2018 Holiday Bowl

The 2018 Holiday Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 31, 2018.[6] It was the 41st edition of the Holiday Bowl, and one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. This was the second season in which the Holiday Bowl was held at the SDCCU Stadium. Sponsored by San Diego County Credit Union, the game was officially known as the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl.

2018 San 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
CoachesCFP
2222
APCoachesCFP
201917
1234 Total
Northwestern 03280 31
Utah 14600 20
DateDecember 31, 2018
Season2018
StadiumSDCCU Stadium
LocationSan Diego, California
MVPClayton Thorson (QB, Northwestern)[1] & JR Pace (S, Northwestern)[2]
FavoriteUtah by 7[3]
National anthemHaley Reinhart
RefereeBrandon Cruse (Big XII)
Attendance47,007[4]
PayoutUS$6,326,000 [5]
United States TV coverage
NetworkFS1
AnnouncersGus Johnson, Joel Klatt and Jenny Taft

Teams

The game featured the Northwestern Wildcats, champions of the Big Ten West Division, and the Utah Utes, champions of the Pac-12 South Division.[7] The programs had previously met twice, with Northwestern winning in 1927 and Utah winning in 1981.[8]

Northwestern Wildcats
Main article: 2018 Northwestern Wildcats football team

Northwestern was defeated in the 2018 Big Ten Football Championship Game on December 1 by Ohio State, then received and accepted a bid to the Holiday Bowl on December 2.[7] The Wildcats entered the bowl with a 8–5 record (8–1 in conference).

Utah Utes
Main article: 2018 Utah Utes football team

Utah was defeated in the 2018 Pac-12 Football Championship Game on November 30 by Washington, 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
Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP NU UTAH
1 5:48 6 62 1:54 UTAH Jaylen Dixon 27-yard touchdown reception from Jason Shelley, Matt Gay kick 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 from Clayton Thorson, Charlie Kuhbander kick good 10 20
3 6:40 NU Fumble recovery returned 82 yards for touchdown by Jared 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, see Glossary 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
StatisticsNUUTAH
First downs1719
Plays–yards70–32277–393
Rushes–yards40–8132–91
Passing yards241302
Passing: Comp–Att–Int21–30–127–45–2
Time of possession31:5128:09
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
NorthwesternPassingClayton Thorson21/30, 241 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
RushingIsaiah Bowser23 car, 70 yds
ReceivingRamaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman2 rec, 64 yds
UtahPassingJason Shelley27/45, 302 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
RushingJason Shelley12 car, 39 yds
ReceivingJaylen Dixon9 rec, 114 yds, 1 TD

References
  1. @CFBONFOX (December 31, 2018). "Your Holiday Bowl Offensive MVP: @NUFBFamily QB Clayton Thorson" (Tweet). Retrieved December 31, 2018 – via Twitter.
  2. @MCDSeigler (December 31, 2018). "Congratulations to @WAAcademyFB alumni @jrpace9 for being named the Defensive #MVP of the @HolidayBowl" (Tweet). Retrieved December 31, 2018 – via Twitter.
  3. Fawkes, Ben (December 10, 2018). "Odds for every 2018-19 CFB bowl game". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  4. @HolidayBowl (December 31, 2018). "The attendance at today's @sdccu #HolidayBowl - 47,007" (Tweet). Retrieved December 31, 2018 – via Twitter.
  5. "2018 Bowl Schedule". CFP.com. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  6. "2018-19 College Football Playoff and bowl schedule". ESPN. May 2, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  7. Sorenson, Dan (December 2, 2018). "Utah football set to take on Northwestern in the Holiday Bowl". 247sports.com.
  8. "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Utah Utes football series games history list". winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
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