1976 Fiesta Bowl

American college football game December 2025 August 2023 Fiesta Bowl 6th Fiesta Bowl Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe Arizona.jpg Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, hosted the Fiesta Bowl. December 25 1976 1976 Wyoming Cowboys 8–3 WAC Fred Akers NR NR 0 0 0 7 Thomas Lott (Oklahoma QB)Terry Peters  (Oklahoma CB) Oklahoma Sooners 8–2–1 Big 8 Barry Switzer 8 9 14 6 7 14 CBS Lindsey Nelson and Paul Hornung Oklahoma by 21 points bg Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona 48,714 The 1976 Fiesta Bowl was the sixth edition of the college football bowl game, played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona on Saturday, December 25. Part of the 1976–77 bowl game season, it matched the eighth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners of the Big Eight Conference and the unranked Wyoming Cowboys of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Heavily favored Oklahoma won in a rout, 41–7.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zu5XAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JOgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6847%2C7333161 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon wire service reports Sooners give Wyoming a wishbone lesson 3Chttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=diFOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=q-0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5231%2C4855512 Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington Associated Press Sooners – in a breeze December 26, 1976 D2https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8cUsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FhMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1258%2C5489387 Sunday Star-News Wilmington, North Carolina UPI Oklahoma crushes Wyoming in Fiesta December 26, 1976 3C This was the first of four consecutive Fiesta Bowls played on Christmas Day. Teams 1976 NCAA Division I football season This was the first Fiesta Bowl appearance for each. Both teams' offenses ran out of the wishbone formation.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dSFOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=q-0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6796%2C3413955 Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington Associated Press Oklahoma heavy favorite December 25, 1976 20https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=js8vAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5_gDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6885%2C2355834 Spokane Daily Chronicle Washington Associated Press Injuries could be key December 24, 1976 11https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SURTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zIUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7028%2C7282823 Kingman Daily Miner Arizona Wishbone attack to get workout from Fiesta clubs December 24, 1976 10 Oklahoma 1976 Oklahoma Sooners football team Oklahoma was co-champion of the Big Eight Conference for the fifth straight year. They tied Texas and lost to the other co-champions, Oklahoma State and Colorado: CU went to the Orange Bowl and OSU played in the Tangerine Bowl. Wyoming 1976 Wyoming Cowboys football team Wyoming was co-champion of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and was making their first bowl appearance in nine years, since the 1968 Sugar Bowl. It was the Cowboys' first winning season since 1969. Game summary This was the only game of the day, and kicked off shortly after 1 p.m. MST on CBS. Elvis Peacock started the beating with a touchdown run early in the game and Horace Ivory added in his touchdown run to make it 14–0 after the first quarter. Two Uwe von Schamann field goals made it 20–0 at halftime. Oklahoma scored three more times in the second half on Peacock, George Cumby, and Woodie Shephard touchdowns. Narrowly avoiding a shutout, Cowboy fullback Robbie Wright scored in the final half-minute to cap a 92-yard drive and make the final score 41–7. This was the biggest margin of victory in the Fiesta Bowl until 1996.https://www.fiestabowl.org/fiesta-bowl/fiesta-bowl-game-history/game-results-recaps/1976-fiesta-bowl.php 1976 Fiesta Bowl - Oklahoma vs. Wyoming January 4, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150102135234/https://www.fiestabowl.org/fiesta-bowl/fiesta-bowl-game-history/game-results-recaps/1976-fiesta-bowl.php January 2, 2015 dead Sooner quarterback Thomas Lott was the offensive MVP and cornerback Terry Peters took the defensive honor. Scoring First quarter Oklahoma – Elvis Peacock 3-yard run (Uwe von Schamann kick) Oklahoma – Horace Ivory 4-yard run (von Schamann kick) Second quarter Oklahoma – von Schamann 32-yard field goal Oklahoma – von Schamann 50-yard field goal Third quarter Oklahoma – Peacock 15-yard run (von Schamann kick) Fourth quarter Oklahoma – George Cumby 4-yard run (von Schamann kick) Oklahoma – Woodie Shephard 8-yard run (von Schamann kick) Wyoming – Robbie Wright 1-yard run (Dan Christopulos kick) Statistics {| class=wikitable style="text-align:center" ! Statistics !! Oklahoma !! Wyoming |- | First downs || 24|| 14 |- | Yards rushing|| 76–415|| 42–153 |- | Yards passing || 23 || 51 |- | Passing || 3–5–0 || 6–19–5 |- | Return yards || 19|| 0 |- | Total Offense || 81–438 || 61–204 |- |Punts–Average ||0–0|| 5–25.2 |- |Fumbles–Lost ||6–3|| 5–1 |- |Turnovers|| 3|| 6 |- |Penalties–Yards ||2–20|| 4–30 |} Source: Aftermath Oklahoma climbed to fifth in the final AP poll. The Sooners returned to the Fiesta Bowl six years later; through , this is Wyoming's only appearance. References External links Fiesta Bowl – December 25, 1976 Fiesta Bowl Category:Fiesta Bowl Category:Oklahoma Sooners football bowl games Category:Wyoming Cowboys football bowl games Category:December 1976 sports events in the United States Fiesta Bowl