2016 Las Vegas Bowl

The 2016 Las Vegas Bowl was a college football bowl game that was played on December 17, 2016, at Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada. The twenty-fifth annual Las Vegas Bowl is one of the 2016–17 bowl games that concludes the 2016 FBS football season. The game aired on ABC. Previously sponsored by lubricant manufacturer Royal Purple, the sponsorship ended in 2015, with the name of the bowl game reverting to the official name of the Las Vegas Bowl.

2016 Las Vegas Bowl
Houston Cougars San Diego State Aztecs
(9–3) (10–3)
The American Mountain West
10 34
Head coach: 
Major Applewhite		 Head coach: 
Rocky Long
1234 Total
Houston 10000 10
San Diego State 061414 34
DateDecember 17, 2016
Season2016
StadiumSam Boyd Stadium
LocationWhitney, Nevada
MVPSan Diego State RB Donnel Pumphrey[1]
FavoriteHouston by 3.5[2]
RefereeDaniel Gautreaux (C-USA)[3]
Attendance29,286[3]
PayoutUS$1,350,000[4]
United States TV coverage
NetworkABC
Sports USA
AnnouncersBrent Musburger, Jesse Palmer, Kaylee Hartung (ABC)
Eli Gold, Gary Barnett (Sports USA)

Team selection

The game would have featured teams from the Mountain West Conference and Pac-12 Conference. However, since the Pac-12 had only six bowl-eligible teams, and two of them qualified for New Years Six bowls, the sixth-place Pac-12 team was unavailable. Instead, the bowl elected to invite the Houston Cougars of the American Athletic Conference. This was the first time an AAC team played in the Las Vegas Bowl. The representative from the Mountain West was San Diego State, which qualified for the bowl by winning the 2016 Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game. Houston played in its first-ever Las Vegas Bowl, while San Diego State appeared for a second time, the first being a 1998 loss to North Carolina.

This was the third meeting between the schools, with Houston having won both previous ones. The most recent prior meeting was on October 6, 1973, when the Cougars defeated the Aztecs by a score of 14–9.[5]

Houston
See also: 2016 Houston Cougars football team and 2016 American Athletic Conference football season

San Diego State
See also: 2016 San Diego State Aztecs football team and 2016 Mountain West Conference football season

Game summary

On the fourth drive of the game, Houston capped a 10-play, 24-yard drive with a 31-yard field goal by Ty Cummings. After a three-and-out by San Diego State, Houston went on a 10-play, 74-yard touchdown drive. Greg Ward, Jr.'s 2-yard run put the Cougars up 10–0 to finish the 1st quarter. San Diego State responded with 34 unanswered points, leading to a 34–10 win by the Aztecs.

On the first play of the Aztecs' first drive in the 4th quarter, Donnel Pumphrey broke the all-time FBS career record for rushing yardage.

Scoring summary
Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP UH SDSU
1 6:38 10 24 3:31 UH 31-yard field goal by Ty Cummings 3 0
1 1:22 10 74 3:50 UH Greg Ward Jr. 2-yard touchdown run, Ty Cummings kick good 10 0
2 6:28 8 55 4:26 SDSU 23-yard field goal by John Baron 10 3
2 1:29 7 26 2:52 SDSU 28-yard field goal by John Baron 10 6
3 3:14 4 68 1:54 SDSU Donnel Pumphrey 32-yard touchdown run, John Baron kick good 10 13
3 0:56 SDSU Interception returned 54 yards for touchdown by Ron Smith, John Baron kick good 10 20
4 8:58 1 28 0:25 SDSU Curtis Anderson 28-yard touchdown reception from Christian Chapman, John Baron kick good 10 27
4 1:11 4 21 1:46 SDSU Juw Washington 7-yard touchdown run, John Baron kick good 10 34
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 10 34

Source: [3]

Statistics
Statistics[3]HOUSDSU
First downs1613
Plays–yards75–25451–255
Rushes–yards41–25 (0.6)37–127 (3.4)
Passing yards229128
Passing: Comp–Att–Int25–34–410–14–0
Time of possession32:1227:48
CategoryTeamPlayerStatistics
PassingHOUGreg Ward, Jr.25/34, 229 yds, 4 INT
SDSUChristian Chapman10/14, 128 yds, 1 TD
RushingHOUDuke Catalon14 car, 18 yds
SDSUDonnel Pumphrey19 car, 115 yds, 1 TD
ReceivingHOUBrandon Wilson5 rec, 52 yds
SDSUDavid Wells4 rec, 33 yds

References
  1. https://twitter.com/LasVegasBowl/status/810287548392239105
  2. "College Bowl Game Odds". ESPN. December 7, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  3. "2016 Las Vegas Bowl Game Stats". Stat Broadcast. Stat Broadcast. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  4. Bowl payout
  5. Houston Cougars vs. San Diego State Aztecs football series history
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