Fiesta Bowl Bowl Player Profile & More

2007 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Bowl Player Profile, History & More

Boise State (12-0) vs. Oklahoma (11-2)

January 1st, 8:00 p.m. ET, Fox

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Fiesta Bowl History
2006	Ohio State 34, Notre Dame 20
2005	Utah 35, Pitt 7
2004	Ohio State 35, Kansas State 28
2003	Ohio State 31, Miami 24 (2 OT)
2002	Oregon 38, Colorado 16
2001	Oregon State 41, Notre Dame 9
2000	Nebraska 31, Tennessee 21
1999	Tennessee 23, Florida State 16
1997 (Dec.)	Kansas State 35, Syracuse 18
1997 (Jan.)	Penn State 38, Texas 15
1996	Nebraska 62, Florida 24
1995	Colorado 41, Notre Dame 24
1994	Arizona 29, Miami 0
1993	Syracuse 26, Colorado 22
1992	Penn State 42, Tennessee 17
1991	Louisville 34, Alabama 7
1990	Florida State 41, Nebraska 17
1989	Notre Dame 34, West Virginia 21
1988	Florida State 31, Nebraska 28
1987	Penn State 14, Miami 10
1986	Michigan 27, Nebraska 23
1985	UCLA 39, Miami 37
1984	Ohio State 28, Pitt 23
1983	Arizona State 32, Oklahoma 21
1982	Penn State 26, USC 10
1980	Penn State 31, Ohio State 19
1979	Pitt 16, Arizona 10
1978	Arkansas 10, UCLA 10
1977	Penn State 42, Arizona State 30
1976	Oklahoma 41, Wyoming 7
1975	Arizona State 17, Nebraska 14
1974	Oklahoma State 16, BYU 6
1973	Arizona State 28, Pitt 7
1972	Arizona State 49, Missouri 35
1971	Arizona State 45, Florida State 38

By Richard Cirminiello

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Player Profile
QB Paul Thompson, Oklahoma – Where in the world would Oklahoma be this year without Paul Thompson?  Maybe the Alamo Bowl.  Maybe the Holiday Bowl.  Definitely not the Fiesta Bowl, where the Sooners will be representing the Big 12 next month.  Not after starting quarterback Rhett Bomar got the boot in August and certainly not after star back Adrian Peterson was lost for the season on Oct. 14 with a broken collarbone.  If college football’s growing list of individual awards added one for Most Valuable Player, Thompson might have been the runner-up to Troy Smith for keeping the Sooner offense afloat this past fall.  The can’t-miss quarterback-turned receiver-turned-quarterback again was the glue on offense that kept Oklahoma in Texas’ back pocket until the ‘Horns spit the bit in November, opening the door for an unlikely Sooner title.  When Bomar was dismissed from the program before the season began, Thompson was fingered as the chief reason OU wouldn’t qualify for a BCS bowl game, yet oddly enough, the senior was the steady hand that guided the team to a season-ending eight-game winning streak.  He’s started every game in 2006, throwing all but four of the Sooners’ 308 passes, while ranking 24^th nationally in passing efficiency.  Since the Texas loss, Thompson has thrown 12 touchdown passes and run for three more scores, while getting picked just three times.  His emergence and willingness to return back behind center kept Sooner fans from having to hang their hopes this year on Joey Halzle, an unheralded junior-college transfer, who wasn’t ready for the step up in competition.  Once NFL scouts arrive in Norman next spring with stop watches in hand, Thompson is likely headed back to wide receiver, where he’ll have a better shot of earning a paycheck.  It doesn’t matter.  He’s a Big 12 Championship quarterback, which is something no one can ever take away from him.

Best Bronco Bowl Moment – You always remember your first, and for Boise State, its first foray into the bowl season was the 1999 Humanitarian Bowl.  Led by the running of freshman Brock Forsey and the passing of Bart Hendricks, the Broncos amassed 533 yards of total offense and held off Louisville for an entertaining 34-31 win.  Obviously, all bets are off if they can become just the second mid-major ever to win a BCS bowl game.

Best Sooner Bowl Moment – OU’s 24-14-1 bowl record ranks among the best of any program with at least 15 appearances, although, the last two BCS bowl appearances have been eminently forgettable.  The Sooners—regulars in Miami throughout the years—used the 2001 Orange Bowl as a vehicle to regaining their status as a perennial national title contender.  The Oklahoma defense suffocated high-powered Florida State in a shocking 13-2 win that captured the school’s seventh national championship.

Oklahoma's best win ... Oklahoma 21 ... Nebraska 7
Oklahoma forced five Nebraska turnovers, including Marcus Walker forcing a Maurice Purify fumble on the second play from scrimmage, leading to a two-yard Allen Patrick touchdown run. A Malcolm Kelly 66-yard touchdown catch later in the first quarter put the game out of reach. Zac Taylor and Hunter Teafatiller connected on a 14-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, but the turnovers and the lack of a balanced offense proved to be too much to overcome. Kelly closed out the scoring with a three-yard touchdown catch late in the third. Neither team ran the ball well, and Nebraska gained OU 282 yards to 265 through the air, but the Sooners came through with the bigger plays.

Oklahoma's worst loss ... Oregon 34 ... Oklahoma 33
Garrett Hartley connected on four field goal attempts and had a shot to save Oklahoma from a painful and controversial collapse, but his 44-yard field goal attempt was blocked as time ran out give Oregon the tremendous win. Down 33-20 with just over three minutes to play, Oregon got a 16-yard touchdown run from Dennis Dixon, recovered the onside kick, which was reviewed after Sooner coaches thought it hit a Duck player before going ten yards, and scored with 46 seconds to play on a 23-yard touchdown pass Brian Paysinger with the extra point giving Oregon a 34-33 lead. Oklahoma's Reggie Smith returned the ensuing kickoff 55 yards to get into field goal range before the final block. The finish overshadowed a brilliant day from the two star running backs with Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson rushing for 211 yards and a touchdown and Oregon's Jonathan Stewart tearing off 144 yards and a score.

Boise State's best win ... Boise State 42 ... Oregon State 14
Oregon State jumped out to 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter on a three-yard touchdown catch from Joe Newton and a punt return for a touchdown by Sammie Stroughter, and then the floodgates opened as BSU RB Ian Johnson tore off touchdown runs from 59, four, three, 19 and 50 yards out on the way to 42 unanswered Bronco points. OSU couldn't get the offense going having problems with a Bronco pass rush that cranked out six sacks. Legedu Naanee caught a short touchdown pass for the other BSU score.

Boise State's worst performance ... Boise State 42 ... Idaho 26
Boise State's Ian Johnson ripped open a tight game with three of his four touchdowns in the second half scoring twice in the fourth quarter to finally put away a pesky Idaho. The Vandals pulled within 28-26 on a 41-yard pass to Marlon Haynes, but the two-point conversion failed and they never got close again. Jared Zabransky didn't have a great game for the Broncos, but he connected with Legedu Naanee for a 61-yard touchdown pass and threw a three-yard score to Derek Schouman. Steve Wichman threw three touchdown passes for the Vandals.

2006 Fiesta Bowl
Ohio State 34 ... Notre Dame 20
Ohio State cranked out 617 yards of total offense, but needed a 60-yard touchdown run from Antonio Pittman to finally put the Irish away. The Buckeyes scored on four plays of 56 yards or more with a 56-yard scoring pass to Ted Ginn Jr., a Ginn Jr. 68-yard touchdown run and an 85-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes in the first half, but they settled for field goals in the second half, before the Pittman score, letting the Irish get back into the game on two of Darius Walker's three touchdown runs. Ohio State averaged 7.6 yards per carry and 18 yards per completion, while Notre Dame averaged 2.2yards per carry and 9.9 yards per pass.
Player of the game: Ohio State QB Troy Smith completed 19 of 28 passes for 342 yards and two touchdowns and ran 13 times for 66 yards.
Stat Leaders: Ohio State - Passing: Troy Smith, 19-28, 342 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 21-136, 1 TD. Receiving: Ted Ginn Jr., 8-167, 1 TD
Notre Dame - Passing: Brady Quinn, 29-45, 286 yds
Rushing: Darius Walker, 16-90, 3 TD. Receiving: Maurice Stovall, 9-126

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Oklahoma Bowl History (23-13-1)

2005	Holiday	Oklahoma 17, Oregon 14
2004	Orange	USC 55, Oklahoma 19
2003	Sugar	LSU 21, Oklahoma 14
2002	Rose	Oklahoma 34, Washington State 14
2001	Cotton	Oklahoma 10, Arkansas 3
2000	Orange	Oklahoma 13, Florida State 2
1999	Independence	Mississippi 27, Oklahoma 25
1994	Copper	Brigham Young 31, Oklahoma 6
1993	Hancock	Oklahoma 41, Texas Tech 10
1991	Gator	Oklahoma 48, Virginia 14
1988	Citrus	Clemson 13, Oklahoma 6
1987	Orange	Miami 20, Oklahoma 14
1986	Orange	Oklahoma 42, Arkansas 8
1985	Orange	Oklahoma 25, Penn State 10
1984	Orange	Washington 28, Oklahoma 17
1982	Fiesta	Arizona State 32, Oklahoma 21
1981	Sun	Oklahoma 40, Houston 14
1980	Orange	Oklahoma 18, Florida State 17
1979	Orange	Oklahoma 24, Florida State 7
1978	Orange	Oklahoma 31, Nebraska 24
1977	Orange	Arkansas 31, Oklahoma 6
1976	Fiesta	Oklahoma 41, Wyoming 7
1975	Orange	Oklahoma 14, Michigan 6
1972	Sugar	Oklahoma 14, Penn State 0
1971	Sugar	Oklahoma 42, Auburn 22
1970	Astro-Bluebonnet	Oklahoma 24, Alabama 24
1968	Astro-Bluebonnet	SMU 28, Oklahoma 27
1967	Orange	Oklahoma 26, Tennessee 24
1964	Gator	Florida State 36, Oklahoma 19
1962	Orange	Alabama 17, Oklahoma 0
1958	Orange	Oklahoma 21, Syracuse 6
1957	Orange	Oklahoma 48, Duke 21
1955	Orange	Oklahoma 20, Maryland 6
1953	Orange	Oklahoma 7, Maryland 0
1950	Sugar	Kentucky 13, Oklahoma 7
1949	Sugar	Oklahoma 35, LSU 0
1948	Sugar	Oklahoma 14, North Carolina 6
1946	Gator	Oklahoma 34, NC State 13
1938	Orange	Tennessee 17, Oklahoma 0

Boise State Bowl History (5-2)

2005	MPC Computers	Boston College 27, Boise State 21
2004	Liberty	Louisville 44, Boise State 40
2003	Fort Worth	Boise State 34, TCU 31
2002	Humanitarian	Boise State 34, Iowa State 16
2000	Humanitarian	Boise State 38, Texas-El Paso 23
1999	Humanitarian	Boise State 34, Louisville 31
1971	Camellia	Boise State 32, Chico State 28