2015 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

2015 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
19th Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Akron Zips Utah State Aggies (7–5) (6–6) MAC Mountain West 23 21 Head coach:  Terry Bowden Head coach:  Matt Wells
1 2 3 4 Total Akron 7 6 7 3 23 Utah State 0 7 7 7 21
Date	December 22, 2015
Season	2015
Stadium	Albertsons Stadium
Location	Boise, Idaho
MVP	Akron K Robert Stein[1]
Favorite	Utah State by 6[2]
Referee	Charles Lewis (Sun Belt)[3]
Attendance	18,876[3]
Payout	US$325,000
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN/ESPN Radio
Announcers	Mark Neely, Mike Bellotti, & Kevin Weidl (ESPN) Paul Loeffler, Pat Hill, & Marty Cesario (ESPN Radio)

The 2015 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl was a college football bowl game that was played on December 22, 2015 at Albertsons Stadium on the campus of Boise State University in Boise, Idaho. It was one of the 2015–16 bowl games that concluded the 2015 FBS football season. The nineteenth annual Famous Idaho Potato Bowl pitted the Akron Zips of the Mid-American Conference against the Utah State Aggies of the Mountain West Conference. The game started at 1:30 p.m. MST and aired on ESPN. The game is sponsored by the Idaho Potato Commission.

It is most notable for being the first bowl game victory in school history for Akron.

Teams

The game featured the Akron Zips against the Utah State Aggies. It was the first overall meeting between the two schools.^[4]

Akron Zips

See also: 2015 Akron Zips football team

After finishing their regular season 7–5, the Zips accepted their invitation to the game.^[5]

This was the fourth bowl game in school history for Akron, and their first since the 2005 Motor City Bowl, where they lost to Memphis 38–31. Previous bowl games are: Grantland Rice Bowl 1968,and the Pioneer Bowl 1976.

Utah State Aggies

See also: 2015 Utah State Aggies football team

After finishing their regular season 6–6, the Aggies accepted their invitation to the game.^[6]

This was the Aggies' fourth Famous Idaho Potato Bowl; they had previously lost the 1997 Humanitarian Bowl (said game's inaugural edition) to Cincinnati 35–19, then lost the 2011 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl to Ohio 24–23, and finally won the 2012 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl over Toledo, 41–15.

Game summary

Scoring summary

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Akron USU 1 10:38 3 56 0:52 Akron Thomas Woodson 14-yard touchdown reception from Tyrell Goodman, Robert Stein kick good 7 0 2 2:53 12 59 5:34 Akron 33-yard field goal by Robert Stein 10 0 2 1:32 3 71 1:21 USU Brandon Swindall 9-yard touchdown reception from Kent Myers, Brock Warren kick good 10 7 2 0:00 1 0 0:04 Akron 29-yard field goal by Robert Stein 13 7 3 12:41 7 64 2:19 USU Hunter Sharp 19-yard touchdown reception from Kent Myers, Brock Warren kick good 13 14 3 5:43 8 40 4:00 Akron Donnell Alexander 2-yard touchdown run, Robert Stein kick good 20 14 4 8:15 10 64 1:30 Akron 46-yard field goal by Robert Stein 23 14 4 1:12 10 64 1:30 USU Brandon Swindall 2-yard touchdown reception from Chuckie Keeton, Brock Warren kick good 23 21 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 23 21

Source: ^[3]

Statistics

Statistics[3]	Akron	USU
First downs	17	22
Plays–yards	72–282	74–363
Rushes–yards	42–100	29–131
Passing yards	182	232
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	15–30–1	28–45–1
Time of possession	34:07	25:53

References

1. Dyer, Mike (December 23, 2015). "Sycamore grad named MVP of Famous Idaho Potato Bowl". cincinnati.com. www.cincinnati.com. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
2. Odds, Los Angeles Times, December 8, 2015
3. "2015 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Akron vs. Utah State Stats". Stat Broadcast. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
4. "Winsipedia - Akron Zips vs. Utah State Aggies football series history".
5. "Akron to Face Utah State in Famous Idaho Potato Bowl - Akron". Archived from the original on December 10, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
6. "utahstateaggies.com - Utah State Official Athletic Site Official Athletic Site - Football". www.utahstateaggies.com. Archived from the original on December 10, 2015.