The 2016 Cactus Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on December 27, 2016 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. This was the 28th edition of the Cactus Bowl, although only the third played under that name. Sponsored by the Motel 6 chain of budget motels, the game is officially known as the Motel 6 Cactus Bowl.
| 2016 Motel 6 Cactus Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 28th Cactus Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 27, 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Chase Field | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Phoenix, Arizona | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Offensive: Baylor WR K. D. Cannon Defensive: Baylor DE Tyrone Hunt | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Boise State by 8[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Mike Roche (American) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 33,328 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Payout | US$3,325,000[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN/ESPN Radio | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | TV: Rece Davis, Joey Galloway, David Pollack, Molly McGrath Radio: Clay Matvick, Dusty Dvoracek, Dawn Davenport | ||||||||||||||||||
The bowl featured the Baylor Bears of the Big 12 Conference against the Boise State Broncos of the Mountain West Conference, and was the concluding game of the season for both teams.
Teams
editThe game features tie-ins from the Big 12 Conference and the Mountain West Conference.
Baylor Bears
editBaylor opened the year 6–0 to become bowl eligible. They raised in the polls to as high as #8 in the AP poll and a tie for #6 in the coaches poll. However, the Bears would finish the season on a six-game losing streak to finish in the season 6–6. The team had to also deal all season with the ongoing Baylor University football scandal.
Boise State Broncos
editBoise State opened the season 7–0 and climbed to #13 in the AP and coaches poll before losing to Wyoming and dropping in the polls. The Broncos won their next three games and rose back up to #19 in the polls and were in position to be the highest ranked team from the Group of 5 until a season ending loss to Air Force which dropped them out of the polls, the Mountain West Championship Game, and contention for the Group of 5 spot in a New Years Six bowl. They were selected for the Cactus Bowl after the Pac-12 Conference failed to have enough bowl eligible teams to fill their spot in the game and the Mountain West Conference received a backup spot.
Game summary
edit| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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| Broncos | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 12 |
| Bears | 7 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 31 |
Scoring summary
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Statistics
edit| Statistics | Boise St. | Baylor |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 25 | 29 |
| Plays-yards | 89–388 | 83–515 |
| Third down efficiency | 8–19 | 8–15 |
| Rushes-yards | 38–83 (2.2) | 43–140 (3.3) |
| Passing yards | 305 | 375 |
| Passing, Comp-Att-Int | 32–51–2 | 29–40–1 |
| Time of Possession | 32:55 | 27:05 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boise St. | Passing | Brett Rypien | 32/51, 305 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT |
| Rushing | Jeremy McNichols | 19 car, 46 yds | |
| Receiving | Cedrick Wilson | 6 rec, 88 yds, 1 TD | |
| Baylor | Passing | Zach Smith | 28/39, 375 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT |
| Rushing | Terence Williams | 25 car, 103 yds | |
| Receiving | KD Cannon | 14 rec, 226 yds, 2 TD |
References
edit- ^ "College Bowl Game Odds". ESPN. December 7, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
- ^ Bowl payout