2020 First Responder Bowl

The 2020 First Responder Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 26, 2020, with kickoff at 3:30 p.m. EST (2:30 p.m. local CST) on ABC.[4] It was the 11th edition of the First Responder Bowl, and was one of the 2020–21 bowl games concluding the 2020 FBS football season. Sponsored by fire and water cleanup and restoration company Servpro, the game was officially known as the Servpro First Responder Bowl.

2020 Servpro First Responder Bowl
11th First Responder Bowl
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns UTSA Roadrunners
(9–1) (7–4)
Sun Belt C–USA
31 24
Head coach: 
Billy Napier		 Head coach: 
Jeff Traylor[lower-alpha 1]
APCoachesCFP
161719
1234 Total
Louisiana 71077 31
UTSA 07143 24
DateDecember 26, 2020
Season2020
StadiumGerald J. Ford Stadium
LocationDallas, Texas
MVPElijah Mitchell (RB, Louisiana)[1]
FavoriteLouisiana by 14[2]
RefereeRiley Johnson (ACC)[3]
Attendance3,512
United States TV coverage
NetworkABC
AnnouncersAnish Shroff (play-by-play), Tom Luginbill (analyst) and Quint Kessenich (sideline)
International TV coverage
NetworkESPN Deportes

Teams

Based on conference tie-ins, the First Responder Bowl was expected to feature teams from the American Athletic Conference (AAC), Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), or the Big 12 Conference.[5] The announced contest matches UTSA of Conference USA (C-USA) against Louisiana of the Sun Belt Conference. This was the first meeting of the two programs.[6]

UTSA Roadrunners
Main article: 2020 UTSA Roadrunners football team

UTSA accepted their bid to the First Responder Bowl on December 15, 2020.[7] The Roadrunners had originally accepted a bid to play SMU in the Frisco Bowl, but that game was canceled due to COVID-19 problems at SMU.[8] The Roadrunners entered the bowl with a record of 7–4 (5–2 in conference play). They faced one ranked team during the season, losing to BYU in October.

During the week prior to the game, UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor tested positive for COVID-19, and thus did not accompany the team to Dallas. Associate head coach and offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. served as the Roadrunners' coach for the game.[9]

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Main article: 2020 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team

Louisiana accepted their bid to the First Responder Bowl on December 20, 2020.[10] The Ragin' Cajuns entered the bowl with a record of 9–1 (7–1 in conference play) and ranked 16th in the AP Poll. Their only loss of the season was to Coastal Carolina, who they were due to face in a rematch in the Sun Belt Championship Game, but it was cancelled due to COVID-19 effects within the Coastal Carolina program.[11]

Game summary
2020 Servpro First Responder Bowl
1 2 34Total
No. 19 Louisiana 7 10 7731
UTSA 0 7 14324

at Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, Texas

Game information
First quarter
  • (10:43) LA – Jalen Williams 15 yard pass from Levi Lewis, Kenneth Almendares kick (Drive: 8 plays, 68 yards, 4:17; Louisiana 7–0)
Second quarter
  • (8:27) LA – Kenneth Almendares 31 yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 61 yards, 4:35; Louisiana 10–0)
  • (4:33) UTSA – Frank Harris 11 yard rush, Hunter Duplessis kick (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:54; Louisiana 10–7)
  • (1:21) LA – Kyren Lacy 10 yard pass from Levi Lewis, Kenneth Almendares kick (Drive: 8 plays, 74 yards, 3:06; Louisiana 17–7)
Third quarter
  • (14:19) LA – Elijah Mitchell 3 yard rush, Kenneth Almendares kick (Drive: 1 play, 3 yards, 0:04; Louisiana 24–7)
  • (10:14) UTSA – Zakhari Franklin 29 yard pass from Frank Harris, Hunter Duplessis kick (Drive: 4 plays, 62 yards, 1:33; Louisiana 24–14)
  • (4:09) UTSA – Joshua Cephus 10 yard pass from Frank Harris, Hunter Duplessis kick (Drive: 6 plays, 89 yards, 2:24; Louisiana 24–21)
Fourth quarter
  • (13:32) UTSA – Hunter Duplessis 20 yard field goal (Drive: 9 plays, 82 yards, 3:33; Tied 24–24)
  • (7:16) LA – Trey Ragas 1 yard rush, Kenneth Almendares kick (Drive: 12 plays, 72 yards, 6:09; Louisiana 31–24)

Statistics
StatisticsLAUTSA
First downs2327
Plays–yards69–41165–431
Rushes–yards46–26544–223
Passing yards146208
Passing: Comp–Att–Int12–23–013–21–1
Time of possession32:3727:23
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
LouisianaPassingLevi Lewis12/22, 146 yards, 2 TD
RushingElijah Mitchell19 carries, 127 yards, 1 TD
ReceivingElijah Mitchell2 receptions, 45 yards
UTSAPassingFrank Harris13/21, 208 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
RushingSincere McCormick23 carries, 122 yards
ReceivingZakhari Franklin5 receptions, 115 yards, 1 TD

Notes
  1. Prior to the game, Traylor tested positive for COVID-19. Associate head coach Barry Lunney Jr. was UTSA's acting head coach for the game.

References
  1. @TDARaginCajuns (December 26, 2020). "MVP of the First Responder Bowl: UL RB Elijah Mitchell (19 carries, 127 yards, 1 TD)" (Tweet). Retrieved December 26, 2020 – via Twitter.
  2. "ESPN Game Summary - Louisiana vs. UTSA - December 26, 2020". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  3. Austro, Ben (December 23, 2020). "2020-21 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  4. "College Football Bowl Schedule | 2020". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  5. Mercer, John David (March 17, 2020). "2020-2021 College Football Bowl Ties, Affiliations For Each Conference". collegefootballnews.com. USA Today. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  6. "UTSA Roadrunners vs. Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football series history". winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  7. "UTSA accepts invitation to play in SERVPRO First Responder Bowl". kens5.com. December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  8. "Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl Canceled; UTSA to Play in SERVPRO First Responder Bowl". thefriscobowl.com (Press release). December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  9. Sun Belt Conference (December 26, 2020). "No. 16 Louisiana tops UTSA 31-24 in First Responder Bowl". sunbeltsports.org. Sun Belt Conference. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  10. "2020 Servpro First Responder Bowl to Feature No. 19 Louisiana and UTSA". firstresponderbowl.com (Press release). December 20, 2020. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  11. "Sun Belt championship game canceled due to COVID issues". AL.com. December 18, 2020.
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