At the Camellia Bowl in Sacramento, California, the Broncos were down by 21 points to Chico State after three quarters. Guthrie engineered a 25–0 rally in the fourth quarter to win by four, with two of the three touchdowns on his passes. He also threw for a two-point conversion and made three kicks: two extra points and a field goal.[4][5][6][7][8]
It was later revealed that Guthrie had signed a professional baseball contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization five years earlier in 1966. The NCAA had Boise State return the winner's trophy and $18,000, its share of the gate and other receipts.[8][9]