| Game Name: | Cactus Bowl |
| Subheader: | 28th Cactus Bowl |
| Title Sponsor: | Motel 6 |
| Date Game Played: | December 27 |
| Year Game Played: | 2016 |
| Football Season: | 2016 |
| Stadium: | Chase Field |
| City: | Phoenix, Arizona |
| Visitor School: | Boise State University |
| Visitor Name Short: | Boise State |
| Visitor Nickname: | Broncos |
| Visitor Record: | 10–2 |
| Visitor Conference: | Mountain West |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 6 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 6 |
| Home School: | Baylor University |
| Home Name Short: | Baylor |
| Home Nickname: | Bears |
| Home Record: | 6–6 |
| Home Conference: | Big 12 |
| Home Coach: | Jim Grobe |
| Home 1Q: | 7 |
| Home 2Q: | 14 |
| Home 3Q: | 3 |
| Home 4Q: | 7 |
| Odds: | Boise State by 8[1] |
| Mvp: | Offensive: Baylor WR K. D. Cannon Defensive: Baylor DE Tyrone Hunt |
| Referee: | Mike Roche (American) |
| Attendance: | 33,328 |
| Payout: | 3,325,000[2] |
| Us Network: | ESPN/ESPN Radio |
| Us Announcers: | TV: Rece Davis, Joey Galloway, David Pollack, Molly McGrath Radio: Clay Matvick, Dusty Dvoracek, Dawn Davenport |
| Different Previous: | 2016 (Jan) |
| Different Next: | 2017 |
The 2016 Cactus Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on December 27, 2016 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. This was the twenty-eighth edition of the Cactus Bowl, which was previously known as the Copper Bowl, the Insight.com Bowl, the Insight Bowl, and the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. Sponsored by the Motel 6 chain of budget motels, the game is officially known as the Motel 6 Cactus Bowl.
The bowl featured the Baylor Bears of the Big 12 Conference against the Boise State Broncos of the Mountain West Conference, and was the concluding game of the season for both teams.
The game features tie-ins from the Big 12 Conference and the Mountain West Conference.
See also: 2016 Baylor Bears football team and 2016 Big 12 Conference football season. Baylor opened the year 6–0 to become bowl eligible. They raised in the polls to as high as #8 in the AP poll and a tie for #6 in the coaches poll. However, the Bears would finish the season on a six-game losing streak to finish in the season 6–6. The team had to also deal all season with the ongoing Baylor University football scandal.
See also: 2016 Boise State Broncos football team and 2016 Mountain West Conference football season. Boise State opened the season 7–0 and climbed to #13 in the AP and coaches poll before losing to Wyoming and dropping in the polls. The Broncos won their next three games and rose back up to #19 in the polls and were in position to be the highest ranked team from the Group of 5 until a season ending loss to Air Force which dropped them out of the polls, the Mountain West Championship Game, and contention for the Group of 5 spot in a New Years Six bowl. They were selected for the Cactus Bowl after the Pac-12 Conference failed to have enough bowl eligible teams to fill their spot in the game and the Mountain West Conference received a backup spot.
| Statistics | Boise St. | Baylor |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 25 | 29 |
| Plays-yards | 89–388 | 83–515 |
| Third down efficiency | 8–19 | 8–15 |
| Rushes-yards | 38–83 (2.2) | 43–140 (3.3) |
| Passing yards | 305 | 375 |
| Passing, Comp-Att-Int | 32–51–2 | 29–40–1 |
| Time of Possession | 32:55 | 27:05 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boise St. | Passing | Brett Rypien | 32/51, 305 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT |
| Rushing | 19 car, 46 yds | ||
| Receiving | Cedrick Wilson | 6 rec, 88 yds, 1 TD | |
| Baylor | Passing | Zach Smith | 28/39, 375 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT |
| Rushing | Terence Williams | 25 car, 103 yds | |
| Receiving | KD Cannon | 14 rec, 226 yds, 2 TD |