Jan. 4, 1999, Sun Devil Stadium
Tennessee 23, Florida State 16
TEMPE -- Priceless.
Peerless Price handed Tennessee its first national championship since 1951, setting up one score with a 76-yard catch and breaking open the game with a 79-yard touchdown reception in a 23-16 victory over Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl.
Overshadowed by the attention given Florida State standout wide receiver Peter Warrick, Price truly was peerless. He made four catches for 199 yards, seven short of the Fiesta Bowl record.
Warrick was shut down. He caught one pass for seven yards and ran the ball once for 11 more, making his only impact with a long punt return in the first half. By the fourth quarter, he was screaming on the sidelines in an effort to pump up his teammates.
The game was a tight defensive war through three quarters and the early part of the final period before Price beat Mario Edwards down the right sideline and hauled in Tee Martin's rainbow, cruising the final 40 yards into the sea of orange-clad Tennessee fans.
Jeff Hall's extra point was blocked, leaving Tennessee with a 20-9 lead with 9:17 remaining.
Outzen was sacked by defensive end Shaun Ellis on the next play from scrimmage and defensive tackle Billy Ratliff recovered the fumble at the Florida State 29, setting up Hall's 23-yard field goal that extended the lead to 23-9 with 6:01 remaining.
The Volunteers were able to stifle the attack of Florida State despite injuries to free safety Deon Grant, defensive tackle Ron Green and cornerback Dwayne Goodrich, who had a 54-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter.
Slowed by Outzen's inexperience and plenty of penalties, the Seminoles (11-2) had a last-gasp effort. They responded with a five-play, 49-yard drive capped by Outzen's seven-yard scoring run with 3:42 left.
Groza Award winner Sebastian Janikowski tried an onside kick out of a standard formation. Janikowski recovered the ball himself, but not before the bouncing ball hit his right thigh and arm prior to going the required 10 yards and Tennessee was awarded possession on the Florida State 42.
A fourth-down screen pass from Martin to fullback Shawn Bryson produced a first down at the 10 and appeared to seal the win for the Volunteers (13-0). But Travis Henry fumbled a handoff and linebacker Lamont Green recovered at the 10, giving FSU hope.
With 89 seconds and three timeouts left, Outzen threw a long pass intended for Laveranues Coles, but Steve Johnson, the cornerback opposite Goodrich's side, intercepted and Tennessee ran out the clock, giving coach Phillip Fulmer his first title.
Price fell just short of the 206 receiving yards by Kansas State's Darnell McDonald in last season's game. Price's TD catch broke McDonald's Fiesta mark by two yards.
|
Score By Quarters |
|
Tennessee |
0 |
14 |
0 |
9 |
23 |
|
Florida State |
0 |
9 |
9 |
7 |
16 |
|
|
Tennessee |
Florida State |
|
First Downs |
16 |
13 |
|
Rushing Yards |
114 |
108 |
|
Passes Attempted |
19 |
22 |
|
Passes Completed |
11 |
9 |
|
Had Intercepted |
2 |
2 |
|
Passing Yards |
278 |
145 |
|
Punting/Avg. |
5/38.0 |
9/39.8 |
|
Fumbles/Lost |
3/2 |
4/1 |
|
Penalties/Yards |
9/55 |
12/110 |
Scoring Summary:
UT: Bryson 4 yd pass from Martin (Hall kick); UT: Goodrich 54 yd interception return (Hall kick); FSU: McCray 1 yd run (kick failed); FSU: Janikowski 34 yd field goal; UT: Price 79 yd pass from Martin (kick failed); UT: Hall 23 yd field goal; FSU: Outzen 7 yd run (Janikowski kick)
MOPs: Peerless Price and Dwayne Goodrich (UT)