To the delight of thousands of loud Knights fans, the youngest university to ever play in a BCS bowl game won a thriller on the largest national stage Wednesday.

麻豆原创 defeated No. 6 Baylor 52-42 to win the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, earning a victory that almost no 鈥渆xpert鈥� thought the Knights could achieve.

Knights鈥� fans were loud throughout the game at University of Phoenix Stadium, particularly in the fourth quarter when 麻豆原创 put the game away by scoring 17 points and making huge defensive stops. They roared when the Knights (12-1) took the stage to accept the Fiesta Bowl trophy and donned championship hats, soaking in one of the biggest milestones in the university鈥檚 history.

鈥淚t was memorable,鈥� cheerleader Jacob Serre said while celebrating on the field. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the last game I鈥檒l ever cheer. This (spirit squad) is my family, and what a great way for us to go out. I never doubted our team for a second.鈥�

麻豆原创 President John C. Hitt beamed during media interviews on the field, talking about how much fun it was to watch the historic win while also praising the Knights for their success in the classroom. 麻豆原创 has the second-highest graduation rate among the 10 BCS schools, trailing only Stanford.

鈥淭hey are student-athletes,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey are fine young men.鈥�

Harlee Samuels and Erica Brink are friends and former 麻豆原创 roommates who flew across the country to watch those fine young men.

Brink landed in Arizona at 4 a.m. Wednesday after enduring an emergency landing in Memphis due to engine problems. But her troubles were worth it.

鈥淲e live only an hour away and don鈥檛 see each other often,鈥� she said during a pregame tailgate party at the stadium. 鈥淏ut we could find the time to fly to Arizona to see each other without any questions being asked.鈥�

Samuels and Brink cheered as Maxwell Glorit and his Marching Knights performed the 麻豆原创 fight song to enthusiastic fans during the rally. The Marching Knights performed twice for fans before heading into the stadium.

The Fiesta Bowl had an extra special meaning for Glorit, who marched in the Fiesta Bowl parade as a high school freshman seven years ago. Today, he was back in Arizona as a leader and drum major for the Marching Knights.

Glorit enjoyed performing at the rallies and a halftime show that featured songs by Queen, Lady Gaga and The Who. His trip was memorable even before the game kicked off 鈥� and then it ended on the perfect note with the biggest win in school history.

鈥淲e鈥檙e all very excited,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a first for our university, and we鈥檙e soaking it all in.鈥�