The Fiesta Bowl had been known as an offensive battle until Oklahoma State and BYU showed up in 1974. Despite the fierce defensive struggle, the Cowboys scored 16 unanswered points to pull away with a 16-6 victory in the 1974 Fiesta Bowl, before 50,879 restless fans.
Much of the reason for the defensive battle was due to the early departure of BYU passing wizard Gary Sheide. After completing 4-of-5 passes for 43 yards and leading the Cougars to two field goals in the first quarter, Sheide was knocked out of the game late in the first quarter.
On an outside scramble, Sheide was nailed from behind by Defensive Player of the Game Philip Dokes. The senior signal-caller left the game with a severely strained ligament in his left shoulder and never returned.
Oklahoma State quickly took advantage, as Tony Buck returned an interception of BYU backup Mark Giles to the Cougar 26-yard line. Three plays later, Kenny Walker took a pitch and raced around the left end for a 12-yard touchdown run.
Oklahoma State scored again in the third quarter on a 42-yard field goal by Abby Daigle to take a 10-6 lead.
The third and fourth quarters were a display of excellent defense by both teams. With under 10 minutes left in the game, Brigham Young began a long drive from their own two. Giles marched his club all the way to the OSU 28 on short passes and runs, but the drive stalled there when a 4th-and-3 pass fell incomplete.
The Cowboys then took control of the ball and clock and scored with 1:14 remaining on a 40-yard halfback pass play from Leonard Thompson to Gerald Bain. Walker, who scored the game's first touchdown and finished with 35 yards rushing, was named the Offensive Player of the Game.
