2006 Fiesta Bowl

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2006 Fiesta Bowl
Bowl Game
Ohio State Buckeyes Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-2) (9-2) 34 20 Head coach:  Jim Tressel Head coach:  Charlie Weis AP Coaches BCS 4 4 4 AP Coaches BCS 5 6 6 1 2 3 4 Total Ohio State 7 14 3 10 34 Notre Dame 7 0 6 7 20
Date	January 2, 2006
Stadium	Sun Devil Stadium
Location	Tempe, AZ
MVP	QB Troy Smith & LB A.J. Hawk
Referee	Steve Shaw
Attendance	76,196
United States TV coverage
Network	ABC
Announcers	Brent Musburger, Gary Danielson, Jack Arute
Nielsen Ratings	12.9

The 2006 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, played on January 2, 2006, was the 35th edition of the Fiesta Bowl. The game featured two of the most successful programs in all of college football, in Notre Dame, and Ohio State. Although, this wasn't for the national championship, many thought that it was the second best bowl game of the season. Ohio State won the game 34-20, and showed the nation that it was a legitimate powerhouse.

Ohio State's quarterback, Troy Smith, became the frontrunner of the 2006 Heisman race, after he completed 19 of his 28 passes for 342 yards, including 2 touchdowns and no interceptions. Brady Quinn had a great game too, completing 29 out of his 45 passes for 286 yards. Ohio State seemed to make big play after big play, having 4 plays of 50 or more yards in the game.

Notre Dame got the 1st score of the game, with a 20 yard touchdown run by Darius Walker. Then Ohio State responded on a 6 play 86 yard drive capped off with a 56 yard touchdown pass to Ted Ginn, Jr. In the second quarter, off a wide-receiver reverse, Ginn rushed 68 yards to the left side for a touchdown. Then with just over 2 minutes to go in the half, Troy Smith found Santonio Holmes for an 85 yard touchdown pass, and Ohio State led 21-7 at half-time.

Notre Dame didn't give up though, as Darius Walker scored his second rushing touchdown of the game, to make the score 21-13. Then Notre Dame's defense held strong, forcing 2 Ohio State field goal attempts, and the score was 27-13. With 5 minutes left to go in the game, Darius Walker got his third rushing touchdown of the game, to make the score 27-20.On third and 5, Ohio State iced the game with a 60 yard touchdown run by Antonio Pittman.

[edit] Pre-game buildup

Notre Dame was 9-2, with the only losses coming to Michigan State, and USC. They were led by Charlie Weis and Brady Quinn. Ohio State had a 9-2 record, their two losses were to Penn State, and Texas by a combined 10 points.

[edit] Aftermath

Notre Dame extended its bowl game losing streak to 8 games, which tied an NCAA record. Ohio State finished the season ranked #4 in the Nation, behind Texas, USC, and Penn State. Ohio State would go on to win a school record 20 consecutive games, including an entire season ranked at #1 in the nation. It is believed that it was this game, that sparked the Buckeyes to a 2006 preseason number 1 ranking.^{[citation needed]}

A number of 1st round NFL draft picks played in this game including, A.J. Hawk, Brady Quinn, Ted Ginn, Anthony Gonzalez, Santonio Holmes, Nick Mangold and Bobby Carpenter.

The 2006 Fiesta Bowl would be the last played at Sun Devil Stadium. The Fiesta Bowl now is played at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

[edit] See also

• 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season
• 2005 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team
• 2005 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

[edit] External links

• http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=260020194
• Official Stats