendejas Fiesta Bowl record 54-yard field goal
1986 – Sunkist becoming first corporate title sponsor in Bowl history
1987 – Penn State National Championship game creation
1987 – Miami leaving the Steak Fry
1987 – DJ Dozier 6-yard TD for Penn State to take fourth-quarter lead and final margin
1987 – Pete Giftopoulos interception to end game and give Penn State national title
1987 – Fiesta Bowl records 24.9 rating on NBC, the highest ever for a college football game
1989 – Notre Dame National Championship
1990 – Peter Tom Willis throws for Bowl record 5 TDs in Florida State win
1991 – Louisville agrees to play in Fiesta Bowl amidst MLK controversy
1991 – Browning Nagle throws for Bowl record 451 yards
1993 – Kirby Dar Dar 100-yard kickoff return
1994 – Sherry Henry becomes first female to be president of a major bowl
1996 – Nebraska National Championship
1996 – Tommie Frazier 75-yard TD run for Nebraska
1997 – Kansas State brings 45,000 fans against Syracuse
1997 – Darnell McDonald catches Bowl record 206 yards in 1997
1997 – Fiesta Bowl Organization takes ownership of second Bowl Game
1999 – Hosted first-ever BCS Championship Game
1999 – Peerless Price 79-yard TD catch from Tee Martin to seal Tennessee win
1999 – Tennessee wins National Championship
2001 – Oregon State overwhelming Notre Dame 41-9
2002 – Steve Smith with Bowl record 3 INT for Oregon
2002 – Joey Harrington 79-yard TD to Samie Parker
2003 – Ohio State wins National Championship in OT thriller
2003 – "The Call," pass interference flag in OT of Miami-Ohio State
2005 – Utah beating Pitt for first non-power school to beat a power school
2006 – Santonio Holmes Bowl record 85-yard TD catch
2006 – Ted Ginn Jr. reverse and long TD pass to propel Ohio State
2007 – Boise State upset win over Oklahoma
2007 – Statue of Liberty Play – Boise State
2007 – Hook and Ladder Play – Boise State
2007 – Fiesta Bowl first to double as host bowl, with separate BCS championship game in 2007
2009 – Quan Cosby 26-yard TD catch from Colt McCoy with :16 left for game-winning TD
2010 – TCU vs. Boise State for first time that 2 non-power schools played in major bowl
2014 – UCF/Baylor set Bowl record with 94 combined points
2016 – Fiesta Bowl serves as CFP semifinal for first time (Clemson vs. Ohio State)
2017 – Saquon Barkley runs Bowl record 92 yards for a TD
2019 – Clemson beating Ohio State in 2019 CFP Semifinal
2019 – Trevor Lawrence 67-yard TD run to turn momentum to Clemson