2018 Holiday Bowl

2018 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
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 Klatt and Jenny Taft

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 SDCCU Stadium. Sponsored by San Diego County Credit Union, the game was officially known as the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl.

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

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 an 8–5 record (8–1 in conference).

Utah Utes

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

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 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

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). Retrieved December 31, 2018 – via Twitter.
↑ @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.
↑ Fawkes, Ben (December 10, 2018). "Odds for every 2018-19 CFB bowl game". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
↑ @HolidayBowl (December 31, 2018). "The attendance at today's @sdccu #HolidayBowl - 47,007" (Tweet). Retrieved December 31, 2018 – via Twitter.
↑ "2018 Bowl Schedule". CFP.com. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
↑ "2018-19 College Football Playoff and bowl schedule". ESPN. May 2, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
1 2 3 Sorenson, Dan (December 2, 2018). "Utah football set to take on Northwestern in the Holiday Bowl". 247sports.com.
↑ "Northwestern Wildcats vs. Utah Utes football series games history list". winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 30, 2018.

External links

Box score at ESPN
Game program

[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.

[matchup-7] 1 2 3 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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2018–19 NCAA football bowl game season
Celebration (Dec. 15) Cure (Dec. 15) New Mexico (Dec. 15) Las Vegas (Dec. 15) Camellia (Dec. 15) New Orleans (Dec. 15) Boca Raton (Dec. 18) Frisco (Dec. 19) Gasparilla (Dec. 20) Bahamas (Dec. 21) Famous Idaho Potato (Dec. 21) Birmingham (Dec. 22) Armed Forces (Dec. 22) Dollar General (Dec. 22) Hawaii (Dec. 22) First Responder (Dec. 26) Quick Lane (Dec. 26) Cheez-It (Dec. 26) Independence (Dec. 27) Pinstripe (Dec. 27) Texas (Dec. 27) Music City (Dec. 28) Camping World (Dec. 28) Alamo (Dec. 28) Peach (Dec. 29) Belk (Dec. 29) Arizona (Dec. 29) Military (Dec. 31) Sun (Dec. 31) Redbox (Dec. 31) Liberty (Dec. 31) Gator (Dec. 31) Holiday (Dec. 31) Outback (Jan. 1) Citrus (Jan. 1) Fiesta (Jan. 1) Rose (Jan. 1) Sugar (Jan. 1)
College Football Playoff games Cotton (Dec. 29) Orange (Dec. 29) National Championship Game (Jan. 7)
All-Star Games East–West Shrine Game (Jan. 19) NFLPA Collegiate Bowl (Jan. 19) Senior Bowl (Jan. 26)

Holiday Bowl
History & conference tie-ins	History San Diego Stadium (1978–2019) Petco Park (2022–2023) Snapdragon Stadium (2024–present) Atlantic Coast Conference Pac-12 Conference
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