It featured the Syracuse Orangemen, and the Kansas State Wildcats, and it was a rematch of the 1997 Fiesta Bowl, played in nearby Tempe.
Syracuse opened the scoring on a 65-yard touchdown run by running back James Mungro making it 7–0 Syracuse.
Kansas State's Joe Rheem kicked a 29–yard field goal to pull KSU to 7–3, closing the first quarter scoring.
In the second quarter, James Mungro scored on a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs, but on both occasions the extra point fell short, as Syracuse led 19–3.
After a scoreless third quarter, backup quarterback RJ Anderson fired a 52-yard touchdown pass to Johnnie Morant making the final score 26–3.