| 2020 Servpro First Responder Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 11th First Responder Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 26, 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Gerald J. Ford Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Dallas, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Elijah Mitchell (RB, Louisiana)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Louisiana by 14[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Riley Johnson (ACC)[3] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 3,512 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ABC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Anish Shroff (play-by-play), Tom Luginbill (analyst) and Quint Kessenich (sideline) | ||||||||||||||||||
| International TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN Deportes | ||||||||||||||||||
The 2020 First Responder Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 26, 2020, with kickoff at 3:30 p.m. EST (2:30 p.m. local CST) on ABC.[4] It was the 11th edition of the First Responder Bowl, and was one of the 2020–21 bowl games concluding the 2020 FBS football season. Sponsored by fire and water cleanup and restoration company Servpro, the game was officially known as the Servpro First Responder Bowl.
Based on conference tie-ins, the First Responder Bowl was expected to feature teams from the American Athletic Conference (AAC), Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), or the Big 12 Conference.[5] The announced contest matches Louisiana of the Sun Belt Conference against UTSA of Conference USA (C-USA). This was the first meeting of the two programs.[6]
Louisiana accepted their bid to the First Responder Bowl on December 20, 2020.[7] The Ragin' Cajuns entered the bowl with a record of 9–1 (7–1 in conference play) and ranked 16th in the AP Poll. Their only loss of the season was to Coastal Carolina, who they were due to face in a rematch in the Sun Belt Championship Game, but it was cancelled due to COVID-19 effects within the Coastal Carolina program.[8]
UTSA accepted their bid to the First Responder Bowl on December 15, 2020.[9] The Roadrunners had originally accepted a bid to play SMU in the Frisco Bowl, but that game was canceled due to COVID-19 problems at SMU.[10] The Roadrunners entered the bowl with a record of 7–4 (5–2 in conference play). They faced one ranked team during the season, losing to BYU in October.
During the week prior to the game, UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor tested positive for COVID-19, and thus did not accompany the team to Dallas. Associate head coach and offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. served as the Roadrunners' coach for the game.[11]
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 19 Louisiana | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
| UTSA | 0 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 24 |
at Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, Texas
| Game information |
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| Statistics | LA | UTSA |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 23 | 27 |
| Plays–yards | 69–411 | 65–431 |
| Rushes–yards | 46–265 | 44–223 |
| Passing yards | 146 | 208 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 12–23–0 | 13–21–1 |
| Time of possession | 32:37 | 27:23 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | Passing | Levi Lewis | 12/22, 146 yards, 2 TD |
| Rushing | Elijah Mitchell | 19 carries, 127 yards, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Elijah Mitchell | 2 receptions, 45 yards | |
| UTSA | Passing | Frank Harris | 13/21, 208 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT |
| Rushing | Sincere McCormick | 23 carries, 122 yards | |
| Receiving | Zakhari Franklin | 5 receptions, 115 yards, 1 TD |
