TEMPE, Ariz. - The 10th-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers survived a late rally and hung on to defeat Arizona, 16-10, in the 1979 Fiesta Bowl. A national television audience was able to watch superb defensive play on both sides. Arizona’s defense held Pitt to 299 yards, while the offense dented the Panther’s nationally-ranked defense for 317 yards.
Pitt led 6-0 at halftime on the strength of 46-and 36-yard field goals by the game’s most valuable offensive player, Mark Schubert. Arizona moved the ball well, but couldn’t get the one big play it needed. The Cats drove to Pitt’s 37, 26 and 22, but came up empty each time.
The Cats’ trouble came on key plays. Midway through the first period, they were stopped on fourth-and-two at the Pitt 21. Arizona managed to get on the board late in the third period on a 38-yard field goal by Brett Weber, but Pitt answered with a touchdown to expand its lead to 13-3.
The Panthers appeared to have wrapped up the game when Schubert kicked his third field goal of the day with 8:02 left. But the Cats reached into their bag of tricks to get back in the game. From the Pitt 47, fullback Hubie Oliver took a pitch and launched a pass down field to Greg Jackson who caught it at the Panther one. Oliver scored on the next play.
The outcome was in doubt until Terry White picked off a Jim Krohn pass with :58 remaining. Arizona’s David Liggins was voted the game’s most valuable defensive player on the strength of two key interceptions of Dan Marino passes to thwart Panther drives.
