Oklahoma State to Face Notre Dame in Fiesta Bowl
The Oklahoma State Cowboys have been selected to play in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl where they will take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Pokes are coming off a heart-breaking 21-16 loss to the Baylor Bears in Saturday’s Big 12 Championship Game.
The Cowboys entered the game with an 11-1 record and hopes of making a College Football Playoff, but four interceptions from Spencer Sanders, plus an inability to get one yard on four chances at the end of the game for a go-ahead touchdown held them back.
Oklahoma State was also looking to win its first Big 12 Title in a decade, but now their attention turns to Notre Dame as the Cowboys season can still end on a high note as they play in their first New Year’s Six bowl game since 2015, a game that they lost to Ole Miss 48-20.
As for Notre Dame, they will be debuting new head coach Marcus Freeman, who took over for Brian Kelly when he left for LSU. Freeman was the defensive coordinator for the Irish, who finished 11-1 and No. 5 in the final College Football Playoff rankings. Oklahoma State came in at No. 9.
The Cowboys beat Miami in the Cheez-It Bowl last season 37-34 and have won four of their last five bowl games overall. Overall, the Cowboys are 10-5 in bowl games under head coach Mike Gundy. Meantime, the Irish are 0-7 in BCS/New Year’s 6 bowls since 1998 and have lost those games by an average of 23 points per game.
The Fiesta Bowl will kick off at 12:00 CST on January 1st on ESPN.
