| Game Name: | Maaco Bowl Las Vegas |
| Date Game Played: | December 22 |
| Year Game Played: | 2010 |
| Football Season: | 2010 |
| Stadium: | Sam Boyd Stadium |
| City: | Whitney, Nevada |
| Visitor School: | University of Utah |
| Visitor Name Short: | Utah |
| Visitor Nickname: | Utes |
| Visitor Record: | 10–2 |
| Visitor Rank Ap: | 20 |
| Visitor Rank Coaches: | 19 |
| Visitor Rank Bcs: | 19 |
| Visitor Coach: | Kyle Whittingham |
| Visitor Conference: | Mountain West |
| Visitor 1Q: | 3 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 0 |
| Home School: | Boise State University |
| Home Name Short: | Boise State |
| Home Nickname: | Broncos |
| Home Record: | 11–1 |
| Home Rank Ap: | 10 |
| Home Rank Coaches: | 10 |
| Home Rank Bcs: | 10 |
| Home Coach: | Chris Petersen |
| Home Conference: | WAC |
| Home 1Q: | 0 |
| Home 2Q: | 16 |
| Home 3Q: | 7 |
| Home 4Q: | 3 |
| Mvp: | QB Kellen Moore, Boise State |
| Odds: | Boise St. by 16.5[1] |
| Anthem: | Boyz II Men |
| Referee: | Jack Folliard (Pac-10) |
| Attendance: | 41,923 |
| Payout: | 1 million |
| Us Network: | ESPN |
| Us Announcers: | Brent Musburger play-by-play Kirk Herbstreit color Tom Rinaldi sideline[2] |
| Ratings: | 3.3 / 5.36M |
The 2010 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas was an NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS post-season college football bowl game. The game was played Wednesday, December 22, 2010, at 5 p.m. PST at 40,000-seat Sam Boyd Stadium near Las Vegas, broadcast on ESPN. The game featured Utah against Boise State.[3] [4]
See also: 2010 Utah Utes football team.
Utah was one of the teams participating in the 2010 bowl. The Utes entered the game with the longest current bowl winning streak at nine games and had never lost a bowl game under current head coach Kyle Whittingham. Utah entered the game with a 10–2 overall record and a #19 ranking in the BCS poll. The Utes had played in the Las Vegas bowl twice before, defeating Fresno State 17–16 in 1999 and beating USC 10–6 in 2001. The 1999 victory over Fresno State started the nine game bowl winning streak.[3]
See also: 2010 Boise State Broncos football team.
Boise State was invited to the bowl after not enough Pac-10 teams were bowl-eligible to meet their contractual requirements. The #10 (BCS) Broncos entered the game with an 11–1 record, their only loss coming at Nevada on November 26; BSU split the WAC title with Nevada and Hawai'i. Before the Nevada game, they were in line for a possible at-large selection to a BCS bowl game. Even at 11–1, they were still eligible as an at-large selection but were not taken. The 2010 game marked BSU's first Maaco Bowl Las Vegas appearance. The Broncos entered with an all-time bowl record of 6–4; in their last bowl appearance, they defeated TCU in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl.
| Scoring Play | Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Quarter | |||
| UTAH - Joe Phillips 44-yard kick, 0:56 | UTAH 3–0 | ||
| 2nd Quarter | |||
| BSU - Doug Martin 84-yard run (Kyle Brotzman kick), 8:39 | BSU 7–3 | ||
| BSU - Kyle Brotzman 29-yard kick, 2:27 | BSU 10–3 | ||
| BSU - Kellen Moore 25-yard pass to Tyler Shoemaker (Two-point conversion failed), 0:18 | BSU 16–3 | ||
| 3rd Quarter | |||
| BSU - Kellen Moore 18-yard pass to Austin Pettis (Kyle Brotzman kick), 8:18 | BSU 23–3 | ||
| 4th Quarter | |||
| BSU - Kyle Brotzman 21-yard kick, 8:49 | BSU 26–3 | ||
| Statistics | Utah | Boise State |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 8 | 23 |
| Total offense, plays-yards | 53-198 | 77-543 |
| Rushes-yards (net) | 29-107 | 37-202 |
| Passes, Comp-Att-Yds | 10-24-91 | 29-40-341 |
| Fumbles-Interceptions | 3-0 | 3-1 |
| Time of Possession | 23:32 | 33:15 |
The two schools, which have been considered among the best non-AQ programs in the Football Bowl Subdivision, had previously met on six occasions. Boise State held a 4–2 advantage in prior matchups. The previous meeting between the two schools was a 36–3 win by the Broncos in 2006. That matchup was played in Salt Lake City. The Maaco Bowl Las Vegas marked the first time that the programs met in a bowl game.
Utah left the Mountain West Conference for the Pac-12 Conference after the season, while Boise State joined the MWC from the Western Athletic Conference.