2021 Fiesta Bowl

2021 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl
2021 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl
50th Fiesta Bowl
Oregon Ducks	Iowa State Cyclones
(4–2)	(8–3)
Pac-12	Big 12
17	34
Head coach: ; Mario Cristobal	Head coach: ; Matt Campbell
Date	January 2, 2021
Season	2020
Stadium	State Farm Stadium
Location	Glendale, Arizona
MVP	Offense: Brock Purdy (QB, Iowa State) Defense: O'Rien Vance (LB, Iowa State)
Favorite	Iowa State by 4.5
Referee	David Smith (SEC)
Attendance	0 (family members only)
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN and ESPN Radio
Announcers	ESPN: Dave Pasch (play-by-play); Mike Golic (analyst); Quint Kessenich (sideline); ESPN Radio: Marc Kestecher and Ben Hartsock
Fiesta Bowl
< 2019 (Dec.)	2022 (Jan.) >

The 2021 Fiesta Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 2021, with kickoff at 4:00 p.m. EST (2:00 p.m. local MST).^[4] It was the 50th edition of the Fiesta Bowl, and was one of the 2020–21 bowl games concluding the 2020 FBS football season. Sponsored by video game brand PlayStation, the game was officially known as the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl. The bowl was celebrating its 50th anniversary, having been first played in 1971.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Arizona, it was announced in early December that the game would be played behind closed doors, with only players' family members admitted.^[5]

Teams

As one of the New Year's Six bowl games, the participants of the game were determined by the College Football Playoff selection committee. The committee matched Oregon of the Pac-12 Conference and Iowa State of the Big 12 Conference,^[6] in the first meeting between the two teams.^[7]

Oregon

Oregon won the Pac-12 title after beating USC in the Pac-12 Championship Game on December 18, and received the conference's automatic bid to a New Year's Six bowl game. The team accepted a berth to the Fiesta Bowl on December 20, which was the program's third-ever Fiesta Bowl, after the 2002 and 2013 editions.

Iowa State

Iowa State lost to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game on December 19. They were eligible for an at-large selection to a New Year's Six bowl game, being ranked 10th in the College Football Playoff rankings on December 20, and received and accepted an invitation to the Fiesta Bowl that day. This was both Iowa State's first-ever Fiesta Bowl and New Year's Six bowl appearance.

Game summary

2021 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 25 Oregon	7	10	0	0	17
No. 10 Iowa State	7	21	3	3	34

at State Farm Stadium • Glendale, Arizona

Date: Saturday, January 2, 2021
Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST (2:00 p.m. MST)
Game weather: n/a (game played indoors)
Referee: David Smith (SEC)
TV announcers (ESPN): Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Mike Golic (analyst), and Quint Kessenich (sideline)
ESPN game summary

Game information

First quarter

(7:24) ISU – Breece Hall 1 yard rush, Connor Assalley kick (Drive: 15 plays, 75 yards, 7:36; Iowa State 7–0)
(4:14) ORE – Anthony Brown 6 yard rush, Henry Katleman kick (Drive: 7 plays, 73 yards, 3:10; Tied 7–7)

Second quarter

(10:58) ISU – Charlie Kolar 14 yard pass from Brock Purdy, Connor Assalley kick (Drive: 14 plays, 69 yards, 8:09; Iowa State 14–7)
(3:17) ORE – Anthony Brown 16 yard rush, Henry Katleman kick (Drive: 9 plays, 98 yards, 3:21; Tied 14–14)
(1:44) ISU – Brock Purdy 1 yard rush, Connor Assalley kick (Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 1:33; Iowa State 21–14)
(1:27) ISU – Breece Hall 1 yard rush, Connor Assalley kick (Drive: 3 plays, 27 yards, 0:17; Iowa State 28–14)
(0:13) ORE – Henry Katleman 47 yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 48 yards, 1:10; Iowa State 28–17)

Third quarter

(6:30) ISU – Connor Assalley 33 yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, –2 yards, 1:33; Iowa State 31–17)

Fourth quarter

(6:11) ISU – Connor Assalley 39 yard field goal (Drive: 13 plays, 55 yards, 7:57; Iowa State 34–17)

Statistics

Statistics	ORE	ISU
First downs	17	25
Plays–yards	46–312	85–384
Rushes–yards	18–86	56–228
Passing yards	226	156
Passing: comp–att–int	19–28–1	20–29–0
Time of possession	17:12	42:48

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Oregon	Passing	Anthony Brown	12/19, 147 yards
	Rushing	Travis Dye	8 carries, 52 yards
	Receiving	Johnny Johnson III	4 receptions, 41 yards
Iowa State	Passing	Brock Purdy	20/29, 156 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Breece Hall	34 carries, 136 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Charlie Kolar	5 receptions, 53 yards, 1 TD

References

^ @TalkIowaSports (January 2, 2021). "Brock Purdy named offensive MVP, O'Rien Vance defensive MVP" (Tweet). Retrieved January 2, 2021 – via Twitter.
^ "ESPN Game Summary - Oregon vs. Iowa State - January 2, 2021". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
^ Austro, Ben (December 23, 2020). "2020-21 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
^ "College Football Bowl Schedule | 2020". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
^ "CFP's Rose Bowl won't have fans; Fiesta, too". ESPN.com. December 3, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
^ Mickanen, Dylan (December 20, 2020). "Oregon Ducks to play Iowa State Cylones in the Playstation Fiesta Bowl". NBC Sports. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
^ "Oregon Ducks vs. Iowa State Cyclones football series history". Retrieved January 2, 2021.

External links

Game statistics at statbroadcast.com

[1] @TalkIowaSports (January 2, 2021). "Brock Purdy named offensive MVP, O'Rien Vance defensive MVP" (Tweet). Retrieved January 2, 2021 – via Twitter.

[2] "ESPN Game Summary - Oregon vs. Iowa State - January 2, 2021". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 2, 2021.

[3] Austro, Ben (December 23, 2020). "2020-21 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Retrieved January 2, 2021.

[4] "College Football Bowl Schedule | 2020". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved October 2, 2020.

[5] "CFP's Rose Bowl won't have fans; Fiesta, too". ESPN.com. December 3, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2020.

[6] Mickanen, Dylan (December 20, 2020). "Oregon Ducks to play Iowa State Cylones in the Playstation Fiesta Bowl". NBC Sports. Retrieved January 2, 2021.

[7] "Oregon Ducks vs. Iowa State Cyclones football series history". Retrieved January 2, 2021.

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v t e 2020–21 NCAA football bowl game season
Myrtle Beach (Dec. 21) Famous Idaho Potato (Dec. 22) Boca Raton (Dec. 22) New Orleans (Dec. 23) Montgomery (Dec. 23) New Mexico (Dec. 24) Camellia (Dec. 25) Cure (Dec. 26) First Responder (Dec. 26) LendingTree (Dec. 26) Cheez-It (Dec. 29) Alamo (Dec. 29) Duke's Mayo (Dec. 30) Cotton (Dec. 30) Armed Forces (Dec. 31) Liberty (Dec. 31) Arizona (Dec. 31) Peach (Jan. 1) Citrus (Jan. 1) Gator (Jan. 2) Outback (Jan. 2) Fiesta (Jan. 2) Orange (Jan. 2)
College Football Playoff games: Rose (Jan. 1) Sugar (Jan. 1) National Championship Game (Jan. 11)
All-Star Games Senior Bowl (Jan. 30) Hula Bowl (Jan. 31)

v t e Fiesta Bowl
History & conference tie-ins	History Mountain America Stadium State Farm Stadium College Football Playoff College football playoff at-large Group of Five
Games	1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 (January) 1997 (December) 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 (January) 2014 (December) 2016 (January) 2016 (December) 2017 2019 (January) 2019 (December) 2021 2022 (January) 2022 (December) 2024 (January) 2024 (December)
Notes	The game was also the national title game for either the Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, or Bowl Championship Series in 1996, 1999, and 2003. There was a Fiesta Bowl in January and December in 1997, 2014, 2016, 2019, and 2022. Bold indicates College Football Playoff semifinals.