ASU Football Bowl History: The 1972 Fiesta Bowl Win

The Sun Devils continued their domination of the 1970's with a 9-2 regular season in 1972. Led by Danny White, Woody Green and Bremt McClanahan, the offensive juggernaut in the desert scored 555 points over 12 games, including a 38-21 victory over Arizona in the Territorial Cup.

ASU's only two losses on the season came against Wyoming and Air Force - two surprising missteps for a team as good as Arizona State. With their regular season over, the Devils once again headed to the Fiesta Bowl, where they played the Missouri Tigers of the Big Eight. Mizzou was 7-4 going into the game, led by halfback Tommy Reamon. In the Fiesta Bowl, however, the Tigers were unable to stop the offensive display in the desert. The Devils romped and rolled on the ground, picking up 452 rushing yards while White threw for 266. The team's 718 offensive yards was clearly a record for the bowl.

Woody Green picked up 202 yards, while Brent McClanahan ran for 171. The game was never in doubt, as the Devils jumped out to a 28-7 lead at halftime. Missouri wouldn't go down easily, scoring 14 in the third quarter while holding ASU scoreless. Green pounded the ball into the endzone to help the Devils take a 35-21 lead, but defensive back Mike Fink took the ensuing kickoff 100 yards to keep Mizzou within a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Unfortunately for Missouri, the offense continued to click for ASU, and they scored two consecutive touchdowns to put the game away for good. In front of 51,318 fans, the Devils defeated Missouri, 49-35.