2007 Fiesta Bowl
Encyclopedia
The 2007 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
was a college football
bowl game
played as part of the 2006–2007 Bowl Championship Series
(BCS) of the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Played annually since 1971, originally at Sun Devil Stadium
on the campus of Arizona State University
in Tempe, Arizona
through 2006, the game was played on January 1, 2007, at the game's new home field, the University of Phoenix Stadium
in Glendale, Arizona
, and pitted the Big 12
champion #8 Oklahoma Sooners
against the WAC
champion #9 Boise State Broncos
. The contest was televised on Fox
. With this broadcast, the Fiesta Bowl became the first bowl game to air on all the "big four" television networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC) - the Orange Bowl
became the second, the following night.
Oklahoma was the designated home team and was favored by 7½ points, but the Broncos won in overtime, 43–42. Oklahoma wore their red home jerseys, while Boise State wore their road white jerseys. Both Boise, Idaho
and Norman, Oklahoma
are about 15 hour trips from the bowl site.
The game featured a series of "fantastic finishes" – Oklahoma scoring 25 unanswered points to take its first lead with just over one minute remaining in the game, the teams scoring 22 points in the final 1:26 of regulation and 15 points in overtime, culminating with Boise State completing three do-or-die trick plays (the first of which was called with 18 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter) to win the game.
, many felt the defending national champion Texas Longhorns were now the favorite (the Sooners dropped six spots in the Coaches Poll
during the first two weeks of the season despite winning both of those weeks). The Sooners opened their season 3-2 with a controversial loss to Oregon
and a loss to Texas
. The Sooners also lost their Heisman
-hopeful running back Adrian Peterson during their sixth game to a broken collar bone
. Many had written the Sooners off at this point. However, the Sooners won their next seven games while Texas lost their last two and the Sooners became the outright winners of the Big 12 South and faced the Big 12 North winner, Nebraska
, in the Big 12 Championship Game. They won that game 21-7 and were given an automatic berth to represent the Big 12 in the Fiesta Bowl.
The Boise State Broncos, who returned more starters from 2005 than any other team in NCAA
Division I-A football, began the year with high hopes; according to one major source, anything less than a BCS Bowl berth would have been a disappointment. First-year head coach Chris Petersen
led this perennially strong non-BCS conference school to an undefeated 12-0 record. Some of the Broncos key wins this season came over Oregon State
of the Pac-10 Conference, Hawaii
and Fresno State
. Boise State was the champion of the Western Athletic Conference
.
http://www.bcsfootball.org/news/story?id=4809942 2006 reference
The Fiesta Bowl has been played annually since 1971, and from then until 2005 the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona
at Sun Devil Stadium
, home stadium to the NFL's Arizona Cardinals
and Pac-10's Arizona State Sun Devils. In 2006, the Cardinals completed a new home stadium (named University of Phoenix Stadium
) in Glendale, Arizona, and the Fiesta Bowl followed them there. The new stadium is state-of-the-art with an inclined retractable roof and fully retractable natural grass playing surface. The stadium was also host to 2006 season BCS National Championship Game held on January 8, 2007 and hosted Super Bowl XLII
in 2008
. The capacity of the new stadium is 63,500, although for this game and the BCS National Championship Game, extra seats were added in the south end of the stadium to increase capacity to about 70,000.
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Overtime
Oklahoma fell behind 14-0 early in the first quarter after a costly fumble deep in their own territory by quarterback Paul Thompson
, which led to an Ian Johnson touchdown run two plays later. Boise State scored a touchdown on its final possession of the first half to take a 21-10 halftime lead. Midway through the third quarter Boise State would intercept a pass and run it back for a touchdown, giving them a 28-10 lead.
Oklahoma would then score the next 25 points, starting by recovering a punt which struck the leg of a Boise State player deep in Broncos territory, which a few plays later lead to Adrian Peterson scoring his first touchdown of the game to cut the Boise State lead to 28-17. The Sooners followed up with a Garrett Hartley field goal a few series later to close the gap to 28-20.
OU then attempted a two-point conversion
to tie the game. In a sign of the wildness to come, Oklahoma would require three attempts to complete the two-point conversion:
After the ensuing kickoff, on the next play from scrimmage, Boise State quarterback Jared Zabransky was intercepted by Marcus Walker, who returned it 34 yards for a touchdown. After the extra point, Oklahoma led 35–28 with 1:02 left, its first lead of the game.
On the ensuing drive Boise State drove to the OU 42. The next series of downs were not so successful for Boise State:
The Broncos were thus facing fourth down with 18 yards needed for a first down and only 18 seconds left on the clock. Zabransky passed for 15 yards to Drisan James. With five Oklahoma defenders playing a "prevent" style defense to prevent a long conversion, James quickly scoop-passed the ball to an in-stride Jerard Rabb, who ran the ball along the left sideline an additional 35 yards for a touchdown. (The hook and lateral play—called "Circus" by Boise State—allowed for at least two more laterals. Johnson and Zabransky had trailed Rabb along the sideline as potential outlets or possibly as blockers.) The extra point tied the game up at 35 with just seven seconds remaining in regulation, and the game then went into overtime.
Under College football rules, both teams in overtime are given one possession from their opponent's twenty-five yard line. A coin toss gives one team the choice, offense or defense first, or which end of the field. The winner of the toss generally chooses to be on defense, first, to know how many points must be scored to win or tie on their offensive possession. The loser of the toss is left to choose the end of the field—usually the one with the largest proportion of their own team's fans so as to increase the crowd noise while their opponents are on offense. The team that is leading after both possessions is declared the winner and in the event of a tie, there is another overtime session with the order of the offensive and defensive possessions reversed. The end of the field is also changed with each overtime session.
Boise State won the coin toss and opted to play defense first. Oklahoma scored on their first play with a 25-yard run by Peterson, which would ultimately be his last collegiate touchdown. The extra point was good, making the score 42–35 Oklahoma. On Boise State's drive, the Broncos came down to 4th and 2 on the Sooners' 5 yard line and decided to run their second trick play, a wide receiver rollout option from a variant of the Wildcat offense
. Zabransky ran in motion to his left while backup wide receiver Vinny Perretta
, lined up as a running back, took the snap, rolled to his right, then threw a touchdown pass to tight end Derek Schouman
, who had lined up as a wide receiver, to bring Boise State within one point at 42–41.
Instead of kicking the extra-point to tie the game and send it into a second overtime, Broncos coach Chris Petersen
risked defeat to go for the two-point conversion to win. He ran their third trick play of the night. It was a variation of the Statue of Liberty play
known to the team simply as "Statue Left," which was drawn up by backup quarterback Taylor Tharp
. Boise State lined up three receivers on the right side. After the snap, Zabransky faked a quick pass to his right with his right hand, then quickly handed off the football backhanded with his left hand to running back Ian Johnson, who ran untouched into the end zone for the conversion and the win.
, Johnson got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend, Boise State head cheerleader Chrissy Popadics, on live TV. Myers, however, "spoiled" the proposal by mentioning it before Johnson went to a knee. She accepted. Ian did not have a ring with him because he orininally planned on proposing to Christy at Lagoon on their way home from the Fiesta Bowl, but he could not give up the opportunity to propose on National TV after scoring the game winning two point conversion. The couple married on July 28, 2007.
According to Ian Johnson, he received about 30 threatening letters which he handed over to the FBI, from people who objected to his nationally-televised interracial marriage proposal at the end of the game. Johnson, who is half-black, and Popadics, who is white, hired security for their wedding due to the threats.
, who later lost to the Florida Gators
. The Broncos ultimately received one first-place vote in the final AP poll of the season, released after the National Championship game.
Boise State also became just the second team from a non-BCS conference to both play in and win a BCS bowl game. (the 2004 Utah Utes team
was the first, playing in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl
) The Broncos' win gave teams from non-BCS conferences a 2-0 record in BCS bowl games (the following year, Boise State's conference rival Hawaii
would lose to Georgia
in the 2008 Sugar Bowl
).That record, however, went up to 3-1, when the 2008 Utah Utes
defeated the heavily favored 2008 Alabama Crimson Tide
(Southeastern Conference
) in the 2009 Sugar Bowl
. That would mark the second time that Utah played in and defeated a BCS-Conference team in a BCS Bowl. The record would again change to 4-1 when TCU defeated Wisconsin in the 2011 Rose Bowl.
However, the presence of Boise State, a non-BCS school, quite possibly led to some of the lowest TV ratings ever for a BCS game. Of the 37 BCS bowl games played through the 2006 season, only two received lower ratings than this game—the 2005 Fiesta Bowl
, the only other BCS game up to that time to feature a non-BCS school; and the 2007 Orange Bowl
, which featured two non-traditional BCS-conference teams in Louisville
and Wake Forest
.
ESPN columnist Pat Forde
had this to say:
Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated
:
Arash Markazi, also of Sports Illustrated, who covered the Broncos throughout their stay in Arizona:
Chris Dufresne of the Los Angeles Times
:
Pete Thamel of The New York Times
:
It has been reported that the Boise State University Athletic Department is selling the rights for a major motion picture about the Broncos 2006 season.
Broncos quarterback Jared Zabransky is featured on the cover of the 2008 edition
of EA Sports
popular NCAA Football
video game. The last play of the game was also the subject of a television commercial for the video game, but with a twist: it featured Adrian Peterson controlling a Sooners player who tackled Johnson before he crossed the goal line.
The 2007 Fiesta Bowl won the 2007 Best Game ESPY Award
, and the game's final play won the 2007 Best Play ESPY Award
. It also took the #1 spot on ESPN's
SportsCenter
Top 10 Games of 2007. The final "Statue of Liberty" play also placed 2nd in ESPN's "The Greatest Highlight" hosted by Chris Berman. Sports Illustrated
rated it "The game of the decade" for college football.
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...
was a college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
bowl game
Bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
played as part of the 2006–2007 Bowl Championship Series
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
(BCS) of the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Played annually since 1971, originally 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...
on the campus of Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
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...
through 2006, the game was played on January 1, 2007, at the game's new home field, the University of Phoenix Stadium
University of Phoenix Stadium
University of Phoenix Stadium, opened August 1, 2006, is a multipurpose football stadium located in Glendale, Arizona. It is the home of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League and the annual Fiesta Bowl...
in Glendale, Arizona
Glendale, Arizona
Glendale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, located about nine miles northwest from Downtown Phoenix. According to 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city is 226,721....
, and pitted the Big 12
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
champion #8 Oklahoma Sooners
2006 Oklahoma Sooners football team
The 2006 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the college football season of 2006-2007, winning the Big 12 Conference Championship...
against the WAC
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...
champion #9 Boise State Broncos
2006 Boise State Broncos football team
The 2006 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 2006 college football season. The Broncos won the Western Athletic Conference championship with an undefeated 12–0 regular-season record , their second unbeaten regular season in the past three years...
. The contest was televised on Fox
Fox Sports (USA)
Fox Sports is a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company . It was formed in 1994 with Fox's acquisition of broadcast rights to National Football League games...
. With this broadcast, the Fiesta Bowl became the first bowl game to air on all the "big four" television networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC) - the Orange Bowl
2007 Orange Bowl
The 2007 FedEx Orange Bowl game is a college football bowl game. It is part of the 2006-2007 Bowl Championship Series of the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Orange Bowl was first played in 1935. The 2007 game was played on January 2, 2007, at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens,...
became the second, the following night.
Oklahoma was the designated home team and was favored by 7½ points, but the Broncos won in overtime, 43–42. Oklahoma wore their red home jerseys, while Boise State wore their road white jerseys. Both Boise, Idaho
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
and Norman, Oklahoma
Norman, Oklahoma
Norman is a city in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, United States, and is located south of downtown Oklahoma City. It is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, Norman was to have 110,925 full-time residents, making it the third-largest city in Oklahoma and the...
are about 15 hour trips from the bowl site.
The game featured a series of "fantastic finishes" – Oklahoma scoring 25 unanswered points to take its first lead with just over one minute remaining in the game, the teams scoring 22 points in the final 1:26 of regulation and 15 points in overtime, culminating with Boise State completing three do-or-die trick plays (the first of which was called with 18 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter) to win the game.
Pre-game buildup
During the summer preceding the season, Oklahoma was hyped to be a top 5 team and national title contender. They initially were the favorite to win the Big 12 South. Following the dismissal of OU's returning quarterback Rhett BomarRhett Bomar
Rhett Matthew Bomar is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft...
, many felt the defending national champion Texas Longhorns were now the favorite (the Sooners dropped six spots in the Coaches Poll
Coaches Poll
The USA Today Coaches' Poll is the current name for a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football and Division I college basketball teams....
during the first two weeks of the season despite winning both of those weeks). The Sooners opened their season 3-2 with a controversial loss to Oregon
Oregon Ducks football
The Oregon Ducks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Oregon located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the Football Bowl Subdivision and is a member of the Pacific-12 Conference. Known as the Ducks, the...
and a loss to Texas
2006 Texas Longhorn football team
The 2006 Texas Longhorn football team represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head football coach was Mack Brown, who received the 2006 Paul "Bear" Bryant Award for "Coach of the Year". The Longhorns play their home games in...
. The Sooners also lost their Heisman
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
-hopeful running back Adrian Peterson during their sixth game to a broken collar bone
Clavicle fracture
A clavicle fracture is a bone fracture in the clavicle, or collarbone. It is often caused by a fall onto an outstretched upper extremity, a fall onto a shoulder, or a direct blow to the clavicle...
. Many had written the Sooners off at this point. However, the Sooners won their next seven games while Texas lost their last two and the Sooners became the outright winners of the Big 12 South and faced the Big 12 North winner, Nebraska
2006 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
The 2006 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Bill Callahan and played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska....
, in the Big 12 Championship Game. They won that game 21-7 and were given an automatic berth to represent the Big 12 in the Fiesta Bowl.
The Boise State Broncos, who returned more starters from 2005 than any other team in NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Division I-A football, began the year with high hopes; according to one major source, anything less than a BCS Bowl berth would have been a disappointment. First-year head coach Chris Petersen
Chris Petersen
Chris Petersen is an American football coach and former player in the United States. He is currently the head football coach at Boise State University, a position he has held since the 2006 season. Peterson has guided the Broncos to two BCS bowl wins, in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl and the 2010 Fiesta...
led this perennially strong non-BCS conference school to an undefeated 12-0 record. Some of the Broncos key wins this season came over Oregon State
2006 Oregon State Beavers football team
The 2006 Oregon State Beavers football team represents Oregon State University in the college football season of 2006-2007. The team's head coach is Mike Riley, with home games being played at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon.-The upset:...
of the Pac-10 Conference, Hawaii
2006 Hawaii Warriors football team
The 2006 Hawaii Warriors football team represented the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the 2006 NCAA Division I-Bowl Subdivision college football season...
and Fresno State
California State University, Fresno
California State University, Fresno, often referred to as Fresno State University and synonymously known in athletics as Fresno State , is one of the leading campuses of the California State University system, located at the northeast edge of Fresno, California, USA.The campus sits at the foot of...
. Boise State was the champion of the Western Athletic Conference
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...
.
http://www.bcsfootball.org/news/story?id=4809942 2006 reference
New stadium
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...
, home stadium to the NFL's Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Pac-10's Arizona State Sun Devils. In 2006, the Cardinals completed a new home stadium (named University of Phoenix Stadium
University of Phoenix Stadium
University of Phoenix Stadium, opened August 1, 2006, is a multipurpose football stadium located in Glendale, Arizona. It is the home of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League and the annual Fiesta Bowl...
) in Glendale, Arizona, and the Fiesta Bowl followed them there. The new stadium is state-of-the-art with an inclined retractable roof and fully retractable natural grass playing surface. The stadium was also host to 2006 season BCS National Championship Game held on January 8, 2007 and hosted Super Bowl XLII
Super Bowl XLII
Super Bowl XLII was an American football game on February 3, 2008 that featured the National Football Conference champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League champion for the 2007 season...
in 2008
2008 in sports
2008 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:* Louisiana State University Tigers defeat The Ohio State University Buckeyes 38-24 in the 2008 BCS National Championship Game, thus becoming the first two-time BCS National Champions, and the first BCS titlists with two...
. The capacity of the new stadium is 63,500, although for this game and the BCS National Championship Game, extra seats were added in the south end of the stadium to increase capacity to about 70,000.
Scoring summary
First quarter- Boise State Drisan JamesDrisan JamesDrisan Bryant James is a professional American and Canadian football wide receiver in the Canadian Football League. He was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2007...
49 yard touchdown pass from Jared ZabranskyJared ZabranskyJared Zabransky is a former professional football player, a quarterback in the National Football League and the Canadian Football League. He was signed by the Houston Texans of the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2007, and played two seasons for the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL in 2009 and 2010...
. (Anthony Montgomery kick good) (9:06) 7-0 Boise State - Boise State Ian Johnson 2 yard touchdown run (Montgomery kick good). (7:28) 14-0 Boise State
- Oklahoma Manuel Johnson 7 yard touchdown pass from Paul Thompson (Garrett HartleyGarrett HartleyGarrett Hartley is an American football placekicker for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2008...
kick good). (0:26) 14-7 Boise State
Second quarter
- Oklahoma Garrett Hartley 31 yard field goal. (5:38) 14-10 Boise State
- Boise State Drisan James 32 yard pass from Jared Zabransky (Montgomery kick is good). (0:32) 21-10 Boise State
Third quarter
- Boise State- Paul ThompsonPaul Thompson (football)Paul Thompson is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2007...
pass intercepted by Marty TadmanMarty TadmanMarty Tadman was a starting safety on Boise State's 2006-2007 Fiesta Bowl winning team, at which he earned the Defensive Player of the Game award. In the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, Tadman had two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown.-External links:...
of Boise State, returned for a 27 yard touchdown (Anthony Montgomery kick good). (8:05) 28-10 Boise State - Oklahoma- Adrian Peterson 8 yard touchdown run (Hartley kick good). (4:29) 28-17 Boise State
Fourth quarter
- Oklahoma- 28 yard field goal by Garrett Hartley. (14:57). 28-20 Boise State
- Oklahoma- 5 yard touchdown pass from Thompson to Quentin Chaney (2 point conversion good, 6 yard pass from Thompson to Juaquin Iglesias.) (1:26) 28-28 Tie
- Oklahoma- Jared Zabransky pass intercepted by Marcus Walker of Oklahoma, returned 34 yards for a touchdown (Hartley Kick good). (1:02). 35-28 Oklahoma
- Boise State- 15 yard pass completed from Zabransky to James. James lateral to Jerard RabbJerard RabbJerard Rabb is an American football wide receiver who is currently playing with the Boise Burn of the Arena Football League. He played college football at Boise State...
for the 35 yard touchdown run (Montgomery Kick good). (0:07). 35-35
Overtime
- Oklahoma- 25 yard touchdown run by Peterson. (Hartley Kick good). 42-35 Oklahoma
- Boise State- 6 yard touchdown pass from Vinny Perretta to Derek SchoumanDerek SchoumanDerek Schouman is an American football tight end for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Boise State.He has also played for the St...
. (2 point conversion good, 3 yard run by Johnson, Statue of Liberty play). 43-42 Boise State
Game summary
The game was highlighted by Oklahoma scoring 25 unanswered points in the second half to take its first lead with 1:02 remaining, a combined 22 points scored in the final 1:26 of regulation plus 15 points in overtime, and three trick plays that helped Boise State win the game.Oklahoma fell behind 14-0 early in the first quarter after a costly fumble deep in their own territory by quarterback Paul Thompson
Paul Thompson (football)
Paul Thompson is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2007...
, which led to an Ian Johnson touchdown run two plays later. Boise State scored a touchdown on its final possession of the first half to take a 21-10 halftime lead. Midway through the third quarter Boise State would intercept a pass and run it back for a touchdown, giving them a 28-10 lead.
Oklahoma would then score the next 25 points, starting by recovering a punt which struck the leg of a Boise State player deep in Broncos territory, which a few plays later lead to Adrian Peterson scoring his first touchdown of the game to cut the Boise State lead to 28-17. The Sooners followed up with a Garrett Hartley field goal a few series later to close the gap to 28-20.
The Final 1:26 of Regulation
Wide receiver Quentin Chaney caught a tipped 5 yard TD pass from quarterback Paul Thompson with 1:26 remaining in the fourth quarter, bringing the Sooners to within two points at 28-26 Boise State.OU then attempted a two-point conversion
Two-point conversion
In American and Canadian football, a two-point conversion is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point convert immediately after it scores a touchdown...
to tie the game. In a sign of the wildness to come, Oklahoma would require three attempts to complete the two-point conversion:
- OU's first attempt was unsuccessful, but Boise State was called for pass interferencePass interferenceIn American and Canadian gridiron football, pass interference is a penalty that occurs when a player interferes with an eligible receiver's ability to make a fair attempt to catch a forward pass. Pass interference may include tripping, pushing, pulling, or cutting in front of the receiver or...
. - OU would succeed on its second attempt, but the play was called back for illegal shift.
- Finally, Thompson completed a pass to wide receiver Juaquin IglesiasJuaquin IglesiasJuaquin Iglesias is an American football wide receiver for the Houston Texans of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Bears in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oklahoma. He is currently on the Texans practice squad.-Early years:Born to Bobby and...
on the third attempt, this time with no penalties, thus tying the game up at 28.
After the ensuing kickoff, on the next play from scrimmage, Boise State quarterback Jared Zabransky was intercepted by Marcus Walker, who returned it 34 yards for a touchdown. After the extra point, Oklahoma led 35–28 with 1:02 left, its first lead of the game.
On the ensuing drive Boise State drove to the OU 42. The next series of downs were not so successful for Boise State:
- On first down, Zabransky was sacked for a loss of 8 yards.
- On second down, Zabransky's pass was dropped.
- On third down, Zabransky's pass was incomplete.
The Broncos were thus facing fourth down with 18 yards needed for a first down and only 18 seconds left on the clock. Zabransky passed for 15 yards to Drisan James. With five Oklahoma defenders playing a "prevent" style defense to prevent a long conversion, James quickly scoop-passed the ball to an in-stride Jerard Rabb, who ran the ball along the left sideline an additional 35 yards for a touchdown. (The hook and lateral play—called "Circus" by Boise State—allowed for at least two more laterals. Johnson and Zabransky had trailed Rabb along the sideline as potential outlets or possibly as blockers.) The extra point tied the game up at 35 with just seven seconds remaining in regulation, and the game then went into overtime.
Overtime
Boise State won the coin toss and opted to play defense first. Oklahoma scored on their first play with a 25-yard run by Peterson, which would ultimately be his last collegiate touchdown. The extra point was good, making the score 42–35 Oklahoma. On Boise State's drive, the Broncos came down to 4th and 2 on the Sooners' 5 yard line and decided to run their second trick play, a wide receiver rollout option from a variant of the Wildcat offense
Wildcat offense
|- style="text-align:center;"| || |- style="text-align:center;"| Base Wildcat || Speed Sweep|- style="text-align:center;"| || |- style="text-align:center;"| QB Counter || Split Zone|- style="text-align:center;"...
. Zabransky ran in motion to his left while backup wide receiver Vinny Perretta
Vinny Perretta
Vinny Perretta is an American wide receiver. He formerly played with the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. He was signed by the Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Boise State...
, lined up as a running back, took the snap, rolled to his right, then threw a touchdown pass to tight end Derek Schouman
Derek Schouman
Derek Schouman is an American football tight end for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Boise State.He has also played for the St...
, who had lined up as a wide receiver, to bring Boise State within one point at 42–41.
Instead of kicking the extra-point to tie the game and send it into a second overtime, Broncos coach Chris Petersen
Chris Petersen
Chris Petersen is an American football coach and former player in the United States. He is currently the head football coach at Boise State University, a position he has held since the 2006 season. Peterson has guided the Broncos to two BCS bowl wins, in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl and the 2010 Fiesta...
risked defeat to go for the two-point conversion to win. He ran their third trick play of the night. It was a variation of the Statue of Liberty play
Statue of Liberty play
The Statue of Liberty is a trick play in American football, occasionally seen in high school football, college football and the NFL.-Execution of the play:...
known to the team simply as "Statue Left," which was drawn up by backup quarterback Taylor Tharp
Taylor Tharp
Taylor Tharp is an American football quarterback who plays in Italy at Panthers Parma. He was signed by the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Boise State...
. Boise State lined up three receivers on the right side. After the snap, Zabransky faked a quick pass to his right with his right hand, then quickly handed off the football backhanded with his left hand to running back Ian Johnson, who ran untouched into the end zone for the conversion and the win.
Postgame
During a postgame interview with FOX Sports on-field analyst Chris MyersChris Myers
Christopher Patrick "Chris" Myers ) is an American sportscaster.-Biography:With more than 20 years in broadcasting, Chris Myers has covered premiere events, including the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, NCAA Final Four, The Masters and U.S...
, Johnson got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend, Boise State head cheerleader Chrissy Popadics, on live TV. Myers, however, "spoiled" the proposal by mentioning it before Johnson went to a knee. She accepted. Ian did not have a ring with him because he orininally planned on proposing to Christy at Lagoon on their way home from the Fiesta Bowl, but he could not give up the opportunity to propose on National TV after scoring the game winning two point conversion. The couple married on July 28, 2007.
According to Ian Johnson, he received about 30 threatening letters which he handed over to the FBI, from people who objected to his nationally-televised interracial marriage proposal at the end of the game. Johnson, who is half-black, and Popadics, who is white, hired security for their wedding due to the threats.
Final game facts
Boise State finished their season with a perfect 13–0 record, spurring controversy as to whether teams from non-BCS conferences should have an opportunity to play for a national title. Most of the Boise State players and officials that were asked about it in the immediate aftermath of the game downplayed the controversy and claimed they were just happy to participate in the BCS bowls. Some did say they believed they were good enough to play in the National Championship game against the BCS #1 Ohio State Buckeyes2006 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
The 2006 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was an American football team representing the Ohio State University in the college football season of 2006-2007. The team's head coach was Jim Tressel. The Buckeyes played their home games in Ohio Stadium...
, who later lost to the Florida Gators
2006 Florida Gators football team
The 2006 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2006 college football season...
. The Broncos ultimately received one first-place vote in the final AP poll of the season, released after the National Championship game.
Boise State also became just the second team from a non-BCS conference to both play in and win a BCS bowl game. (the 2004 Utah Utes team
2004 Utah Utes football team
The 2004 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah in the college football season of 2004–2005. This team was the original 'BCS Buster', meaning, this was the first time that a team from a non-BCS conference was invited to play in one of the BCS bowl games. The team, coached by 2nd...
was the first, playing in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl
2005 Fiesta Bowl
The 2005 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, played on January 1, 2005, was the 34th edition of the Fiesta Bowl. The game was played between Utah and Pittsburgh, in front of 73,519 fans. It is notable for being the first BCS game to feature a team from a non-BCS conference, and the only BCS bowl to feature a...
) The Broncos' win gave teams from non-BCS conferences a 2-0 record in BCS bowl games (the following year, Boise State's conference rival Hawaii
2007 Hawaii Warriors football team
The 2007 Hawaii Warriors football team represented the University of Hawaii at Mānoa in the 2007 NCAA Division I-Bowl Subdivision college football season....
would lose to Georgia
2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team
The 2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team competed on behalf of the University of Georgia in American football against teams from other colleges and universities. The Bulldogs tied for first place in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference but lost a tie-breaker with the University of...
in the 2008 Sugar Bowl
2008 Sugar Bowl
The 2008 Allstate Sugar Bowl Game was an American college football bowl game. It was part of the Bowl Championship Series for the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and was the 74th Sugar Bowl...
).That record, however, went up to 3-1, when the 2008 Utah Utes
2008 Utah Utes football team
The 2008 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah in the college football season of 2008–2009. The team, coached by 4th year head football coach Kyle Whittingham, plays its home games in Rice–Eccles Stadium...
defeated the heavily favored 2008 Alabama Crimson Tide
2008 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
The 2008 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 76th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference and its 17th within the SEC Western Division...
(Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
) in the 2009 Sugar Bowl
2009 Sugar Bowl
The 2009 Allstate Sugar Bowl was the 75th annual edition of the annual college football bowl game that is part of the 2008–09 bowl season of the Bowl Championship Series 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season...
. That would mark the second time that Utah played in and defeated a BCS-Conference team in a BCS Bowl. The record would again change to 4-1 when TCU defeated Wisconsin in the 2011 Rose Bowl.
However, the presence of Boise State, a non-BCS school, quite possibly led to some of the lowest TV ratings ever for a BCS game. Of the 37 BCS bowl games played through the 2006 season, only two received lower ratings than this game—the 2005 Fiesta Bowl
2005 Fiesta Bowl
The 2005 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, played on January 1, 2005, was the 34th edition of the Fiesta Bowl. The game was played between Utah and Pittsburgh, in front of 73,519 fans. It is notable for being the first BCS game to feature a team from a non-BCS conference, and the only BCS bowl to feature a...
, the only other BCS game up to that time to feature a non-BCS school; and the 2007 Orange Bowl
2007 Orange Bowl
The 2007 FedEx Orange Bowl game is a college football bowl game. It is part of the 2006-2007 Bowl Championship Series of the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Orange Bowl was first played in 1935. The 2007 game was played on January 2, 2007, at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens,...
, which featured two non-traditional BCS-conference teams in Louisville
2006 Louisville Cardinals football team
The 2006 Louisville Cardinals football team represented the University of Louisville in the 2006 college football season. The team, led by Bobby Petrino in his fourth year at the school, played their home games in Papa John's Cardinal Stadium...
and Wake Forest
2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team
The 2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team represented Wake Forest University during the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Jim Grobe, in his fifth season at the school, and played its home games at Groves Stadium...
.
Legacy
The dramatic fashion in which the game finished, along with the numerous trick plays and underdog story, immediately generated incredible enthusiasm, and many have since considered it one of the greatest college football bowl games to ever be played.ESPN columnist Pat Forde
Pat Forde
Pat Forde is a sports journalist who currently serves as a national columnist for Yahoo Sports.- Work :Forde is currently a writer for Yahoo Sports. Forde left ESPN on November 1, 2011 to pursue a career with more journalistic freedom. Prior to leaving ESPN, Forde was a staple on radio and...
had this to say:
The Valley of the StunPhoenix Metropolitan AreaThe Phoenix metropolitan area, often referred to as The Valley of the Sun, is a metropolitan area, centered on the city of Phoenix, that includes much of the central part of the US state of Arizona...
was the stage as an indomitable bunch of dreamers in orange pants landed the mightiest populist blow of college football's modern era. They were Hickory HighHoosiersHoosiers is a 1986 sports film about a small-town Indiana high school basketball team that wins the state championship. It is loosely based on the Milan High School team that won the 1954 state championship....
in helmets, George Mason in cleats. They knocked off a gridiron giant one decade to the day after the burial of Pokey AllenPokey AllenErnest Duncan "Pokey" Allen, Jr. was a football player and coach in the United States and Canada. He served as the head football coach at Portland State University from 1986 to 1992 and at Boise State University from 1993 to 1996, compiling a career college football record of 87–41–2...
, the beloved Boise coach who brought the program up to Division I-A status just 11 years ago.
Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
:
How do you sum up one of the most remarkable endings any of us will ever be fortunate enough to see? How do you sum up one of the most exciting bowl games ever contested? And how do you sum up what will one day be viewed as one of the most significant moments in the history of college football? I’m not exaggerating....Boise State beating Oklahoma in a New Year’s Day bowl game is college football’s equivalent to George Mason reaching the Final Four, with one extremely significant difference: George Mason had its chance to compete for the national title; Boise State does not. Like it or not, Boise State 43, Oklahoma 42 just became the single biggest argument to date for a college football playoff....Not only did they get in the game, they made a major statement on behalf of their mid-major brethren that none of us will soon forget.
Arash Markazi, also of Sports Illustrated, who covered the Broncos throughout their stay in Arizona:
When it was over, even Hollywood couldn't have scripted a more dramatic ending. This was the ultimate underdog story of a team that believed from the start, refused to give up even when it looked bleak and pulled off the improbable. It's one thing for a Cinderella team to upset a heavily favored opponent, but c'mon, this was ridiculous....Boise State's mind-numbing 43-42 victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl on Monday night had everything and will go down as one of [the] best games in college football history. It was as big as George Mason getting to the Final Four and is proof that mid-majors can play with the big boys in football, too.
Chris Dufresne of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
:
Crazy, zany and loony are three apt words to describe the end of Monday night's Fiesta Bowl at the University of Phoenix Stadium. You thought it would never end, but it did, with one of the most gutsy calls and remarkable plays in the history of college football.
Pete Thamel of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
:
...[A] hook-and-lateral, a Statue of Liberty play and a halfback toss launched the Boise State football team to an upset that will long resonate in college football lore....Johnson’s proposal capped a dizzying, riveting, back-and-forth game that will be remembered as one of the most exciting in college football history.
It has been reported that the Boise State University Athletic Department is selling the rights for a major motion picture about the Broncos 2006 season.
Broncos quarterback Jared Zabransky is featured on the cover of the 2008 edition
NCAA Football 08
NCAA Football 08 is a college football video game created by EA Sports, the sports video gaming subsidiary of Electronic Arts. It was officially announced with the launch of the NCAA 08 page on the EA Sports website on February 20, 2007...
of EA Sports
EA Sports
EA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John...
popular NCAA Football
NCAA Football series
NCAA Football is a football video game series in which you play as any current Division I FBS college team. This game is developed by EA Sports. Because of NCAA rules, current college players are not permitted to be used as the cover athletes...
video game. The last play of the game was also the subject of a television commercial for the video game, but with a twist: it featured Adrian Peterson controlling a Sooners player who tackled Johnson before he crossed the goal line.
The 2007 Fiesta Bowl won the 2007 Best Game ESPY Award
Best Game ESPY Award
The Best Game ESPY Award has been conferred annually since 2002 on the single regular season or playoff game contested professionally under the auspices of one of the four major North American leagues or collegiately under the auspices of the National Collegiate Athletic Association adjudged, in...
, and the game's final play won the 2007 Best Play ESPY Award
Best Play ESPY Award
The Best Play ESPY Award has been conferred annually since 2002 on the play in a single regular season or playoff game contested professionally under the auspices of one of the four major North American leagues or collegiately under the auspices of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
. It also took the #1 spot on ESPN's
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
SportsCenter
SportsCenter
SportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major...
Top 10 Games of 2007. The final "Statue of Liberty" play also placed 2nd in ESPN's "The Greatest Highlight" hosted by Chris Berman. Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
rated it "The game of the decade" for college football.