Fiesta Bowl
official home of the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, Insight Bowl and Festival of College Football
Sponsors
Game History
Back to Game List26TH ANNUAL FIESTA BOWL
Jan. 1, 1997 |
 |
About every five years, Penn State head coach Joe Paterno takes his Nittany Lions to Tempe for the Fiesta Bowl.
All he’s done in those games is record a perfect 5-0 record and claim the 1987 national championship.
The 26th Annual Tostitos Fiesta Bowl just added to his legendary status. Penn State shut down a high-powered Texas offense in the second half and rushed for 330 yards to record its record sixth Fiesta Bowl victory in as many appearances.
The Nittany Lions trailed 12-7 at halftime but exploded in the third quarter, outscoring Texas 21-3, en route to a 38-15 victory.
Curtis Enis did the majority of the damage for the Penn State ground attack, rushing for 95 yards and two touchdowns and adding a touchdown reception and a two-point conversion.
On defense, the Nittany Lions allowed only a second half field goal, while containing the Longhorns big play trio of quarterback James Brown, running back Ricky Williams and wide receiver Mike Adams. Williams tied a Fiesta Bowl record with nine receptions, but averaged just over two yards a catch.
It was two big plays after intermission that got the Penn State offense rolling. Kenny Watson returned the second half kick off 81 yards to set up an Aaron Harris touchdown run, and Chafie Fields recorded the longest run in Fiesta Bowl history, an 84-yard dazzler on a double reverse that ended with a one-yard touchdown dive by full-back Anthony Cleary.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Penn State |
7 | 0 | 21 |
10 |
38 |
| Texas | 3 | 9 | 3 |
0 |
15 |
HOW THEY SCORED
| TEX | PSU | |
| 0 | 7 | Curtis Enis 4 yard pass from Wally Richardson (Brett Conway kick) |
| 3 | 7 | Phil Dawson 28 yard field goal |
| 6 | 7 | Dawson 28 yard field goal |
| 12 | 7 | Ricky Williams 7 yard run (pass failed) |
| 12 | 15 | Aaron Harris 5 yard run (Enis pass from Richardson) |
| 15 | 15 | Dawson 48 yard field goal |
| 15 | 22 | Enis 2 yard run (Conway kick) |
| 15 | 28 | Anthony Cleary 1 yard run (kick failed) |
| 15 | 31 | Conway 23 yard field goal |
| 15 | 38 | Enis 12 yard run (Conway kick) |
YARDSTICK
| TEX | PSU | |
| 19 | First Downs | 19 |
| 30-73 | Rushes-Yards | 44-330 |
| 287 | Passing Yards | 95 |
| 27-43-1 | Passes | 12-20-0 |
| 64 | Return Yards | 169 |
| 6-37.7 | Punts | 5-35.6 |
| 2-1 | Fumbles-Lost | 0-0 |
| 8-57 | Penalties-Yards | 4-49 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – TEXAS: Ricky Williams 11-48, Shon Mitchell 7-24, Priest Holmes 6-11, James Brown 6-(-10). PENN STATE: Curtis Enis 16-95, Chris Eberly 7-54, Cordell Mitchell 6-45, Anthony Cleary 5-31, Aaron Harris 4-13, Jason Sload 2-7, Wally Richardson 2-(-2), Chafie Fields, 1-84, Jeff Nixon 1-3.
PASSING – TEXAS: James Brown 26-42-1-254, Cody Danaher 1-1-0-33. PENN STATE: Wally Richardson 12-20-0-95.
RECEIVING – TEXAS: Williams 9-24, Matt Davis 5-72, Mike Adams 4-73, Wayne McGarity 3-27, Pat Fitzgerald 2-31, Priest Holmes 2-15, Bryant Westbrook 1-33, Bryan White 1-12. PENN STATE: Cuncho Brown 3-32, Joe Jurevicius 2-22, Chris Eberly 2-19, Curtis Enis 2-15, Aaron Harris 2-5, Chris Campbell 1-2.
Got a Question?
