2020 Arizona Bowl

The 2020 Arizona Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 31, 2020, with kickoff at 2:00 p.m. EST (12:00 p.m. local MST).[3] It was the sixth edition of the Arizona Bowl, and was one of the 2020–21 bowl games concluding the 2020 FBS football season. On October 30, it was announced that the game would be played behind closed doors without spectators, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Arizona.[4] Sponsored by real estate agency Offerpad, the game was officially known as the Offerpad Arizona Bowl.

2020 Offerpad Arizona Bowl
6th Arizona Bowl
Ball State Cardinals San Jose State Spartans
(6–1) (7–0)
MAC MWC
34 13
Head coach: 
Mike Neu		 Head coach: 
Brent Brennan
APCoachesCFP
192022
1234 Total
Ball State 27070 34
San Jose State 00130 13
DateDecember 31, 2020
Season2020
StadiumArizona Stadium
LocationTucson, Arizona
FavoriteSan Jose State by 9[1]
RefereeJoe Lehring (C-USA)[2]
Attendance0
United States TV coverage
NetworkCBS
AnnouncersBrad Nessler (play–by–play)
Rick Neuheisel (analyst)
Jenny Dell (sideline)

With the cancellation of the Sun Bowl, on December 10 it was announced that television coverage of the Arizona Bowl would be moved from CBS Sports Network to the CBS broadcast network.[5]

Teams

The game was played between teams from the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and the Mountain West Conference (MWC),[6] in the first year of a five-year tie-in for the two conferences with the Arizona Bowl.[7][8]

Ball State
Main article: 2020 Ball State Cardinals football team

Ball State accepted a bid to the Arizona Bowl on December 20, after winning the MAC Championship Game on December 18. The Cardinals entered the contest with a 6–1 record, having won six games in a row after an opening loss to Miami (OH), including a win against Buffalo for the conference championship. Ball State was seeking the first bowl game victory in program history. This contest marked their first appearance in the Arizona Bowl.

San Jose State
Main article: 2020 San Jose State Spartans football team

San Jose State accepted a bid to the Arizona Bowl following their win in the Mountain West Championship Game on December 19. The Spartans entered the bowl with a 7–0 record and ranked No. 19 in the AP Poll, having won each of their six regular season games before defeating Boise State for their conference championship. This Spartans were seeking to complete their first undefeated season since their 1939 team.[9] This was the first Arizona Bowl appearance by the Spartans, and their first game against Ball State.[10]

Game summary
2020 Offerpad Arizona Bowl
1 2 34Total
Ball State 27 0 7034
No. 22 San Jose State 0 0 13013

at Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona

Game information
First quarter
  • (12:41) BALL – Antonio Phillips 53 yard interception return, kick failed (Ball State 6–0)
  • (10:00) BALL – Will Jones 3 yard rush, Jacob Lewis kick (Drive: 6 plays, 50 yards, 1:50; Ball State 13–0)
  • (5:15) BALL – Tye Evans 3 yard rush, Jacob Lewis kick (Drive: 8 plays, 67 yards, 2:41; Ball State 20–0)
  • (1:04) BALL – Drew Plitt 1 yard rush, Jacob Lewis kick (Drive: 6 plays, 35 yards, 1:52; Ball State 27–0)
Second quarter
No scoring plays
Third quarter
  • (9:42) BALL – Yo'Heinz Tyler 48 yard pass from Drew Plitt, Jacob Lewis kick (Drive: 3 plays, 49 yards, 1:12; Ball State 34–0)
  • (9:28) SJSU – Charlie Bostic 99 yard kickoff return, 2-point pass failed (Ball State 34–6)
  • (0:01) SJSU – Jermai Braddock 8 yard pass from Nick Starkel, Matt Mercurio kick (Drive: 8 plays, 67 yards, 3:08; Ball State 34–13)
Fourth quarter
No scoring plays

Statistics
StatisticsBALLSJSU
First downs2118
Plays–yards70–40268–347
Rushes–yards51–18522–69
Passing yards217278
Passing: Comp–Att–Int12–19–026–46–4
Time of possession31:1728:43
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Ball StatePassingDrew Plitt12-for-19, 217 yards, 1 TD
RushingWill Jones89 yards on 22 carries, 1 TD
ReceivingYo'Heinz Tyler103 yards on 4 receptions, 1 TD
San Jose StatePassingNick Starkel25-for-42, 268 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT
RushingTyler Nevens37 yards on 7 carries
ReceivingTre Walker81 yards on 7 receptions

References
  1. "ESPN Game Summary - Ball State vs. San Jose State - December 31, 2020". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  2. Austro, Ben (December 23, 2020). "2020-21 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  3. "College Football Bowl Schedule | 2020". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  4. "Arizona Bowl will be played Dec. 31; no fans will be allowed at Arizona Stadium". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
  5. "The Arizona Bowl Set for Broadcast on CBS". themw.com. December 10, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  6. "2020 Bowl Schedule". collegefootballpoll.com. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  7. "Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl Announces 2020-25 Conference Partnerships". footballbowlassociation.com (Press release). July 26, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  8. "College Football Bowl Game Changes to Begin in 2020". Stadium. Sinclair Broadcast Group. March 5, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  9. "Spartans Claim Conference Championship". sjsuspartans.com. December 19, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  10. "Ball State Cardinals vs. San Jose State Spartans football series history". winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.