2008 Las Vegas Bowl
Encyclopedia
The 2008 Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl
was an NCAA
-sanctioned Division I FBS post-season college football
bowl game
between the Arizona Wildcats
, the fifth pick from the Pacific 10 Conference and the BYU Cougars
, third place overall in the Mountain West Conference
. This bowl game was played on December 20, 2008 at 5 p.m. PST at 40,000-seat Sam Boyd Stadium
on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
in the eponymous Nevada city
and broadcast on ESPN
. Since 2001, the game has featured a matchup of teams from the MWC and Pac-10. The announcers were Mike Patrick and Todd Blackledge with the sideline reporting by Holly Rowe. The Wildcats stunned the 16th ranked Cougars in the coldest Las Vegas Bowl in history, 31-21.
Las Vegas Bowl
The Maaco Bowl Las Vegas is an NCAA-sanctioned Division I-A post-season college football bowl game that has been played annually at 40,000-seat Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. since 1992. From 1992 to 1996, matchups featured the champion teams from the Big West and Mid-American...
was an NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
-sanctioned Division I FBS post-season college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
bowl game
Bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
between the Arizona Wildcats
2008 Arizona Wildcats football team
The 2008 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona in the college football season of 2008–2009. The team's head coach is Mike Stoops, in his fifth year at Arizona. They play their home games at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona and compete in the Pacific-10 Conference...
, the fifth pick from the Pacific 10 Conference and the BYU Cougars
2008 BYU Cougars football team
The 2008 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University in the 2008 college football season.Prior to the 2008 season, BYU had won consecutive Mountain West Conference championship titles without losing a conference game. It had also finished with an 11-2 overall record for...
, third place overall in the Mountain West Conference
Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference , popularly known as the Mountain West, is the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS . The MWC officially began operations in July 1999...
. This bowl game was played on December 20, 2008 at 5 p.m. PST at 40,000-seat Sam Boyd Stadium
Sam Boyd Stadium
Sam Boyd Stadium is a football stadium located in Whitney, Nevada, an unincorporated community in the Las Vegas metropolitan area; the mailing address of the stadium is "Las Vegas". The stadium is named after Sam Boyd, a major figure in the hotel/casino industry in Las Vegas. The stadium consists...
on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
University of Nevada-Las Vegas is a public, coeducational university located in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada, USA. The campus is located approximately east of the Las Vegas Strip. The institution includes a Shadow Lane Campus, located just east of the University Medical Center of...
in the eponymous Nevada city
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
and broadcast on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
. Since 2001, the game has featured a matchup of teams from the MWC and Pac-10. The announcers were Mike Patrick and Todd Blackledge with the sideline reporting by Holly Rowe. The Wildcats stunned the 16th ranked Cougars in the coldest Las Vegas Bowl in history, 31-21.
Scoring summary
| Scoring Play | Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Quarter | |||
| Arizona - Nic Grigsby 1 yard TD run (Jason Bondzio kick), 6:23 | Arizona 7-0 | ||
| 2nd Quarter | |||
| Arizona - Bondzio 31 yard FG, 9:21 | Arizona 10-0 | ||
| BYU - Harvey Unga Harvey Unga -Chicago Bears:Unga was selected by the Chicago Bears with a seventh round selection in the 2010 Supplemental Draft. He was signed to a four-year contract on July 21, 2010.... 1 yard TD run (Mitch Payne kick), 6:50 |
Arizona 10-7 | ||
| 3rd Quarter | |||
| BYU - Andrew George 1 yard TD pass from Max Hall Max Hall Max Hall is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He was signed by the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He played college football at BYU.-Early years:... (Payne kick), 11:21 |
BYU 14-10 | ||
| Arizona - Delashaun Dean 37 yard TD pass from Willie Tuitama Willie Tuitama Willie Coonley Savea Tuitama is an American football quarterback for the Nebraska Danger of the Indoor Football League.-Early life:... (Bondzio kick), 7:07 |
Arizona 17-14 | ||
| Arizona - Chris Gronkowski 24 yard TD pass from Tuitama (Bondzio kick), :25 | Arizona 24-14 | ||
| 4th Quarter | |||
| Arizona - Tuitama 6 yard TD run (Bondzio kick), 6:09 | Arizona 31-14 | ||
| BYU - Hall 1 yard TD run (Payne kick), 3:38 | Arizona 31-21 | ||