| Game Name: | Poinsettia Bowl |
| Subheader: | 11th Poinsettia Bowl |
| Title Sponsor: | San Diego County Credit Union |
| Date Game Played: | December 23 |
| Year Game Played: | 2015 |
| Football Season: | 2015 |
| Stadium: | Qualcomm Stadium |
| City: | San Diego, California |
| Visitor School: | Boise State Broncos |
| Visitor Name Short: | Boise State |
| Visitor Nickname: | Broncos |
| Visitor Record: | 8–4 |
| Visitor Conference: | Mountain West |
| Visitor Coach: | Bryan Harsin |
| Visitor 1Q: | 21 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 10 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 10 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 14 |
| Home School: | Northern Illinois Huskies |
| Home Name Short: | Northern Illinois |
| Home Nickname: | Huskies |
| Home Record: | 8–5 |
| Home Conference: | MAC |
| Home Coach: | Rod Carey |
| Home 1Q: | 0 |
| Home 2Q: | 7 |
| Home 3Q: | 0 |
| Home 4Q: | 0 |
| Odds: | Boise State by 8[1] |
| Mvp: | Offensive: Boise State QB Brett Rypien[2] Defensive: Boise State DE Kamalei Correa |
| Referee: | Jeff Hilyer (Sun Belt) |
| Attendance: | 21,501 |
| Payout: | $612,500 |
| Us Network: | ESPN/ESPN Radio |
The 2015 Poinsettia Bowl was a college football bowl game that was played on December 23, 2015 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. Boise State Broncos from the Mountain West Conference defeated the Northern Illinois Huskies from the Mid-American Conference.[3] It was one of the 2015–16 bowl games that concluded the 2015 FBS football season. The game started at 1:30 p.m. PST and was televised on ESPN. Sponsored by San Diego County Credit Union, the game is officially known as the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.
The Boise State Broncos from the Mountain West Conference defeated the Northern Illinois Huskies from the Mid-American Conference.
See also: 2015 Boise State Broncos football team. Following Boise State's regular season ending win over San Jose State, where they finished the 2015 regular season 8–4, 5–3 in West Division play to finish in a four way tie for 2nd place, the Poinsettia Bowl expressed their interest in inviting the Broncos.[4] The Las Vegas Bowl held the first selection from the Mountain West but also had an agreement to pick BYU in either 2015 or 2019. When Las Vegas chose to invite BYU, the Mountain West's first selection fell to the Poinsettia Bowl. The Poinsettia Bowl was not obligated to take the Mountain West Champions, San Diego State, and could choose any Mountain West team they wanted. They chose the Broncos, who made their second Poinsettia Bowl appearance and first appearance since 2008 where they lost to TCU 17–16 to end their undefeated season.
See also: 2015 Northern Illinois Huskies football team. Had Army become bowl eligible, they would have been invited to the Poinsettia Bowl. When they failed to become bowl eligible, the selection fell to the Mid-American Conference. The Northern Illinois Huskies were selected to set up a match-up of two of the winningest programs since 2010. The Huskies finished the regular season 8–5, 6–2 in West Division play to finish in a four way tie for the division title. They represented the West Division in the MAC Championship Game where they lost to Bowling Green. It was the Huskies sixth consecutive MAC Championship Game appearance. It was the Huskies third Poinsettia Bowl appearance with losses in 2006 and 2013.
Source: [5]
| Statistics | BSU | NIU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 35 | 7 |
| Plays–yards | 96–654 | 51–33 |
| Rushes–yards | 56–227 | 30–(-5) |
| Passing yards | 377 | 38 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 29–40–1 | 7–21–0 |
| Time of possession | 43:13 | 16:47 |