The 1997 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl game was a post-season

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

between the

Kansas State Wildcats The Kansas State Wildcats (variously "Kansas State", "K-State", or "KSU") are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Kansas State University. The official color of the teams is Royal Purple; white and silver are generally used as c ...

and the

Syracuse Orangemen The Syracuse Orange are the athletic teams that represent Syracuse University. The school is a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Until 2013, Syracuse was a member of the Big East Conference. The school's mascot is ...

on December 31, 1997, at

Sun Devil Stadium Sun Devil Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium in the southwestern United States, on the campus of Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, Arizona. It is home to the ASU Sun Devils football team of the Pac-12 Conference. The s ...

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

. Kansas State defeated Syracuse, 35-18. The game was part of the 1997-1998

Bowl Alliance The Bowl Alliance was an agreement among college football bowl games (specifically the Sugar, Orange, and Fiesta Bowls) for the purpose of trying to match the top two teams in a national championship game and to provide quality bowl game matchups ...

of the

1997 NCAA Division I-A football season The 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season, play of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-A level, began in late summer 1997 and culminated with the major bowl games in ea ...

and represented the concluding game of the season for both teams.

First Quarter

The Orangemen jumped out to a 3-0 lead on the first of Nate Trout’s three field goals.

Second Quarter

Kansas State quarterback Michael Bishop led the Wildcats to three-consecutive touchdowns in the second quarter. Following a failed fake field goal attempt by Syracuse, Bishop completed a 19-yard pass to Darnell McDonald. Bishop then followed with a 12-yard TD rush on their next possession, and ended with a 28-yard completion to Justin Swift on a tight end screen. Syracuse came back to score 12 points in the final 2:18 to cut the lead to 21-15 at the half.

Third Quarter

No scoring occurred.

Fourth Quarter

McDonald caught a 77-yard TD play from a long pass along the sidelines, and then followed with a 41-yard reception with 3:17 remaining to seal the game away.

Aftermath

Kansas State

Bishop threw for four touchdown passes, completing a career-high 14 passes for a career-best 317 yards. He finished the game with 390 yards in total offense including 317 yards passing and 73 yards rushing. McDonald caught seven of Bishop’s passes for a school-record of 206 yards and three touchdowns. His 77-yard reception in the fourth quarter was the longest in Fiesta Bowl history. Swift caught a career-high five passes for a career-high 98 yards and one touchdown. Bishop earned the Offensive Player of the Game award, while KSU linebacker Travis Ochs, was named Defensive Player of the Game after he had an interception and fumble recovery.

Syracuse

Quarterback

Donovan McNabb Donovan Jamal McNabb (born November 25, 1976) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. Before his NFL career, he played football and b ...

threw for 271 yards and ran for 81 yards, but completed just 16 of 39 passes. Syracuse’s seven-game bowl game win streak had ended.

References

External links

1997 Fiesta Bowl
2009-10-22)

{{DEFAULTSORT:1997 Fiesta Bowl (12) 1997–98 NCAA football bowl games, Fiesta Fiesta Bowl Kansas State Wildcats football bowl games Syracuse Orange football bowl games Bowl Alliance 1997 in sports in Arizona December 1997 sports events in the United States