1983 Fiesta Bowl

The 1983 Fiesta Bowl, played on January 1, 1983, was the 12th edition of the Fiesta Bowl. The game featured the, and the Oklahoma Sooners.

Oklahoma scored first on a 1 yard touchdown run from running back Stanley Wilson, giving the Sooners a 7-0 lead. In the second quarter, Arizona State got a field goal from kicker Luis Zendejas to cut the lead to 7-3. Their defense later forced a safety, to make it 7-5. Zendejas kicked another 22 yard field goal to give Arizona State its first lead of the game at 8-7.

Stanley Wilson scored on his second rushing touchdown of the game to give Oklahoma a 13-8 lead. Zendejas answered with a 54 yard field goal before halftime, to cut the lead to 13-11, Oklahoma.

In the third quarter, Darryl Clack scored on a 15 yard touchdown run, to give Arizona State an 18-13 lead. Running back Fred Sims rushed 19 yards for a touchdown, and the ensuing 2 point conversion attempt was successful, giving Oklahoma a 21-18 lead.

In the fourth quarter, the Sun Devils got a 1 yard touchdown run from Alvin Moore, giving ASU a 25-21 lead. Arizona State quarterback Todd Hons threw a 48 yard touchdown pass to Mark Brown to make the score 32-21. The Sun Devils would hang on to post that final score.

Though Arizona State won the game, Oklahoma tailback Marcus Dupree was named the MVP of the game due to his amassing 239 rushing yards on only 19 carries, averaging over 12 yards every time he carried the ball from scrimmage. Amazingly, Dupree played only a little over 1/2 of the game, having to leave three times due to a broken finger, an ankle injury, a rib injury and a pulled hamstring. He set the rushing record for yards in the Fiesta Bowl, which still stands.