Wednesday’s 11th annual San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl kicks off a week-long celebration of everything good about San Diego football for area bowl game fans.
This holiday season there are three packages to unwrap under the Christmas tree.
Wednesday’s game, which features a 1:30 p.m. kick-off at Qualcomm Stadium, pits the Boise State Broncos (8-4) against the Mid-American Conference runner-up Northern Illinois Huskies (8-5).
Immediately following that game, on Thursday, Dec. 24, San Diego State (10-3) is scheduled to play the University of Cincinnati Bearcats (7-5) in the Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu. Game time is 5 p.m. PST.
The 38th annual National Funding Holiday Bowl rounds out the string of three San Diego-themed bowl games on Wednesday, Dec. 30. The University of Southern California Trojans (8-5) will be making their second consecutive appearance in the region’s longest-running bowl game when they tackle the University of Wisconsin Badgers (9-3).
The Holiday Bowl game will be telecast on ESPN, starting at 7:30 p.m.
USC pulled off an exciting 45-42 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in last year’s Holiday Bowl game. The Trojans enter this year’s game ranked 25th in the nation.
Both the Poinsettia Bowl and Hawaii Bowl also will be telecast on ESPN.
Poinsettia Bowl: Broncos hope to de-fang Huskies
Boise State, which practiced earlier this week at Southwestern College, is making its second trip to the Poinsettia Bowl and will be looking to avenge its first trip to America’s Finest City in 2008 when it saw its perfect season ended by TCU. The Broncos were 12-0 and ranked ninth nationally while TCU was 10-2 and ranked 11th nationally. TCU erased a first-half 13-0 Boise State lead to win 17-16.
The Poinsettia Bowl put a feather in its cap that year as it showcased a pair of higher ranked teams than did the BCS Orange Bowl.
Boise State also practiced at Southwestern College during its first trip to the Poinsettia Bowl.
The Broncos’ return to Southern California is a homecoming for a sizable part of the team, which finished fourth in the Mountain West Conference’s Mountain Division this season.
“I think we have 30-plus guys from this area; obviously that’s a large portion of our team,” Boise State head coach Bryan Harsin explained at Tuesday’s coaches press conference. “California is a large area, or a big area for us in recruiting, and so I think obviously coming here and playing well, having guys that are from here and having family around, that’s obviously a big part of it as well.”
Mar Vista High School alumnus Andres Preciado is among those Broncos experiencing holiday homecomings. He is second on Boise State’s depth chart at left tackle.
Mariners head coach Tyler Arciaga had nothing but positives to say about Preciado, a red shirt freshman with the Broncos.
“Andres has done a great job representing Mar Vista and the Imperial Beach community while at Boise State,” said Arciaga, whose team finished 8-4 this season with a semifinal-round berth in the Division IV playoffs. “He has one of the higher GPAs on the team while going through BSU’s engineering program. He has been getting some playing time in several games, and I know he will be working really hard to crack the rotation next year.
“What is also great about Andres is it just goes to show that you don’t have to transfer to a school outside your home school in order to get noticed. In the era of open enrollment, I think kids get enamored with a bigger stage and that causes some kids to want to go elsewhere because they think the grass is greener. Andres is a great example that shows that if you are good enough, coaches will find you even if you are hiding in the southwest corner of the United States. Anytime someone like Andres gets a scholarship, it’s a victory for not only the school, but for the community as well.”
For Northern Illinois, the school’s third trip to the Poinsettia Bowl offers another opportunity to broaden the horizons of its players. Head coach Rod Carey estimates that about 50 team members have never visited California before.
The Huskies have competed in the MAC championship game in each of the past six years and are making their eighth consecutive bowl game appearance. NIU reached the Orange Bowl in 2013 and lost, 20-13, to Ohio State (currently ranked seventh) this season.
Carey termed the Poinsettia Bowl game berth a season-ending bonus for his team. “The bowl game is exactly what you would think a bowl game would be,” he said. “It’s a reward.”
The Huskies dropped previous Poinsettia Bowl trips to TCU in 2006 and Utah State in 2013.
Boise State, which has won three Fiesta Bowls since 2007, enters Wednesday’s game having own five of its six previous bowl game appearances.
Wednesday’s game pits a pair of strong running backs in Boise State’s Jeremy McNichols and NIU’s Joel Bouagnon.
McNichols enters the game with 1,244 rushing yards and 23 total touchdowns, including 18 rushing TDs, while Bouagnon has rushed for 1,269 yards and 18 touchdowns.
A fireworks spectacular, exhibiting new technology, is scheduled to wow spectators after the game.
Hawaii Bowl: SDSU tackles Bearcats in Honolulu
SDSU defeated the Air Force Academy Falcons, 27-24, in the 2015 Sports Authority Mountain West Conference championship game Dec. 5 at Qualcomm Stadium to earn a bid to the Hawaii Bowl. The win was the ninth consecutive for the Aztecs, who finished regular season MW action 8-0.
Donnell Pumphrey, one of three SDSU players named to the conference’s post-season honor roll, made a 24-yard touchdown reception to help highlight the showing by the local team.
Pumphrey was named the 2015 MWC Offensive Player of the Year after leading the Aztecs with 1,633 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns (16 rushing touchdowns) in regular season play. Teammate Damontae Kazee was named the MWC Defensive Player of the Year while kick-returner Rashaad Penny earned honors as the conference’s special teams player of the year.
Former Carlsbad High School quarterback Christian Chapman led SDSU on the field after an injury sidelined starter Maxwell Smith in the team’s final regular season game. Chapman, a redshirt freshman, completed nine of 14 passing attempts for 203 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions or sacks.
Pumphrey rushed 16 times for 97 yards while teammate Chase Price gained 60 yards on 18 carries. Chapman chipped in with 32 yards on six rushing attempts.
The game would go down to the wire in front of a partisan crowd of 20,959.
Fullback Dakota Gordon (five carries, 32 yards) tied the score, 17-17, on a 46-yard run in the third quarter. SDSU went up 24-17 on a 28-yard run in the opening minute of the fourth quarter by Penny but AFA responded to tie the score, 24-24, on a two-yard run by Timothy McVey (his third touchdown of the game) with 11:49 to play.
Donny Hageman, who kicked two field goals in the game, split the uprights on what proved to be a game-winning 46-yard field goal with 5:10 remaining in the game.
The SDSU defense then assured an Aztec victory by batting down a final Hail Mary pass by Falcon quarterback Karson Roberts (5-of-11, 35 passing yards) in the final second of the game.
It was SDSU’s first 10-win season since playing as an independent in 1977, and put the Aztecs one win away from tying the school record of 11 wins in one season previously attained in 1966 (at the Division II level) and in 1969 (the school’s first year in Division I play).
The SDSU roster features 19 players with San Diego County high school ties, including former Mater Dei Catholic standout Nico Siragusa (left guard). Siragusa, along with former El Capitan standout Robert Craighead (right guard), have helped buttress the Aztec front line in opening holes for Pumphrey & Co.
SDSU head coach Rocky Long was impressed by his team’s ability to withstand moments of adversity in the conference championship game.
“I thought it was a great football game,” Long told the media after the game. “I thought that both teams played extremely well. I thought there were some turning points in the game where we could have given up. We dropped the punt, we gave them three really long runs, we even caused a fumble that was actually a 50-yard gain for them. When those things happen you start to wonder if you have what it takes to win the game. Most teams will give up and not keep playing but our team did not do that. They kept playing, they kept struggling, and they finally found a way to win. That is how you know there is a lot of character on your football team.
“Over the last six years we have been getting a little bit better every year. That is how you build a program. This is going to be our sixth straight bowl game. I was told the fact that the Mountain West has been in existence for 17 years and the first 11 of those years San Diego State did not have a winning record. Obviously, the last six we have. I think that the program is moving in the right direction and hopefully we can continue the climb.”
Long also praised the performance of Chapman after being thrust into the starting position in a game of premier importance.
“I am still waiting on the emotions to set in,” Chapman admitted after the game. “It is so unreal. I dreamed about moments like this.”
Holiday Bowl: It’s always exciting to the end
Known for its pageantry and exciting finishes, this year’s bowl game should match previous editions for entertainment value.
USC, which has lost just twice in its last 11 bowl games, ranks among the nation’s premier bowl teams, with an overall post-season record of 33-16 (not including one win and one loss later vacated due to NCAA penalty).
Trojan QB Cody Kessler leads an offense that is averaging 450 total yards and 35 points per game.
The Badgers, who enter the game with the nation’s top scoring defense (13;1 points per game) may have someting to say about that, however.
“Last year, we had an overwhelming turnout of Trojan fans at the Holiday Bowl and they were a key factor in our victory, and we expect a similar turnout this year,” USC head coach Clay Helton noted. “It’s a chance for our fans to spend the week after Christmas with us in the great city of San Diego, participate in all the fun activities the bowl puts on, and cap it off by watching their Trojans play in what should be a very exciting game.”
Wisconsin is led by senior quarterback Joel Stave, whose 30 career wins tie the school record. He ranks second in Wisconsin history in career passing yards, touchdowns, completions and attempts. Stave’s main target this year has been senior wide receiver Alex Erickson, a first-team All-Big Ten choice. Erickson needs 76 more yards to become just the fourth player in UW history with 1,000 receiving yards in a season.
The Badgers enter the Holiday Bowl with the top-ranked scoring defense in the country, allowing just 13.1 points per game.
Pac-12 South Division champion USC, 8-5 overall, has won five of its last eight games since Helton was named interim head coach on Oct. 12 and then permanent head coach two weeks ago.
Kessler is in USC’s all-time top four in touchdowon passes, completions, passing yards and total offense (above Matt Leinart’s school career records for completion percentage and interception rate).
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl names Biz Kid$ as Beneficiary
One dollar from every ticket sold for the game will benefit teachers and students in San Diego
SAN DIEGO – Biz Kid$ has been named the beneficiary of the 2015 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. The award-winning comprehensive financial literacy program shows kids how to use credit wisely and educates them on the importance of saving, budgeting, investing and giving back to their communities. One dollar from each ticket sold to this year’s game will be donated to help provide financial education programs to kids in San Diego.
Biz Kid$ is a national public television series that promotes financial education for elementary through high school students and was created by the same team that produced “Bill Nye the Science Guy.” The money generated as a result of tickets sold for the 2015 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl will go towards providing additional sets of the complete SDCCU Biz Kid$ Program to teachers in San Diego County to ensure that our local students graduate high school with the critical financial skills needed to maintain a successful future. View the SDCCU Biz Kid$ program infographic.
“SDCCU is proud that Biz Kid$ is the beneficiary of the 2015 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. Each ticket sold for this year’s game has the potential to benefit thousands of students in our community, and the San Diego region, for years into the future,” said SDCCU President and CEO Teresa Halleck. “As San Diego’s largest locally-owned financial institution, and a Live Well San Diego partner, we are committed to encouraging and maintaining good financial health among individuals in our communities, which is essential to fostering a healthy and thriving economy.”
Tickets are on sale now for the 11th annual San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. SDCCU has served as the sponsor of the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl since the bowl game’s inception in 2005. The San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl is the only college football bowl game among America’s 41 college football bowl games to have a credit union as a title sponsor.
Kickoff for the 2015 game is at 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 23 at Qualcomm Stadium. For the first time ever, the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl will be followed by Stadium Spectacular, a postgame fireworks show featuring pyrotechnics never-before-seen in North America! Tickets for the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl range from $20 to $80 and can be purchased through the bowl’s ticket office at Qualcomm Stadium – Gate A, or by calling (619) 285-5039. Tickets also can be purchased online at sandiegobowlgames.com, or through TicketMaster at (800) 745-3000 or at any TicketMaster outlet.
The McNichols and Rypien Show: Boise State wins Poinsettia Bowl in 14th straight bowl game appearance
The 2015 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl starred Boise State running back Jeremy McNichols and Broncos quarterback Brett Rypien.
McNichols set the tone from the start as he recorded three solo touchdowns in the first quarter.
McNichols rushed for a 29-yard score, walked-in a four-yard TD reception, and rushed for another one yard TD as Boise State (9-4) took a 21-0 lead over Northern Illinois.
By then, the game was already over after just one quarter.
A touchdown machine, McNichols currently leads the nation in rushing touchdowns this season with 20, though with more bowl games remaining, other running back leaders coukd surpass McNichols’ mark.
Rypien had a field day as well, completing 29 of 40 passes, throwing for 377 yards in the game and was named offensive player of the game.
Northern Illinois (8-6) showed some life after receiver Aregeros Turner returned a kickoff for 96 yards. But that was all the Huskies could score.
Boise State answered right back with touchdown reception by receiver Chaz Anderson to end the first half, followed by three more touchdowns and a field goal in the second half to blow out Northern Illinois 55-7.
Boise State’s 55 points established a new record for most points scored by a team in Poinsettia Bowl history.
The Huskies offense looked dismal throughout, passing for only 38 yards, recording negative five rushing yards, and only going 1-12 on third down conversions. Northern Illinois’ quarterback Ryan Graham was also sacked five times.
Qualcomm Stadium appeared empty with an announced attendance of 21,501. However, it was the fireworks show after the game that made up for the blowout margin. Coined as the “Stadium Spectacular,” the show featured new pyrotechnology that hasn’t been seen before in North America.
Thus, despite the ugly game, fans at least got to see something exciting.
— Trent Warren
Increased trolley service for parade and bowl game
National Funding Holiday Bowl and parade fans encouraged to ride trolley
SAN DIEGO – The 38th annual National Funding Holiday Bowl kicks off at 7:30 pm on Wednesday, Dec. 30, at Qualcomm Stadium and features a match-up between the Wisconsin Badgers and the USC Trojans. The Port of San Diego Holiday Bowl Parade presented by U.S. Bank steps off at 10 a.m. downtown on Harbor Drive. Fans are encouraged to arrive early or take the trolley to and from both events. The Qualcomm Stadium parking lot opens at 1:30 p.m. Parking at the stadium is $20 per vehicle and $60 per RV.
MTS Trolley’s Green Line provides direct, frequent service to Qualcomm Stadium from the downtown 12th & Imperial, Gaslamp, Convention Center, Seaport Village, and Santa Fe Depot stations through Old Town and Mission Valley and from stations east of the Stadium to Santee. Fans may connect to the Green Line from all other Trolley lines.
There will be added Green Line service between Qualcomm Stadium and downtown before and after the parade. Enhanced pre-parade service begins at 8 a.m. Check http://www.sdmts.com/inside-mts/events/holiday-bowl-parade for more details.
Trains depart all stations every 15 minutes throughout the day. Enhanced Green Line service between the Convention Center area and Qualcomm Stadium will begin at 2:30 p.m. with trains departing every 7.5 minutes.
Fifteen-minute service will be maintained during the game and enhanced post-game service will be dispatched from the stadium toward downtown as needed. The last train toward downtown departs the stadium at 12:38 a.m.
Riders may purchise a MTS day pass for the trolley on their smartphone with the free MTS mTicket app. Theycan also buy day passes for one to four days at all trolley ticket machines. Commemorative day passes for the games are sold at select trolley stations. For game-day special service information, route maps, and schedules visit www.sdmts.com/bowlgames.
Game tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling TicketMaster at 1-800-745-3000 or by visiting SanDiegoBowlGames.com. They can also be purchased at Qualcomm Stadium, Window F on game day beginning at 9 a.m.
