Chances are if you ask an Ohio State fan to talk about their football team’s greatest achievements it may be their recent trend of dominance over rival Michigan and their seemingly routine trips to the Fiesta Bowl.

Penn State's finest moment came in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl

Ohio State has been the most frequent Fiesta Bowl contestant from the Big Ten since the start of the decade.  To the credit of the Buckeyes they have earned a pair of trips to the popular BCS Bowl to compete in the BCS National Championship game, although one time it was not technically the Fiesta Bowl but the BCS Championship game played at the site of the Fiesta Bowl.  Since 2000 the Buckeyes have made four trips to the Fiesta Bowl, plus one appearance for the BCS Championship game.

Yes, the Buckeyes have enjoyed going to Tempe to play in Sun Devil Stadium or University of Phoenix Stadium, the new upgraded home of the Fiesta Bowl.  In fact one Ohio State blog uses the Fiesta Bowl as inspiration for their name (We Will Always Have Tempe).  Their six appearances in the Fiesta Bowl are tied for the most (their BCS Championship game not included) with Arizona State and, of course, Penn State.

When the Fiesta Bowl started out from scratch it was nothing like it is today.It all started out as a late December bowl game and was created as a way to reward the champions of the Western Athletic Conference, usually Arizona State at the time.  The Sun Devils were victorious in the first three Fiesta Bowls from 1971 to 1973.  As more and more ranked teams participated in the bowl game the appeal flourished.  Penn State made the first of their six appearances in 1977 and handed the Fiesta Bowl kings from Arizona State 42-30.  The torch had officially been passed.

Curt Warner in the 1982 Fiesta Bowl

The 1977 Fiesta Bowl was the start of Penn State’s 6-0 Fiesta Bowl record, the best in the bowl’s history.  Ohio State is 4-2, not counting their BCS Championship game loss to Florida at the site of the Fiesta Bowl.  In fact, Ohio State’s first appearance in the Fiesta Bowl came in 1980 against Penn State.  Making their second trip to the Arizona bowl game Penn State beat the Buckeyes by a score of 31-19, outscoring Ohio State 14-0 in the fourth quarter.  Penn State trailed at half-time 19-10 but used its stellar ground game to over power Ohio State.  Lead by College Football Hall of Fame running back Curt Warner Penn State totaled 351 yards on the ground.

With Penn State already enjoying success in the growing Fiesta Bowl the Nittany Lions were used as a marketing ploy for the Fiesta Bowl.  Penn State and Miami faced each other in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl, giving the bowl its first true national championship game.  The game was so big that the date was moved to January 2, 1987 – a day after the “big four bowls (Rose, Orange, Sugar, and Cotton).  Some dub this match-up one of the greatest in college football, and it was certainly a terrific showcase for the Fiesta Bowl.

As we all know Penn State knocked off the favored Hurricanes to capture their second national championship.  But perhaps Penn State built the foundation for the future success of the Fiesta Bowl.  The 1987 game is still among the most watched college football games in history and the bowl went on to bigger and better days with higher paying sponsorships (the 1987 game was the first time it carried a sponsor) and has now become a feature bowl game in the BCS system.

Penn State defeated Tennessee in the 1992 Fiesta Bowl

Penn State has returned to the Fiesta Bowl since their last recognized national championship.  The Nittany Lions returned to play the 1992 Fiesta Bowl against Tennessee.  Down 17-7 and being completely dominated Penn State’s defense sparked a furious comeback and the Nittany Lions improved to 5-0 in the Fiesta Bowl with a 42-17 victory.

Penn State has not participated in the Fiesta Bowl since 1997 when they defeated Texas 38-15.  Similar in fashion to their previous Fiesta Bowl appearance, Penn State was firmly handled through out the first half, being out gained 242-95 in total offensive yards.  As was typical though Penn State rebounded in the second half, outscoring Texas 31-3 and improved to 6-0 in the Fiesta Bowl.

A return to the Fiesta Bowl for Penn State would be nice, although the Rose Bowl is still the goal.  This year the BCS championship game also takes place in Pasadena.  The best case scenario for Penn Sate to return to the Fiesta Bowl would be for a tie for the Big Ten championship.  Having just been to the Rose Bowl if Penn State tied this season the other team would be sent to Pasadena, opening up an opportunity for the Fiesta Bowl, as Ohio State did last year.