1973 Fiesta Bowl
| 1973 Fiesta Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Date | December 21, 1973 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1973 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Sun Devil Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Tempe, Arizona | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP |
SE Greg Hudson (Arizona State) CB Mike Haynes (Arizona State) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 50,878 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | Mizlou | ||||||||||||||||||
The 1973 Fiesta Bowl matched the Arizona State Sun Devils and the Pittsburgh Panthers.
Background
The Sun Devils were co champions of the WAC title after a loss to Utah, though they beat Arizona in the last game of the season to clinch the share. This was their fifth straight WAC title and their third straight Fiesta Bowl. This was Pittsburgh's first Fiesta Bowl in a season where twice they were ranked #20 and twice lost the following game after being ranked.
Game summary
Tony Dorsett gave Pittsburgh an early lead on his touchdown run. Woody Green would respond with his own touchdown run to make it 7-7, which would stay that way until the third quarter after a Danny Kush field goal. Greg Hudson increased the Sun Devils' lead with a touchdown catch from Danny White. Green (who had 25 rushes for 131 yards) would add on to the lead with two more touchdown runs before the game ended as Pittsburgh suffered greatly on the day with their 8 turnovers compared to ASU's 6.[1]
Aftermath
Arizona State would return two more times before the 1970s ended. Pittsburgh would return to the Fiesta Bowl in 1979.
Statistics
| Statistics | ASU | Pittsburgh |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 18 | 12 |
| Yards Rushing | 164 | 151 |
| Yards Passing | 269 | 57 |
| Return Yards | -4 | 27 |
| Total Yards | 429 | 235 |
| Punts-Average | 5-46.0 | 8-39.3 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 4-3 | 5-4 |
| Interceptions | 3 | 4 |
| Penalties-Yards | 7-73 | 4-34 |