Like two heavyweight boxers, BCS No. 4 Stanford and BCS No. 3 Oklahoma State, boasting two of the nation's most prolific offenses, traded punches into overtime before the Cowboys captured the 2012 Fiesta Bowl trophy with a 41-38 victory on Quinn Sharp's 22-yard field goal.
En route to the first 12-win season in school history, Oklahoma State was forced to stage repeated comebacks in the face of a withering Stanford offense that amassed 590 total yards (nearly 200 more than OSU) to take leads of 14-0, 21-14, 28-21, 31-24 and 38-31. The Cowboys never led until their game-winning field goal and their normally balanced offense produced only 13 rushing yards on 15 carries.
After Stanford opened the scoring with a first quarter touchdown pass by All-American quarterback Andrew Luck, the anticipated offensive fireworks began in the second quarter when the two powerhouses tallied five touchdowns in a span of six possessions.
Luck, the 2011 Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Award recipient as the nation's Player of the Year and a two-time Heisman Trophy runner-up, completed 27-of-31 passes for 347 yards and two touchdowns. His OSU counterpart, Brandon Weeden, was equally impressive, connecting on 29-of-42 tosses for 399 yards and three touchdowns.
It marked the first time in Fiesta Bowl history both quarterbacks eclipsed 300 yards passing while setting the two-team record for total passing yards (746).
Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State's two-time Biletnikoff Award winner as the nation's best receiver, caught all three Weeden touchdown throws (43, 67, 17 yards) to equal the Fiesta Bowl record. Blackmon's second and third six-point receptions tied the game at 14-14 and 31-31, respectively. It was the sixth time in OSU's 13 games and 12th time overall Blackmon caught two or more touchdown passes and marked the 19th time in his 38-game college career he exceeded 100 receiving yards. The 67-yard scoring strike was OSU's longest pass play of the season.
OSU running back Joseph Randle tied the see-saw contest for the final time at 38-38 on a four-yard run with 1:51 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Knotted at 38-38 in the late going, two errant Stanford field-goal attempts - the first (35 yards) on the final play of regulation, and the second (43 yards) to cap the Cardinal's only overtime possession -Â gave OSU life. The Cowboys seized the moment following the latter when Weeden completed a 24-yard pass to Colton Chelf to Stanford's one-yard line. After Weeden centered the ball on the next snap with a kneel-down, Sharp punched his chip-shot 22-yard game-winning field goal through the uprights to end the third overtime game in Fiesta Bowl history.
