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).[4] 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.[5] Sponsored by real estate agency Offerpad, the game was officially known as the Offerpad Arizona Bowl.

2020 Offerpad Arizona Bowl
6th Arizona Bowl
1234 Total
Ball State 27070 34
San Jose State 00130 13
DateDecember 31, 2020
Season2020
StadiumArizona Stadium
LocationTucson, Arizona
MVPDrew Plitt (QB, Ball State) & Bryce Cosby (S, Ball State)[1]
FavoriteSan Jose State by 9[2]
RefereeJoe Lehring (C-USA)[3]
Attendance0
United States TV coverage
NetworkCBS
AnnouncersBrad Nessler (play–by–play)
Rick Neuheisel (analyst)
Jenny Dell (sideline)
Arizona Bowl
 < 2019  2022

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.[6]

Teams

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The game was played between teams from the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and the Mountain West Conference (MWC),[7] in the first year of a five-year tie-in for the two conferences with the Arizona Bowl.[8][9]

Ball State

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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

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San Jose State accepted a bid to the Arizona Bowl following the Spartans' 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 in the conference championship game. The Spartans were looking to complete their first undefeated season since 1939.[10] This was the first Arizona Bowl appearance by the Spartans, and their first game against Ball State.[11]

Game summary

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

at Arizona StadiumTucson, 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

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Statistics BALL SJSU
First downs 21 18
Plays–yards 70–402 68–347
Rushes–yards 51–185 22–69
Passing yards 217 278
Passing: compattint 12–19–0 26–46–4
Time of possession 31:17 28:43
Team Category Player Statistics
Ball State Passing Drew Plitt 12-for-19, 217 yards, 1 TD
Rushing Will Jones 89 yards on 22 carries, 1 TD
Receiving Yo'Heinz Tyler 103 yards on 4 receptions, 1 TD
San Jose State Passing Nick Starkel 25-for-42, 268 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT
Rushing Tyler Nevens 37 yards on 7 carries
Receiving Tre Walker 81 yards on 7 receptions

References

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  1. ^ "Ball State Football Postgame Notes" (PDF). ballstatesports.com. December 31, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  2. ^ "ESPN Game Summary - Ball State vs. San Jose State - December 31, 2020". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  3. ^ Austro, Ben (December 23, 2020). "2020-21 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  4. ^ "College Football Bowl Schedule | 2020". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  5. ^ "Arizona Bowl will be played Dec. 31; no fans will be allowed at Arizona Stadium". Arizona Daily Star. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  6. ^ "The Arizona Bowl Set for Broadcast on CBS". themw.com. December 10, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  7. ^ "2020 Bowl Schedule". collegefootballpoll.com. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  8. ^ "Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl Announces 2020-25 Conference Partnerships". footballbowlassociation.com (Press release). July 26, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  9. ^ "College Football Bowl Game Changes to Begin in 2020". Stadium. Sinclair Broadcast Group. March 5, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  10. ^ "Spartans Claim Conference Championship". sjsuspartans.com. December 19, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  11. ^ "Ball State Cardinals vs. San Jose State Spartans football series history". winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
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