1989 Fiesta Bowl

NCAAFootballSingleGameHeader
Name=1989 Fiesta Bowl
Date=January 2, 1989
Year=1988
Visitor School=University of Notre Dame
Visitor Name Short=Notre Dame
Visitor Nickname=Fighting Irish
Visitor Record=11-0
Visitor

Visitor Coaches=1
Visitor Coach=Lou Holtz
Visitor1=9
Visitor2=14
Visitor3=3
Visitor4=8
Home School=West Virginia University
Home Name Short=West Virginia
Home Nickname=Mountaineers
Home Record=11-0
Home

Home Coaches=3
Home Coach=Don Nehlen
Home1=0
Home2=6
Home3=7
Home4=8
Type=bg
Stadium=Sun Devil Stadium
City=Tempe, Arizona
MVP=QB Tony Rice & LB Frank Stams
Odds=
Anthem=
Referee=
Halftime=
Attendance=74,911
US Network=NBC
US Announcers=Dick Enberg, Merlin Olsen
Ratings=17.0
Intl Network=
Intl Announcers=

The 1989 Sunkist Fiesta Bowl, played on January 2, 1989, was the 18th edition of the Fiesta Bowl. The game featured the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and the West Virginia Mountaineers. The 1988 Notre Dame team was widely considered one of the best in NCAA history.Fact|date=September 2008

Billy Hackett started the scoring with a 45 yard field goal to give Notre Dame an early 3-0 lead. Running back Anthony Johnson then scored on a 1 yard touchdown run to give Notre Dame a 9-0 lead. The ensuing extra point missed, and the score remained 9-0. Early in the second quarter, Rodney Culver added a 5 yard touchdown run to increase Notre Dame's lead to 16-0. Charlie Baumann of West Virginia scored on a 29 yard field goal to cut the lead to 16-3.

Later in the second quarter, Tony Rice threw a 29 yard touchdown pass to Raghib Ismail, to extend the lead to 23-3. Charlie Baumann added a 31 yard field goal before halftime, to make it 23-6, Notre Dame. Early in the third quarter, Ho added a 32 yard field goal to increase the lead to 26-6.

WVU quarterback Major Harris hit Grantis Bell for a 17 yard touchdown pass, cutting the lead to 26-13. He later left the game with an injury. Tony Rice threw a 3 yard touchdown pass to Frank Jacobs. He later took it in himself for the 2 point conversion, giving Notre Dame a 34-13 lead. WVU scored with its back up quarterback running 3 yards for a touchdown. The ensuing two point conversion succeeded, making the score 34-21. Notre Dame sealed the game, by intercepting a pass in the end zone.