1979 Fiesta Bowl

American college football game December 2025 August 2023 Fiesta Bowl 9th Fiesta Bowl Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe Arizona.jpg Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, hosted the Fiesta Bowl. December 25 1979 1979 Arizona Wildcats 6–4–1 Pac-10 Tony Mason 0 0 3 7 Mark Schubert (Pittsburgh K)Dave Liggins4(Arizona SS) Pittsburgh Panthers 10–1 Independent Jackie Sherrill 10 10 3 3 7 3 Pittsburgh by 8 to 9 points NBC Charlie Jones, Len Dawson bg Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona Percy Penn (SWC) 55,347 The 1979 Fiesta Bowl was the ninth edition of the college football bowl game, played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona on Tuesday, December 25. Part of the 1979–80 bowl game season, it matched the tenth-ranked independent Pittsburgh Panthers and the unranked Arizona Wildcats of the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10). Favored Pittsburgh never trailed and won 16–10.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zgYzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EuIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3459%2C8850009 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon wire service reports Pittsburgh gets a kick from the Fiesta December 26, 1979 1Dhttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=50xfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=S1UNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1273%2C4116140 Youngstown Vindicator Ohio Associated Press Pitt's 'Missile Toe' puts 'kiss of death' on Arizona December 26, 1979 30https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3Z4SAAAAIBAJ&sjid=t_YDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6928%2C5587215 The Bulletin Bend, Oregon UPI Schubert's leg gives Pitt 16-10 Fiesta Bowl win December 26, 1979 18 This was the last of four consecutive Fiesta Bowls played on Christmas Day. Teams 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season Pittsburgh 1979 Pittsburgh Panthers football team This was Pittsburgh's second Fiesta Bowl appearance; the first was six years earlier. Arizona 1979 Arizona Wildcats football team Despite finishing third in the Pac-10 with an overall record of 6–4–1, Arizona was invited; it was their first bowl appearance in eleven years. Game summary Televised by NBC, the game kicked off on Christmas Day shortly after 1:30 p.m. MST.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=isQsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OxMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2798%2C6313704 Wilmington Morning Star North Carolina Associated Press Pittsburgh is anxious to prove team's strength December 25, 1979 !Chttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gYBIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-W0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6327%2C4076618 Pittsburgh-Post Gazette Axelrod Phil Panthers confident for Fiesta showdown December 25, 1979 73 Pittsburgh kicker Mark Schubert gave his team a lead they never relinquished with two field goals for a 6–0 lead at halftime. Arizona responded with a Brett Weber field goal, but Panther tight end Benjie Pryor caught a touchdown pass from true freshman quarterback Dan Marino to increase the lead to 13–3 at the end of three quarters. Schubert added a third field goal, but Arizona halfback Hubert Oliver scored from a yard out to close the margin to six points at 16–10. After Pittsburgh punted the ball back, the Wildcats looked to drive for the winning points with 1:05 left. But just seven seconds later, quarterback Jim Krohn's pass was intercepted by Terry White and the Panthers won their first Fiesta Bowl. Schubert was the first kicker named offensive MVP.https://www.fiestabowl.org/fiesta-bowl/fiesta-bowl-game-history/game-results-recaps/1979-fiesta-bowl.php 1979 Fiesta Bowl - Pittsburgh vs. Arizona January 4, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20141102194132/https://www.fiestabowl.org/fiesta-bowl/fiesta-bowl-game-history/game-results-recaps/1979-fiesta-bowl.php November 2, 2014 dead Scoring First quarter Pittsburgh – Mark Schubert 46-yard field goal Second quarter Pittsburgh – Schubert 36-yard field goal Third quarter Arizona – Brett Weber 38-yard field goal Pittsburgh – Benjie Pryor 12-yard pass from Dan Marino (Schubert kick) Fourth quarter Pittsburgh – Schubert 46-yard field goal Arizona – Hubert Oliver 1-yard run (Bill Zivic kick) Source: Statistics {| class=wikitable style="text-align:center" ! Statistics !! Pittsburgh !! 3Arizona3 |- | First downs ||20||20 |- | Yards rushing||44–127||38–91 |- | Yards passing ||172||226 |- | Passing ||15–29–2||18–35–3 |- | Return yards ||37||46 |- | Total Offense ||73–299||73–317 |- |Punts–Average ||5–34.2||4–39.8 |- |Fumbles–Lost ||1–0||2–1 |- |Turnovers||2||4 |- |Penalties–Yards ||10–89||7–85 |} Source: Aftermath Pittsburgh returned to the Fiesta Bowl four years later, but y 2020 have yet to win another. Arizona finally won a bowl game in 1986, and returned to the Fiesta Bowl in 1994. References External links Fiesta Bowl – December 25, 1979 Fiesta Bowl Category:Fiesta Bowl Category:Arizona Wildcats football bowl games Category:Pittsburgh Panthers football bowl games Fiesta Bowl Category:December 1979 sports events in the United States