2018 Holiday Bowl

2018San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl
2018San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl
41st Holiday Bowl
Northwestern Wildcats	Utah Utes
(8–5)	(9–4)
Big Ten	Pac-12
31	20
Head coach:; Pat Fitzgerald	Head coach:; Kyle Whittingham
Coaches	CFP
22	22
Date	December 31, 2018
Season	2018
Stadium	SDCCU Stadium
Location	San Diego, California
MVP	Clayton Thorson(QB, Northwestern)& JR Pace (S, Northwestern)
Favorite	Utah by 7
National anthem	Haley Reinhart
Referee	Brandon Cruse (Big XII)
Attendance	47,007
Payout	US$6,326,000
United States TV coverage
Network	FS1
Announcers	Gus Johnson,Joel Klattand Jenny Taft
Holiday Bowl
<2017	2019>

The2018 Holiday Bowlwas acollege football bowl gameplayed on December 31, 2018.^[6]It was the 41st edition of theHoliday Bowl,and one of the2018–19 bowl gamesconcluding the2018 FBS football season.This was the second season in which the Holiday Bowl was held atSDCCU Stadium.Sponsored by San Diego County Credit Union, the game was officially known as theSan Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl.

Teams

The game featured theNorthwestern Wildcats,champions of theBig TenWest Division, and theUtah Utes,champions of thePac-12South Division.^[7]The programs had previously met twice, with Northwestern winning in 1927 and Utah winning in 1981.^[8]

Northwestern Wildcats

Northwestern was defeated in the2018 Big Ten Football Championship Gameon December 1 byOhio State,then received and accepted a bid to the Holiday Bowl on December 2.^[7]The Wildcats entered the bowl with an 8–5 record (8–1 in conference).

Utah Utes

Utah was defeated in the2018 Pac-12 Football Championship Gameon November 30 byWashington,then received and accepted a bid to the Holiday Bowl on December 2.^[7]The Utes entered the bowl with a 9–4 record (6–3 in conference).

Game summary

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	NU	UTAH
1	5:48	6	62	1:54	UTAH	Jaylen Dixon 27-yard touchdown reception from Jason Shelley,Matt Gaykick good	0	7
1	1:40	5	35	1:39	UTAH	Jake Jackson 4-yard touchdown reception from Jason Shelley, Matt Gay kick good	0	14
2	8:42	8	62	3:02	NU	21-yard field goal by Charlie Kuhbander	3	14
2	3:57	11	57	4:39	UTAH	32-yard field goal by Matt Gay	3	17
2	0:05	10	33	2:24	UTAH	20-yard field goal by Matt Gay	3	20
3	13:13	2	56	0:36	NU	Riley Lees 4-yard touchdown reception fromClayton Thorson,Charlie Kuhbander kick good	10	20
3	6:40				NU	Fumble recovery returned 82 yards for touchdown byJared McGee,Charlie Kuhbander kick good	17	20
3	4:39	2	31	0:31	NU	Trey Klock 4-yard touchdown reception from Clayton Thorson, Charlie Kuhbander kick good	24	20
3	1:40	6	67	2:34	NU	Riley Lees 8-yard touchdown run, Charlie Kuhbander kick good	31	20
"TOP" =time of possession.For other American football terms, seeGlossary of American football.							31	20

Statistics

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 22 Wildcats	0	3	28	0	31
No. 17 Utes	14	6	0	0	20

Statistics	NU	UTAH
First downs	17	19
Plays–yards	70–322	77–393
Rushes–yards	40–81	32–91
Passing yards	241	302
Passing:comp–att–int	21–30–1	27–45–2
Time of possession	31:51	28:09

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northwestern	Passing	Clayton Thorson	21/30, 241 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Isaiah Bowser	23 car, 70 yds
	Receiving	Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman	2 rec, 64 yds
Utah	Passing	Jason Shelley	27/45, 302 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Jason Shelley	12 car, 39 yds
	Receiving	Jaylen Dixon	9 rec, 114 yds, 1 TD

References

^@CFBONFOX (December 31, 2018)."Your Holiday Bowl Offensive MVP: @NUFBFamily QB Clayton Thorson"(Tweet).RetrievedDecember 31,2018– viaTwitter.
^@MCDSeigler (December 31, 2018)."Congratulations to @WAAcademyFB alumni @jrpace9 for being named the Defensive #MVP of the @HolidayBowl"(Tweet).RetrievedDecember 31,2018– viaTwitter.
^Fawkes, Ben (December 10, 2018)."Odds for every 2018-19 CFB bowl game".ESPN.RetrievedDecember 18,2018.
^@HolidayBowl (December 31, 2018)."The attendance at today's @sdccu #HolidayBowl - 47,007"(Tweet).RetrievedDecember 31,2018– viaTwitter.
^"2018 Bowl Schedule".CFP.RetrievedDecember 3,2018.
^"2018-19 College Football Playoff and bowl schedule".ESPN.May 2, 2018.RetrievedJuly 29,2018.
^^a ^b ^cSorenson, Dan (December 2, 2018)."Utah football set to take on Northwestern in the Holiday Bowl".247sports.
^"Northwestern Wildcats vs. Utah Utes football series games history list".winsipedia.RetrievedDecember 30,2018.

External links

[1] @CFBONFOX (December 31, 2018)."Your Holiday Bowl Offensive MVP: @NUFBFamily QB Clayton Thorson"(Tweet).RetrievedDecember 31,2018– viaTwitter.

[2] @MCDSeigler (December 31, 2018)."Congratulations to @WAAcademyFB alumni @jrpace9 for being named the Defensive #MVP of the @HolidayBowl"(Tweet).RetrievedDecember 31,2018– viaTwitter.

[3] Fawkes, Ben (December 10, 2018)."Odds for every 2018-19 CFB bowl game".ESPN.RetrievedDecember 18,2018.

[4] @HolidayBowl (December 31, 2018)."The attendance at today's @sdccu #HolidayBowl - 47,007"(Tweet).RetrievedDecember 31,2018– viaTwitter.

[5] "2018 Bowl Schedule".CFP.RetrievedDecember 3,2018.

[6] "2018-19 College Football Playoff and bowl schedule".ESPN.May 2, 2018.RetrievedJuly 29,2018.

[matchup-7] Sorenson, Dan (December 2, 2018)."Utah football set to take on Northwestern in the Holiday Bowl".247sports.

[8] "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Utah Utes football series games history list".winsipedia.RetrievedDecember 30,2018.

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