1999 Fiesta Bowl
Encyclopedia
The 1999 Fiesta Bowl
, the designated BCS National Championship Game
for the 1998 season, was played on January 4, 1999, in Tempe, Arizona
at Sun Devil Stadium
. The teams were the Tennessee Volunteers
and Florida State Seminoles
. The Tennessee Volunteers won the football program's fourth National Championship after a gap of forty-seven years by beating the Seminoles by a score of 23–16. The game was the first BCS national championship.
Tee Martin
fired a 4-yard touchdown pass to FB
Shawn Bryson
for the Vols to open up an early 7–0 lead. Bryson's TD came after the Vols took a Jeff Hall field goal off the board due to a roughing-the-kicker penalty. Shortly thereafter, Florida State had the ball near midfield. Seminole QB
Marcus Outzen threw an interception to Vol CB
Dwayne Goodrich
who was covering WR
Peter Warrick
, and it was returned 54 yards for a touchdown; thus, Tennessee opened up a 14–0 lead. The two scores both occurred in the first 25 seconds of the second quarter. Goodrich's interception changed the complexion of the game and forced Florida State to play from behind.
Florida State did get on the board later in the second quarter with a 1-yard run by FB William McCray, but Sebastian Janikowski
missed an extra point off the crossbar, so the score stood at 14–6. At the end of the half, Janikowski drilled a 34-yard field goal, and the lead was cut to 14–9.
The Vol defense, as a unit, also held its own. Once again, both teams failed to score for an entire quarter. After the scoreless third quarter, the Vols got back on the scoreboard again. Tee Martin fired a 79-yard touchdown pass to Peerless Price
, and the Vols claimed a 20–9 lead after a missed extra point by K
Jeff Hall.
Later, Tennessee added a 23-yard field goal by Hall, and the lead extended to 23–9. But Florida State was not conceding the outcome yet. Seminole quarterback Marcus Outzen scrambled for a 7-yard touchdown, capping a Florida State drive, and the lead was cut to 23–16. With less than 2 minutes to go in the game, Tennessee RB
Travis Henry
fumbled and turned the ball over to Florida State. However, Florida State was intercepted by CB
Steve Johnson, and the Vols ended with a victory.
Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil...
, the designated BCS National Championship Game
BCS National Championship Game
The BCS National Championship Game, or BCS National Championship, is the final bowl game of the annual Bowl Championship Series and is intended by the organizers of the BCS to determine the U.S. national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision...
for the 1998 season, was played on January 4, 1999, in Tempe, Arizona
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2010 population of 161,719. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of metropolitan Phoenix; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale...
at Sun Devil Stadium
Sun Devil Stadium
Sun Devil Stadium is an outdoor football stadium, located on the campus of Arizona State University, in Tempe, Arizona, United States. The stadium's current seating capacity is 71,706 and the playing surface is natural grass...
. The teams were the Tennessee Volunteers
1998 Tennessee Volunteers football team
The 1998 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. Tennessee entered the 1998 season coming off an 11–2 record in 1997...
and Florida State Seminoles
1998 Florida State Seminoles football team
The 1998 Florida State Seminoles football team represented the Florida State University in the college football season of 1998. The team was coached by Bobby Bowden and played their home games in Doak Campbell Stadium.-Schedule:...
. The Tennessee Volunteers won the football program's fourth National Championship after a gap of forty-seven years by beating the Seminoles by a score of 23–16. The game was the first BCS national championship.
First half
After a scoreless first quarter, Tennessee's QBQuarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Tee Martin
Tee Martin
Tamaurice Nigel "Tee" Martin is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League and Canadian Football League...
fired a 4-yard touchdown pass to FB
Fullback (American football)
A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...
Shawn Bryson
Shawn Bryson
Adrian Shawn Bryson is an American football running back in the NFL who is currently a free agent. He played college football at the University of Tennessee and was one of the four team Captains on the 1998 National Championship team. Shawn was later drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the third...
for the Vols to open up an early 7–0 lead. Bryson's TD came after the Vols took a Jeff Hall field goal off the board due to a roughing-the-kicker penalty. Shortly thereafter, Florida State had the ball near midfield. Seminole QB
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Marcus Outzen threw an interception to Vol CB
Cornerback
A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
Dwayne Goodrich
Dwayne Goodrich
Dwayne Lewis Goodrich is a former American football cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League...
who was covering WR
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
Peter Warrick
Peter Warrick
Peter Warrick is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals fourth overall in the 2000 NFL Draft...
, and it was returned 54 yards for a touchdown; thus, Tennessee opened up a 14–0 lead. The two scores both occurred in the first 25 seconds of the second quarter. Goodrich's interception changed the complexion of the game and forced Florida State to play from behind.
Florida State did get on the board later in the second quarter with a 1-yard run by FB William McCray, but Sebastian Janikowski
Sebastian Janikowski
Sebastian Janikowski is a left-footed Polish placekicker who plays for the National Football League's Oakland Raiders. He is nicknamed The Polish Cannon because he is considered to have one of the strongest kicking legs in the league, and leads the NFL in kickoffs for touchbacks. He lives in...
missed an extra point off the crossbar, so the score stood at 14–6. At the end of the half, Janikowski drilled a 34-yard field goal, and the lead was cut to 14–9.
Second half
The second half saw a new challenge for the Vols who were clinging to a narrow lead. Corner Dwayne Goodrich, who had the interception for a touchdown in the first half, was unable to play in the second half due to an ankle injury. He was replaced by Gerald Griffin, who had not seen much action that season. Griffin was assigned to cover Warrick, and did an adequate job, limiting Warrick to one catch for the game.The Vol defense, as a unit, also held its own. Once again, both teams failed to score for an entire quarter. After the scoreless third quarter, the Vols got back on the scoreboard again. Tee Martin fired a 79-yard touchdown pass to Peerless Price
Peerless Price
Peerless Jilo Price is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was originally drafted by the Bills in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft...
, and the Vols claimed a 20–9 lead after a missed extra point by K
Placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...
Jeff Hall.
Later, Tennessee added a 23-yard field goal by Hall, and the lead extended to 23–9. But Florida State was not conceding the outcome yet. Seminole quarterback Marcus Outzen scrambled for a 7-yard touchdown, capping a Florida State drive, and the lead was cut to 23–16. With less than 2 minutes to go in the game, Tennessee RB
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
Travis Henry
Travis Henry
Travis Deion Henry is a former American football running back for the Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans and Denver Broncos. He was drafted by the Bills in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft...
fumbled and turned the ball over to Florida State. However, Florida State was intercepted by CB
Cornerback
A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
Steve Johnson, and the Vols ended with a victory.
Scoring summary
| Scoring Play | Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Quarter | |||||
| No Scoring | |||||
| 2nd Quarter | |||||
| UT - Shawn Bryson Shawn Bryson Adrian Shawn Bryson is an American football running back in the NFL who is currently a free agent. He played college football at the University of Tennessee and was one of the four team Captains on the 1998 National Championship team. Shawn was later drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the third... 4-yard pass from Tee Martin Tee Martin Tamaurice Nigel "Tee" Martin is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League and Canadian Football League... (Jeff Hall Jeff Hall (American football) Jeff Hall married Stacey Sherwood on April 10, 2010.Paul Jeffery Hall is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League for the St. Louis Rams. He played college football at the University of Tennessee and was drafted in the sixth round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the... kick). |
UT 7-0 | ||||
| UT - Dwayne Goodrich Dwayne Goodrich Dwayne Lewis Goodrich is a former American football cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League... 54-yard interception return (Hall kick). |
UT 14-0 | ||||
| FSU - William McGray 1-yard run (Kick failed). | UT 14-6 | ||||
| FSU - Sebastian Janikowski Sebastian Janikowski Sebastian Janikowski is a left-footed Polish placekicker who plays for the National Football League's Oakland Raiders. He is nicknamed The Polish Cannon because he is considered to have one of the strongest kicking legs in the league, and leads the NFL in kickoffs for touchbacks. He lives in... 34-yard field goal. |
UT 14-9 | ||||
| 3rd Quarter | |||||
| No Scoring | |||||
| 4th Quarter | |||||
| UT - Peerless Price Peerless Price Peerless Jilo Price is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was originally drafted by the Bills in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft... 79-yard pass from Martin (Kick failed). |
UT 20-9 | ||||
| UT - Hall 23-yard field goal. | UT 23-9 | ||||
| FSU - Marcus Outzen 7-yard run (Janikowski kick). | UT 23-16 | ||||
Highlights
- While Tennessee limited Peter Warrick when the Seminoles were on offense, Warrick was still successful in the return game. One memorable play, however, saw Tennessee punterPunter (football position)A punter in American or Canadian football is a special teams player who receives the snapped ball directly from the line of scrimmage and then punts the football to the opposing team so as to limit any field position advantage. This generally happens on a fourth down in American football and a...
David Leaverton make an open field tackle on Warrick. Had Warrick gotten past Leaverton, he would have most likely scored a touchdown. Instead, the Seminoles were held scoreless on the drive and ended up losing by seven points, the same number saved by the tackle. - Florida State contained the Vol passing attack except for two big plays. The first was a fade route from Tee Martin to Peerless Price that covered 76 yards and set up the Vols' first touchdown. The second was Price's 79-yard touchdown reception from Martin.
- Tennessee walk-on Tim Sewell had a blocked punt.
- Tennessee had 114 yards rushing, but leading carrier Travis HenryTravis HenryTravis Deion Henry is a former American football running back for the Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans and Denver Broncos. He was drafted by the Bills in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft...
had only 28 yards rushing. The yards were spread out among Henry, Travis Stephens, Tee Martin, and Shawn Bryson. - Peerless Price's 199 yards receiving broke a Tennessee bowl record, held formerly by Anthony Hancock. Hancock had 196 yards in the 1981 Garden State Bowl.
- The Tennessee defense held Florida State to only 253 total yards on offense. However, WRWide receiverA wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
Ron Dugans had six catches for 135 yards to account for most of the total. - The win was the first ever for an SEC team in the Fiesta BowlFiesta BowlThe Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil...
. - Tennessee's seniors left the school with a 45-5 record after this game.
- This marked the final game for Tennessee's broadcasters John WardJohn Ward (broadcaster)John Ward is a former radio broadcaster at the University of Tennessee from 1965 until 1999. Ward received a law degree in 1954 at the University of Tennessee's main campus in Knoxville. Shortly after, he decided to go into radio and advertising. Ward's first broadcast of a UT basketball game came...
and Bill Anderson, the longest-running broadcast partnership in college football.
Sources
- UTSports.com recap
- Sports Illustrated Recap
- CNNSI.com Recap
- 1999 Tennessee Volunteers Football Media Guide