2007 Boise State Victory Ranked #1 Game In Fiesta Bowl History
ESPN has just ranked Boise State's 2007 victory over Oklahoma as the greatest game in Fiesta Bowl history. Tell us something we don't know. Let's relive some awesome BSU history, shall we?
The game has its own Wikipedia page which described the legendary overtime finish.
- Boise State won the coin toss and opted to play defense first. Oklahoma scored on their first play with a 25-yard run by Peterson, which would ultimately be his last collegiate touchdown. The extra point was good, making the score 42–35 Oklahoma. On Boise State's drive, the Broncos came down to 4th and 2 on the Sooners' 5 yard line and decided to run their second trick play, a wide receiver rollout option from a variant of the Wildcat offense. Zabransky ran in motion to his left while backup wide receiver Vinny Perretta, lined up as a running back, took the snap, rolled to his right, then threw a touchdown pass to tight end Derek Schouman, who had lined up as a wide receiver, to bring Boise State within one point at 42–41.
- Instead of kicking the extra-point to tie the game and send it into a second overtime, Broncos coach Chris Petersen risked defeat to go for the two-point conversion to win. He ran their third trick play of the night. It was a variation of the Statue of Liberty play known to the team simply as "Statue Left," which was drawn up by backup quarterback Taylor Tharp. Boise State lined up three receivers on the right side. After the snap, Zabransky faked a quick pass to his right with his right hand, then quickly handed off the football backhanded with his left hand to running back Ian Johnson, who ran untouched into the end zone for the conversion and the win.
And, then of course, there was the postgame shocker.
- During a postgame interview with FOX Sports on-field analyst Chris Myers, Johnson got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend, Boise State head cheerleader Chrissy Popadics, on live TV. Myers, however, spoiled the proposal by mentioning it before Johnson went to a knee.[7] She accepted.[8] Ian did not have a ring with him because he originally planned on proposing to Christy at Lagoon on their way home from the Fiesta Bowl, but he could not give up the opportunity to propose on National TV after scoring the game-winning two-point conversion.[9] The couple married on July 28, 2007.
Hard to believe it's been 9 years now since that game. Feels like it was yesterday.