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History Of The Fiesta Bowl – Facts / Results / Matchup

The Fiesta Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. It is officially known as the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, this years game pits UConn vs. OU…

Fiesta Bowl History – Fiesta Bowl Facts – FAQ’s

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2011 Fiesta Bowl – The History of the Fiesta Bowl

Connecticut vs Oklahoma(7)
8:30 PM ET, Saturday, January 1, 2011
University of Phoenix Stadium, Phoenix, Arizona
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The 2011 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl will be played on January 1 at 8:30 p.m. at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. This year’s game pits Big 12 Champion Oklahoma vs. Big East Champion Connecticut.

The Sooners come into this game with an overall record of 11-2 straight-up and 7-6 against the spread. They are currently a 17-point favorite over the Huskies, who are 8-4 both SU and ATS. The ‘over/under’ for this game has been set at 55.

The 2011 edition of the Fiesta Bowl will be its 41st since originating in 1971. The Fiesta Bowl was born out of the Western Athletic Conference’s frustration of not having its regular season champion invited to play in a postseason bowl. The tie-in with the WAC only lasted into the late ‘70’s and the Fiesta Bowl grew in stature over the years for its ability to attract top teams in the country that were not already committed to one of the four ‘major’ bowls; Orange, Cotton, Sugar, and Rose through its conference.

The 1987 Fiesta Bowl acted as the de-facto National Championship Game between Penn State and Miami. The Lions 14-10 win over the Hurricanes drew the largest television audience ever to watch a game in the history of college football.

More recently, the Fiesta Bowl became part of the Bowl Alliance which later transformed itself into the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) and hosted the first official BCS Championship Game in 1998. Tennessee beat Florida State 23-16 that year. It hosted its second national title game in 2003 in one of the most thrilling finishes in bowl championship history. The Ohio State Buckeyes needed two overtimes, but they came out on top of Miami 31-24 to win the 2002 national championship. [soliloquy id=”82219″]

Utah became the first team to play in a BCS Bowl Series game from outside a major conference when the undefeated MWC Champion accepted an invitation to play Big East Champion Pittsburgh in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl. The Utes ran all over the Panthers in a one-sided 35-7 rout.

The 2007 Fiesta Bowl featured an undefeated Boise State team taking on the Big 12 Champion Oklahoma Sooners, who came in with an overall record of 11-2.  In what perhaps could be considered one of the greatest bowl games of all time, the Broncos pulled out a 43-42 win in overtime as a 7 ½-point underdog after the Sooners rallied with 25 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to force the extra period. All told, 22 points were scored in the final 1:26 of regulation and 15 points were scored in overtime.

Oklahoma returned to the Fiesta Bowl in 2008, but this time there were no miraculous comebacks as the Sooners lost to West Virginia 48-28. Oklahoma was an eight-point favorite this time around, but it had no answer for freshman tailback Noel Devine, who ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns.

The 2009 edition of the Fiesta Bowl featured 10-2 Ohio State against 11-1 Texas with the Longhorns coming in as a 10-point favorite. Texas built a 17-6 lead heading into the fourth quarter, but actually trailed 21-17 with just over two minutes to play after Buckeye RB Dan Herron scored on a 15 yard run. Longhorn QB Colt McCoy took his team down the field and threw a 26-yard scoring strike to Quan Crosby with just 16 seconds left to secure a dramatic 24-21 victory.

Last year, Boise State and TCU teed it up in a battle of unbeaten teams in what had to be thought of as a consolation bowl as each failed to garner enough support to make it into the national title game. The Broncos used a bit of trickery with a fake punt late in the game to pull out a 17-10 win as a seven-point underdog to preserve its perfect season. Boise State finished the year with a 14-0 record, while the loss dropped the Horned Frogs to 12-1.

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By Dave Schwab

David Schwab is a regular contributor to the Cappers Picks Blog. While not cheering for his beloved Philadelphia Eagles David can be found working on his blog at www.eaglesinc.com. David wants to hear from you so please comment below.