The 1999 Fiesta Bowl, the designated
BCS National Championship Game
The BCS National Championship Game, or BCS National Championship, was a postseason college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), first played in the 1998 college fo ...
for the
1998 season, was played on January 4, 1999, in
Tempe, Arizona
, settlement_type = City
, named_for = Vale of Tempe
, image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg
, imagesize = 260px
, image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...
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 ...
. The teams were the
Tennessee Volunteers
The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity college athletics, intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in NCAA Division I, ...
and
Florida State Seminoles
The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivis ...
. Tennessee entered the contest undefeated and number one in the major polls, while Florida State had won 10 straight games after a Week 2 loss to
NC State
North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...
. Florida State sophomore QB
Chris Weinke
Christopher Jon Weinke (born July 31, 1972) is an American football coach, former professional football player, and former professional baseball player. After spending six years in the Toronto Blue Jays minor league baseball system, he enrolle ...
was injured in Florida State's final ACC game of the regular season and did not participate in the championship game. Ultimately, Tennessee won their sixth National Championship and first since 1951 by defeating the Seminoles, 23–16. The game was the first BCS National Championship.
Game summary
First half
After a scoreless first quarter, Tennessee's
QB Tee Martin
Tamaurice Nigel "Tee" Martin (born July 25, 1978) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the quarterbacks coach for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach at th ...
fired a 4-yard touchdown pass to
FB Shawn Bryson
Adrian Shawn Bryson (born November 30, 1976) is a former American football running back. He played college football at the University of Tennessee.
College career
Bryson played at the University of Tennessee under head coach Phillip Fulmer fro ...
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. Seminoles
QB Marcus Outzen threw an interception to Vol
CB Dwayne Goodrich
Dwayne Lewis Goodrich (born May 29, 1978) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Tennessee.
Early years
Goodrich attended Harold L. Richard ...
who was covering
WR Peter Warrick
Peter L. Warrick (born June 19, 1977) is an American former college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in National Football League (NFL) for six seasons. He played college football at Florida State University, and was reco ...
, 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 Paweł Janikowski (; born March 2, 1978) is a Polish former American football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Oakland Raiders. He played college football at Florida State ...
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. Cornerback 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 LeCross Price (born October 27, 1976) is a former American football wide receiver who played nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL).
Price played college football for the University of Tennessee Volunteers and was drafted ...
, 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
Travis Deion Henry (born October 29, 1978) is a former American football running back who played seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Tennessee. He was drafted by the Bills in t ...
fumbled and turned the ball over to Florida State. However, Outzen threw an errant pass that was intercepted by
CB Steve Johnson, which sealed the victory and the national championship for the Vols.
Scoring summary
Highlights
*While Tennessee limited
Peter Warrick
Peter L. Warrick (born June 19, 1977) is an American former college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in National Football League (NFL) for six seasons. He played college football at Florida State University, and was reco ...
when the Seminoles were on offense, Warrick was still successful in the return game. One memorable play, however, saw Tennessee
punter 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.
*Florida State contained the Vol passing attack except for two big plays. The first was a fade route from
Tee Martin
Tamaurice Nigel "Tee" Martin (born July 25, 1978) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the quarterbacks coach for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach at th ...
to
Peerless Price
Peerless LeCross Price (born October 27, 1976) is a former American football wide receiver who played nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL).
Price played college football for the University of Tennessee Volunteers and was drafted ...
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 Henry
Travis Deion Henry (born October 29, 1978) is a former American football running back who played seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Tennessee. He was drafted by the Bills in t ...
had only 28 yards rushing. The yards were spread out among Henry,
Travis Stephens
Travis Tremaine Stephens (born June 26, 1978) is a former American football running back. He played one season in the National Football League (NFL) for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after being drafted by the team in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL ...
,
Tee Martin
Tamaurice Nigel "Tee" Martin (born July 25, 1978) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the quarterbacks coach for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach at th ...
, and
Shawn Bryson
Adrian Shawn Bryson (born November 30, 1976) is a former American football running back. He played college football at the University of Tennessee.
College career
Bryson played at the University of Tennessee under head coach Phillip Fulmer fro ...
.
*
Peerless Price
Peerless LeCross Price (born October 27, 1976) is a former American football wide receiver who played nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL).
Price played college football for the University of Tennessee Volunteers and was drafted ...
'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,
WR Ron Dugans
Ron Dugans (born April 27, 1977) is an assistant football coach on the Florida State Seminoles and a former wide receiver who played his 4-year National Football League (NFL) career with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Playing career
Dugans was a sta ...
had six catches for 135 yards to account for most of the total.
*Tennessee's seniors left the school with a 45-5 record after this game.
*This marked the final game for Tennessee's broadcasters
John Ward and Bill Anderson, the longest-running broadcast partnership in college football.
See also
*
List of historically significant college football games
The following is a list of historically significant college football games. Games included on this list are single college football games that have historical impact to the sport of college football.
Inclusion on this list requires games of signi ...
References
{{1998–99 NCAA Division I championships navbox
Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area. From its beginning in 1971 until 2006, the game was hosted at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been playe ...
Fiesta Bowl
Florida State Seminoles football bowl games
Tennessee Volunteers football bowl games
BCS National Championship Game
1999 in sports in Arizona
January 1999 sports events in the United States