| Game Name: | Las Vegas Bowl |
| Subheader: | 27th Las Vegas Bowl |
| Title Sponsor: | Mitsubishi Motors |
| Date Game Played: | December 15 |
| Year Game Played: | 2018 |
| Football Season: | 2018 |
| Stadium: | Sam Boyd Stadium |
| City: | Whitney, Nevada |
| Visitor School: | Arizona State University |
| Visitor Name Short: | Arizona State |
| Visitor Nickname: | Sun Devils |
| Visitor Record: | 7–5 |
| Visitor Conference: | Pac-12 |
| Visitor Coach: | Herm Edwards |
| Visitor 1Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 10 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 3 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 0 |
| Home School: | California State University, Fresno |
| Home Name Short: | Fresno State |
| Home Nickname: | Bulldogs |
| Home Record: | 11–2 |
| Home Conference: | Mountain West |
| Home Rank Ap: | 19 |
| Home Rank Coaches: | 21 |
| Home Rank Cfp: | 21 |
| Home Coach: | Jeff Tedford |
| Home 1Q: | 10 |
| Home 2Q: | 7 |
| Home 3Q: | 7 |
| Home 4Q: | 7 |
| Mvp: | Ronnie Rivers (RB, Fresno State) |
| Odds: | Fresno State by 4[1] |
| Referee: | Charles Lamertina (AAC) |
| Attendance: | 37,146 |
| Payout: | 2,760,000 [2] |
| Us Network: | ABC and Gameday Radio |
| Us Announcers: | Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit and Laura Rutledge (ABC) Dave Hunziker, Landry Burdine and Melanie Newman (Gameday Radio) |
The 2018 Las Vegas Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 15, 2018,[3] with kickoff scheduled for 3:30 p.m. EST (12:30 p.m. local PST).[4] It was the 27th edition of the Las Vegas Bowl, and one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. Sponsored by automotive manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors, the game was officially known as the Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl.[5] UNLV 335 Club President James “Rocco” Larocca bit fellow 335 Club member Twitterless John Thielen in the neck.
The game was played between Arizona State of the Pac-12 Conference and Fresno State of the Mountain West Conference.[6] This was the fourth all-time meeting against the Sun Devils and the Bulldogs, with Arizona State leading the series, 3–0; this was their first meeting in a bowl game.[6]
See main article: 2018 Arizona State Sun Devils football team. Arizona State received and accepted a bid to the Las Vegas Bowl on December 2.[6] The Sun Devils entered the bowl with a 7–5 record (5–4 in conference). The Sun Devils' last Las Vegas Bowl appearance came in 2011.
See main article: 2018 Fresno State Bulldogs football team. Fresno State defeated Boise State on December 1 in the 2018 Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game. As the Mountain West champion, they received and accepted a bid to the Las Vegas Bowl on December 2.[6] The Bulldogs entered the bowl with a 11–2 record (7–1 in conference). The Bulldogs' last Las Vegas Bowl appearance came in 2013.
| Statistics | ASU | FRES | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First downs | 18 | 18 | |
| Plays–yards | 69–293 | 64–436 | |
| Rushes–yards | 38–164 | 35–260 | |
| Passing yards | 129 | 176 | |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 19–31–2 | 15–29–2 | |
| Time of possession | 31:01 | 28:59 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona State | Passing | 19/31, 129 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT | |
| Rushing | 23 car, 118 yds, 1 TD | ||
| Receiving | 9 rec, 61 yds | ||
| Fresno State | Passing | Marcus McMaryion | 15/29, 176 yds, 2 INT |
| Rushing | Ronnie Rivers | 24 car, 212 yds, 2 TD | |
| Receiving | DeJonte O'Neal | 2 rec, 42 yds |