The Boise State Broncos return to the Fiesta Bowl, seeking to surpass their legendary 2007 victory over Oklahoma Sooners. The author, who witnessed the 'Statue of Liberty' play firsthand, reflects on that historic upset and compares it to the enduring significance of Penn State's 1987 Fiesta Bowl triumph over Miami.
Nobody could believe it, really. Not the millions watching on TV. Not the 73,719 in what was then called the University of Phoenix Stadium. Certainly not those in the press box who were trying to chronicle a game that grew more incredible with every play. I was one of those in the press box.
And when the unbelievable transpired, I violated all professional protocol and decorum by leaping to my feet and yelling, to no one in particular, “Statue of Liberty! They ran the Statue of Liberty!” It was the most stunningly brazen way to win a game I’d ever seen. That was 18 years ago, when the Boise State Broncos performed the Holy Trinity of Trickeration to upset the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. Facing do-or-die circumstances, Boise ran, in order: a hook-and-lateral that went for a touchdown in the final seconds to force overtime; a fourth-down touchdown pass by a running back in OT; and the immortal Statue of Liberty—a behind-the-back handoff from quarterback Jared Zabransky to running back Ian Johnson for a walk-off, 43–42 victory that still ranks as the greatest moment in program history. (Johnson dropping to a knee and proposing to his cheerleader girlfriend on the field, shortly after winning the game, only added to the phantasmagoria of the moment.) Now here we are, at a full-circle Fiesta Bowl. The Broncos are back, trying to top that 2007 game with something even bigger—a Penn State had arguably its finest-ever moment in the Fiesta Bowl as well, 20 years earlier than Boise. The Nittany Lions’ 14–10 upset of what was considered an invincible Miami Hurricanes team marks the most recent Penn State national title. But the Boise upset of Oklahoma is about as close as college football has ever come to a Cinderella moment. (An argument could be made for Appalachian State’s shocking of Michigan a few months later.) The sport is engineered against the Little Guy, no matter how popular they are in college basketball come March Madnes
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