1975 Fiesta Bowl

American college football game December 2025 August 2023 Fiesta Bowl 5th Fiesta Bowl Sun Devil Stadium.jpg Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, hosted the Fiesta Bowl. December 26 1975 1975 Arizona State Sun Devils 11–0 WAC Frank Kush 7 7 3 3 0 11 John Jefferson  (ASU WR)Larry Gordon5(ASU LB) Nebraska Cornhuskers 10–1 Big 8 Tom Osborne 6 6 0 7 7 0 Nebraska by 14 points CBS Pat Summerall,Tom Brookshier bg Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona 51,396 The 1975 Fiesta Bowl was the fifth edition of the college football bowl game, played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona on Friday, December 26. Part of the 1975–76 bowl game season, it matched the sixth-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers of the Big Eight Conference and the undefeated #7 Arizona State Sun Devils of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9hJZAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WUYNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6925%2C4878897 Victoria Advocate Texas Associated Press Sun Devils underdogs December 26, 1975 1Bhttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zh4jAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xvgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3813%2C2725658 Spokane Daily Chronicle Washington Associated Press Arizona State squad may try to gamble December 25, 1975 57 The underdog Sun Devils won, 17–14.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=laY0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=QOADAAAAIBAJ&pg=4632%2C1298610 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press Sun Devils' 4th-down gamble pays December 27, 1975 3Bhttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GPBLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=c-0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=7226%2C4075640 Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington Associated Press Sun Devils measure Nebraska December 27, 1975 13 Played at ASU's home venue, this was the Fiesta Bowl's first matchup between teams ranked in the top ten; the next was six years later. Teams 1975 NCAA Division I football season Nebraska 1975 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team The Cornhuskers won their first ten games of the season and climbed to second in the AP poll; they were set up for a Big Eight title and potential national championship until a fourth consecutive loss to rival Oklahoma on November 22.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DHozAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LeADAAAAIBAJ&pg=5372%2C6456660 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press Oklahoma rides fumbles to Miami November 23, 1975 3B This was Nebraska's first appearance in the Fiesta Bowl; the Huskers had won their previous six bowl games, and the last five were major bowls. Arizona State 1975 Arizona State Sun Devils football team The Sun Devils won all eleven games in the regular season to take their fifth WAC title in six years; it was their fourth Fiesta Bowl appearance in five years.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=E3ozAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LeADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6651%2C8438886 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press Sun Devils go unbeaten, make Fiesta November 30, 1975 4B Game summary The game kicked off shortly after 1 p.m. MST, following the Sun Bowl, both televised by CBS.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IYFIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=g20DAAAAIBAJ&pg=1883%2C3701789 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Bowl games at a glance December 26, 1975 12https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zh4jAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xvgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3312%2C2723728 Spokane Daily Chronicle Washington Football bowl games December 25, 1975 57 Placekicker Danny Kush started and ended the scoring in this game that arguably put the Fiesta Bowl on the map. He gave ASU an early lead in the first quarter, but I-back Monte Anthony gave Nebraska the lead in the second quarter with his one-yard touchdown run. With less than a minute remaining in the half, the Sun Devils drove down the field and narrowed the lead to a point with another Kush field goal. Anthony scored another touchdown in the third quarter to extend Nebraska's lead to 14–6. Wide receiver John Jefferson caught a ten-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Fred Mortensen, who had taken over after sophomore starter Dennis Sproul was briefly hurt on a successful sneak on fourth down at the Nebraska thirteen to extend the drive. Head coach Frank Kush opted for a two-point conversion attempt, and wingback Larry Mucker caught a pass from Mortensen at the end zone's left edge to tie the game at fourteen early in the final quarter. Nebraska punted twice after short drives, with Mortensen throwing an interception in between. Sproul returned at quarterback and he drove the Sun Devils down the field to the Nebraska twelve; Kush kicked a 29-yard field goal for a three-point lead with under five minutes remaining. The Huskers then got their offense going, and with just over a minute remaining, fullback Tony Davis caught a third-down pass over the middle inside the Devils' thirty. He was hit by John Harris and fumbled, ASU's Rocky Mataalli recovered, and the offense ran out the clock. Arizona State held Nebraska scoreless in the fourth quarter to win their fourth Fiesta Bowl in as many attempts; Jefferson was named offensive MVP with eight receptions for 115 yards. Linebacker Larry Gordon was the defensive MVP, but was ejected early in the fourth quarter for fighting (along with Nebraska's consensus All-American center Rik Bonness). Nebraska led in rushing yards, but ASU outgained them in passing and total yards, had fewer turnovers, and scored just one touchdown.https://www.fiestabowl.org/fiesta-bowl/fiesta-bowl-game-history/game-results-recaps/1975-fiesta-bowl.php 1975 Fiesta Bowl – Arizona State vs. Nebraska fiestabowl.org January 3, 2015 https://archive.today/20150103214507/https://www.fiestabowl.org/fiesta-bowl/fiesta-bowl-game-history/game-results-recaps/1975-fiesta-bowl.php January 3, 2015 dead Scoring First quarter ASU – Danny Kush 27-yard field goal Second quarter NEB – Monte Anthony 1-yard run (Mike Coyle kick) ASU – Kush 33-yard field goal Third quarter NEB – Anthony 4-yard run (Coyle kick) Fourth quarter ASU – John Jefferson 10-yard pass from Fred Mortensen (Larry Mucker pass from Mortensen) ASU – Kush 29-yard field goal Statistics {| class=wikitable style="text-align:center" ! Statistics !!   Arizona  State !! Nebraska |- |align=left|First downs || 20|| 20 |- |align=left|Rushes–yards|| 37–162|| 57–198 |- |align=left|Passing yards|| 173|| 90 |- |align=left|Passes|| 15–37–2|| 12–23–1 |- |align=left|Return yards || 0|| 20 |- |align=left|Total offense || 74–335|| 80–288 |- |align=left|Punts–average ||5–37.2|| 7–39.4 |- |align=left|Fumbles–lost ||0–0|| 2–2 |- |align=left|Turnovers|| 2|| 3 |- | Penalties–yards ||6–54|| 4–38 |} Source: Aftermath Arizona State (12–0) was second in the final AP poll, their best finish ever; Nebraska (10–2) dropped to ninth.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=eXkRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PeADAAAAIBAJ&pg=2080%2C362046 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press No. 1: Sooner voted national champions January 3, 1976 3B ASU won another WAC title in 1977 and moved to the Pac-10 in 1978. Both teams returned multiple times to the Fiesta Bowl, Nebraska five times (next in January 1986) and ASU twice (next in December 1977). References External links Fiesta Bowl – December 26, 1975 YouTube – 1975 Fiesta Bowl – brief highlights Fiesta Bowl Category:Fiesta Bowl Category:Arizona State Sun Devils football bowl games Category:Nebraska Cornhuskers football bowl games Category:December 1975 sports events in the United States Fiesta Bowl