2015 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
The 2015 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl was a college football bowl game that was played on December 22, 2015 at Albertsons Stadium on the campus of Boise State University in Boise, Idaho. It was one of the 2015–16 bowl games that concluded the 2015 FBS football season. The nineteenth annual Famous Idaho Potato Bowl pitted the Akron Zips of the Mid-American Conference against the Utah State Aggies of the Mountain West Conference. The game started at 1:30 p.m. MST and aired on ESPN. The game is sponsored by the Idaho Potato Commission.
| 2015 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19th Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Date | December 22, 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Albertsons Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Boise, Idaho | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Akron K Robert Stein[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Utah State by 6[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Charles Lewis (Sun Belt)[3] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 18,876[3] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Payout | US$325,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN/ESPN Radio | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Mark Neely, Mike Bellotti, & Kevin Weidl (ESPN) Paul Loeffler, Pat Hill, & Marty Cesario (ESPN Radio) | ||||||||||||||||||
It is most notable for being the first bowl game victory in school history for Akron.
Teams
The game featured the Akron Zips against the Utah State Aggies. It was the first overall meeting between the two schools.[4]
Akron Zips
After finishing their regular season 7–5, the Zips accepted their invitation to the game.[5]
This was the fourth bowl game in school history for Akron, and their first since the 2005 Motor City Bowl, where they lost to Memphis 38–31. Previous bowl games are: Grantland Rice Bowl 1968,and the Pioneer Bowl 1976.
Utah State Aggies
After finishing their regular season 6–6, the Aggies accepted their invitation to the game.[6]
This was the Aggies' fourth Famous Idaho Potato Bowl; they had previously lost the 1997 Humanitarian Bowl (said game's inaugural edition) to Cincinnati 35–19, then lost the 2011 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl to Ohio 24–23, and finally won the 2012 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl over Toledo, 41–15.
Game summary
Scoring summary
| Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: [3]
Statistics
| Statistics[3] | Akron | USU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 17 | 22 |
| Plays–yards | 72–282 | 74–363 |
| Rushes–yards | 42–100 | 29–131 |
| Passing yards | 182 | 232 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 15–30–1 | 28–45–1 |
| Time of possession | 34:07 | 25:53 |
References
- Dyer, Mike (December 23, 2015). "Sycamore grad named MVP of Famous Idaho Potato Bowl". cincinnati.com. www.cincinnati.com. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
- Odds, Los Angeles Times, December 8, 2015
- "2015 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Akron vs. Utah State Stats". Stat Broadcast. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
- "Winsipedia - Akron Zips vs. Utah State Aggies football series history".
- "Akron to Face Utah State in Famous Idaho Potato Bowl - Akron". Archived from the original on December 10, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
- "utahstateaggies.com - Utah State Official Athletic Site Official Athletic Site - Football". www.utahstateaggies.com. Archived from the original on December 10, 2015.