| Game Name: | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl |
| Subheader: | 22nd Famous Idaho Potato Bowl |
| Date Game Played: | December 21 |
| Year Game Played: | 2018 |
| Football Season: | 2018 |
| Stadium: | Albertsons Stadium |
| City: | Boise, Idaho |
| Visitor School: | Western Michigan University |
| Visitor Name Short: | Western Michigan |
| Visitor Nickname: | Broncos |
| Visitor Record: | 7–5 |
| Visitor Conference: | MAC |
| Visitor Coach: | Tim Lester |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 10 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 8 |
| Home School: | Brigham Young University |
| Home Name Short: | BYU |
| Home Nickname: | Cougars |
| Home Record: | 6–6 |
| Home Conference: | Independent |
| Home Coach: | Kalani Sitake |
| Home 1Q: | 7 |
| Home 2Q: | 0 |
| Home 3Q: | 28 |
| Home 4Q: | 14 |
| Mvp: | Zach Wilson (QB, BYU) |
| Odds: | BYU by 12[1] |
| Referee: | Jeremy Parker (Sun Belt) |
| Attendance: | 18,711 |
| Payout: | 950,000 [2] |
| Us Network: | ESPN and Gameday Radio |
| Us Announcers: | Roy Philpott, Tom Ramsey and Alex Corddry (ESPN) Scott Garrard, Hans Olsen and Chris Lewis (Gameday Radio) |
| Different Next: | 2020 (Jan.) |
The 2018 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 21, 2018.[3] It was the 22nd edition of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, and one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. The game was sponsored by the Idaho Potato Commission.
The game matched the Western Michigan Broncos, from the Mid-American Conference, and the BYU Cougars, an independent team. The programs previously had met five times, most recently in 1970, with BYU holding a 3–2 edge.[4]
See main article: 2018 Western Michigan Broncos football team. Western Michigan received and accepted a bid to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on December 2.[5] The Broncos entered the bowl with a 7–5 record (5–3 in conference). This was Western Michigan's second appearance in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, having lost to Air Force in the 2014 edition.
See main article: 2018 BYU Cougars football team. BYU received and accepted a bid to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on December 2.[5] The independent Cougars entered the bowl with a 6–6 record. BYU became the first independent team to play in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
Zach Wilson won Potato bowl MVP after a stellar performance completing all 18 of his passes for 317 yards and 4 touchdowns.[6]
| Statistics | WMU | BYU | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First downs | 16 | 22 | |
| Plays–yards | 76–313 | 52–490 | |
| Rushes–yards | 39–138 | 33–132 | |
| Passing yards | 175 | 358 | |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 20–37–1 | 19–19–0 | |
| Time of possession | 35:21 | 24:39 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Michigan | Passing | 20/36, 175 yds, 1 INT | |
| Rushing | Jamauri Bogan | 13 car, 62 yds, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | 2 rec, 61 yds | ||
| BYU | Passing | 18/18, 317 yds, 4 TD | |
| Rushing | Riley Burt | 13 car, 110 yds, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Dylan Collie | 6 rec, 124 yds, 2 TD |