| Game Name: | Cactus Bowl |
| Subheader: | 29th Cactus Bowl |
| Date Game Played: | December 26 |
| Year Game Played: | 2017 |
| Football Season: | 2017 |
| Stadium: | Chase Field |
| City: | Phoenix, Arizona |
| Visitor School: | Kansas State University |
| Visitor Name Short: | Kansas State |
| Visitor Nickname: | Wildcats |
| Visitor Record: | 7–5 |
| Visitor Conference: | Big 12 |
| Visitor Coach: | Bill Snyder |
| Visitor 1Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 14 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 14 |
| Home School: | University of California-Los Angeles |
| Home Name Short: | UCLA |
| Home Nickname: | Bruins |
| Home Record: | 6–6 |
| Home Conference: | Pac-12 |
| Home Coach: | Jedd Fisch |
| Home 1Q: | 3 |
| Home 2Q: | 14 |
| Home 3Q: | 0 |
| Home 4Q: | 0 |
| Odds: | Kansas State by 6[1] |
| Mvp: | Alex Delton (QB, Kansas State) & Denzel Goolsby (S, Kansas State)[2] |
| Referee: | Jerry Magallanes (ACC) |
| Attendance: | 32,859[3] |
| Payout: | TBD |
| Us Network: | ESPN/ESPN Radio |
| Us Announcers: | TV: Jason Benetti, Jordan Rodgers, Olivia Harlan Radio: Marc Kestecher, Tom Ramsey, Desmond Purnell |
| Different Previous: | 2016 |
| Different Next: | 2018 |
The 2017 Cactus Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on December 26, 2017, at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. The game was the twenty-ninth edition of the Cactus Bowl, which was originally known as the Copper Bowl, Insight Bowl and then as the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl.
The game was one of the 2017–18 bowl games concluding the 2017 FBS football season. The bowl featured the Kansas State Wildcats of the Big 12 Conference against the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference, and was the final game of the season for both teams.[4] Kansas State won, 35–17.
Kansas State and UCLA had met three times previously, most recently in the 2015 Alamo Bowl, with UCLA leading the series, 2–1.
See also: 2017 Kansas State Wildcats football team.
See also: 2017 UCLA Bruins football team. It was announced pregame that UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen had not cleared the concussion protocol and would not play.[5] UCLA named Devon Modster to the starting role in Rosen's absence.
| Statistics | KSU | UCLA |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 21 | 14 |
| Plays–yards | 66–423 | 59–364 |
| Rushes–yards | 49–344 | 25–69 |
| Passing yards | 79 | 295 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 10–17–1 | 21–34–0 |
| Time of possession | 35:07 | 24:43 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas State | Passing | 7/10, 52 yds, 1 TD | |
| Rushing | Alex Delton | 20 car, 158 yds, 3 TD | |
| Receiving | Dominique Heath | 5 rec, 49 yds, 1 TD | |
| UCLA | Passing | Devon Modster | 21/34, 295 yds, 2 TD |
| Rushing | Bolu Olorunfunmi | 12 car, 23 yds | |
| Receiving | 8 rec, 128 yds, 1 TD |