SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The Oklahoma State football team arrived at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport earlier today in preparation for the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl.The team was greeted with a warm welcoming from Phoenix locals and members of the Fiesta Bowl as the team got off of the plane.

"Everyone was talking about the weather," coach Mike Gundy said. "With the desert and the cactus, and they saw Santa Claus, the little kids saw that. The first thing my son asked me was, 'Who is everyone in the yellow jackets?' I explained that and got that straight right up front. We're super excited to be here. It is such a cool event."

Upon arrival, the Cowboys got settled into their hotel before heading to their practice site on Sunday afternoon for their first practice in Arizona.

"Well, we've worked hard. Our players are really quality people," Gundy said. "They've put in three weeks of hard work, so we're excited to have a couple of good practices out here and then some lighter practices. We want to let them enjoy Arizona. We have a lot of fun things to do, and we're excited about playing in the game against Notre Dame."

Oklahoma State will have a full week of bowl activities and practices before Saturday's showdown with No. 5 Notre Dame on ESPN at 12 p.m. CT. It is the first time OSU has been back to the Fiesta Bowl since the 2011 season when the Pokes defeated Stanford, 41-38.

"We're super excited. We're at the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, we have beautiful weather, a top-10 matchup and get to spend a week in the Scottsdale and Phoenix area, so we couldn't be more excited."