2021 Hula Bowl

The 2021 Hula Bowl was a post-season college football all-star game played on January 31, 2021, with kickoff at 4:30 p.m. HST (9:30 p.m. EST), at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii.[5] The game was the last of the 2020–21 bowl games and, while not restricted to FBS players, the final game of the 2020 FBS football season. Television coverage was provided by CBS Sports Network.[6] The game was played without fans in attendance, as Aloha Stadium was "deemed unsafe to hold crowds" in December 2020.[7]

2021 Hula Bowl
75th Hula Bowl
Team Aina Team Kai
13 15
Head coach: 
Mike Singletary		 Head coach: 
Rex Ryan
1234 Total
Team Aina 7006 13
Team Kai 0690 15
DateJanuary 31, 2021
Season2020
StadiumAloha Stadium
LocationHonolulu, Hawaii
MVPsee #Awards
National anthemSabrina McKenna[1]
RefereeSteve Strimling (Pac-12)[2]
Halftime showHalau Manaola[3]
Attendance0
United States TV coverage
NetworkCBS Sports Network
AnnouncersKanoa Leahy (play-by-play), Brian Baldinger (color), Ian Scheuring & Kainoa Carlson (sidelines)[4]

On January 22, organizers announced that Rex Ryan would coach the Kai team,[8] and Mike Singletary would coach the Aina team;[9] both have served as head coaches in the National Football League (NFL). They named as their offensive coordinators former NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez for Kai and former NFL quarterback and head coach Jim Zorn for Aina.[10][11] For team KAI Ronnie Jones was selected to be the Defensive Coordinator Coach and for team AINA former NFL player Abe Elimimian was selected to be the Defensive Back Coach.

Players

Player invitations were determined by the Hula Bowl Selection Committee, primarily based on "potential to make a professional Football team roster".[12] Players were expected from "several levels of the NCAA as well as athletes from Japan, Canada, Australia, and Polynesia."[13]

A list of accepted invites was maintained on the bowl's website. Notable players included K. J. Costello (QB, Mississippi State) and Brady White (QB, Memphis).

Game

Team Aina was uniformed in red, and Team Kai in blue.[1] The game utilized NFL rules, with some modifications—for example, all kicks and punts were fielded only via fair catch.[1] Due to the fair catch requirement, no onside kick could be attempted, but in its place the "kicking" team could attempt essentially a 4th-and-15 from their own 30-yard-line.[14] This occurred once in the game, late in the 4th quarter after Team Aina scored on a pick six, but the attempt did not result in a first down.

Awards

An offensive and defensive MVP were named for each team.[1] For Team Aina, the MVPs were running back Mekhi Sargent (Iowa) and defensive end Carlo Kemp (Michigan).[15] For Team Kai, the MVPs were running back CJ Marable (Coastal Carolina) and cornerback Nick McCloud (Notre Dame).[16] Offensively, Sargent had 61 yards on six rushes plus an 18-yard reception, while Marable had five carries for 17 yards including a touchdown; defensively, Kemp had four tackles and returned an interception for a touchdown, while McCloud had two interceptions with 34 return yards.[17]

2021 Hula Bowl
Period 1 2 34Total
Aina 7 0 0613
Kai 0 6 9015

at Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, Hawaii

  • Date: Sunday, January 31, 2021
  • Game time: 9:30 p.m. EST (4:30 p.m. HST)
  • Game weather: Mostly clear • Temperature: 79 °F (26 °C) • Wind 14 mph (23 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Steve Strimling (Pac-12)
  • TV: CBS Sports Network
Game information
First quarter
  • (1:06) AINA — David Moore (Central Michigan) 1-yard rush, Chris Naggar (SMU) kick (Drive: 11 plays, 90 yards, 7:53; Aina 7–0)
Second quarter
  • (10:52) KAI — David Cote (Laval, Quebec) 32-yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 62 yards, 5:17; Aina 7–3)
  • (2:35) KAI — David Cote 33-yard field goal (Drive: 5 plays, 22 yards, 2:19; Aina 7–6)
Third quarter
  • (9:12) KAI — CJ Marble (Coastal Carolina) 2-yard rush, David Cote kick hit upright (Drive: 6 plays, 67 yards, 3:22; Kai 12–7)
  • (3:22) KAI — David Cote 24-yard field goal (Kai 15–7)
Fourth quarter
  • (1:48) AINA — Carlo Kemp (Michigan) 64-yard interception return; 2-point conversion pass incomplete (Kai 15–13)

See also

References
  1. CBS Sports Network broadcast
  2. Filipe, Cameron (January 29, 2021). "Officiating crews for the Senior Bowl and Hula Bowl". footballzebras.com. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  3. "Fashion designer and Hula Halau Manaola perform in Hula Bowl Game Halftime Show". KHON-TV. January 31, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  4. "NFL broadcaster Brian Baldinger to call 2021 Hula Bowl". hinowdaily.com. January 2021. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  5. "Hula Bowl". Twitter. Retrieved January 31, 2021. Official Twitter Account of the Hula Bowl College Football Game - Game Day Kickoff: January 31st 2021 - 4:30 PM HST - Honolulu, HI - Aloha Stadium - CBS Sports
  6. "Game Day 2021". hulabowl.com. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  7. Shimabuku, Christian (December 17, 2020). "Aloha Stadium to shut down operations indefinitely". KHON-TV. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  8. @Hula_Bowl (January 22, 2021). "Rex Ryan has been selected to be the head coach of the KAI team for the 2021 Hula Bowl!!" (Tweet). Retrieved January 23, 2021 – via Twitter.
  9. @Hula_Bowl (January 22, 2021). "Mike Singletary has been selected as the head coach for the AINA team for the 2021 Hula Bowl!!" (Tweet). Retrieved January 23, 2021 – via Twitter.
  10. Tsai, Stephen (January 31, 2021). "Hula Bowl could be 'aloha' for stadium". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  11. They named as their Defensive Back Coach former NFL player Abe Eleminian for the Aina team.
  12. "Selection Process". hulabowl.com. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  13. Lewis, Ferd (November 19, 2020). "Hula Bowl vows to play on in 2021". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  14. @808marv (January 31, 2021). "That was interesting, no onside kick but Aina got another chance on offense with a 4th and 15 from their own 30" (Tweet). Retrieved February 1, 2021 – via Twitter.
  15. @NYCKING (January 31, 2021). "#HulaBowl Mekhi Sargent named offensive MVP and Carlo Kemp named defensive MVP" (Tweet). Retrieved February 1, 2021 – via Twitter.
  16. @NYCKING (January 31, 2021). "#HulaBowl MVP for both teams C.J. Marable offensive MVP and Nick McCloud defensive MVP" (Tweet). Retrieved February 1, 2021 – via Twitter.
  17. Shimabuku, Christian (January 31, 2021). "Team Kai wins Hula Bowl in likely final game at Aloha Stadium". KHON-TV. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
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