| 2016 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| CFP Semifinal 46th Fiesta Bowl Game | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 31, 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | University of Phoenix Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Glendale, Arizona | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Offense: Deshaun Watson Defense: Clelin Ferrell | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Ohio State by 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Land Clark (Pac-12) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | Bands from participants | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 70,236 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN/ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Samantha Ponder and Tom Rinaldi (ESPN) Bill Rosinski, David Norrie and Ian Fitzsimmons (ESPN Radio) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | (# of viewers) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2016 Fiesta Bowl (officially known as the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl for sponsorship reasons) was a college football bowl game that was played on December 31, 2016, at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. This 46th Fiesta Bowl Game was a College Football Playoff semifinal with the winner of the game competing against the winner of the 2016 Peach Bowl (Alabama) in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship which took place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.[1] It was one of the 2016–17 bowl games that concluded the 2016 FBS football season.
It was the second game to be called "the 2016 Fiesta Bowl", as the previous season's game was played on January 1, 2016. The previous two Fiesta Bowls were also played in the same calendar year as each other. The game's title sponsor was Sony Interactive Entertainment via its PlayStation brand as part of a multi-year deal with broadcasting and marketing rightsholder ESPN, which includes branded content and making PlayStation the official video gaming and virtual reality sponsor of the College Football Playoff.[2] The winning team received the Molina Fiesta Bowl Trophy.
Clemson became just the second team in college football history to shut out Ohio State (11–2) in a bowl game, joining Cal in the 1921 Rose Bowl. The game also marked the first time that Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer was shut out in his career, in about 193 games, and his second major loss to Dabo Swinney in the past four seasons.[3] The game also marked the second consecutive advance to the CFP National Championship game by the Clemson football program.[4]
- ^ "Sites & Schedules". collegefootballplayoff.com. Archived from the original on December 30, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- ^ "PlayStation Signs Multiyear Deal To Become Title Sponsor Of Fiesta Bowl". Sports Business Daily. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
- ^ Braziller, Zach (January 1, 2017). "Clemson destroys Ohio State to set up title rematch with Tide". New York Post. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
- ^ Crouse, Karen (December 31, 2016). "Clemson Pounds Ohio State to Set Up a Rematch With Alabama". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 1, 2017.