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).^[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
Ball State Cardinals San Jose State Spartans (6–1) (7–0) MAC MWC 34 13 Head coach:  Mike Neu Head coach:  Brent Brennan AP Coaches CFP 19 20 22
1 2 3 4 Total Ball State 27 0 7 0 34 San Jose State 0 0 13 0 13
Date	December 31, 2020
Season	2020
Stadium	Arizona Stadium
Location	Tucson, Arizona
MVP	Drew Plitt (QB, Ball State) & Bryce Cosby (S, Ball State)^[1]
Favorite	San Jose State by 9^[2]
Referee	Joe Lehring (C-USA)^[3]
Attendance	0
United States TV coverage
Network	CBS
Announcers	Brad 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

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

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 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

2020 Offerpad Arizona Bowl

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Ball State	27	0	7	0	34
No. 22 San Jose State	0	0	13	0	13

at Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona

• Date: Thursday, December 31, 2020
• Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST (12:00 p.m. MST)
• Game weather: Partly cloudy • Temperature: 55 °F (13 °C) • Wind: ESE 8 mph
• Referee: Joe Lehring (Conference USA)
• TV announcers (CBS): Brad Nessler (play–by–play), Rick Neuheisel (analyst) and Jenny Dell (sideline)
• ESPN game summary

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

Statistics	BALL	SJSU
First downs	21	18
Plays–yards	70–402	68–347
Rushes–yards	51–185	22–69
Passing yards	217	278
Passing: comp–att–int	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

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. 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.

External links

• Official website
• Game statistics at statbroadcast.com