| Game Name: | Arizona Bowl |
| Subheader: | 6th Arizona Bowl |
| Title Sponsor: | Offerpad |
| Date Game Played: | December 31 |
| Year Game Played: | 2020 |
| Football Season: | 2020 |
| Stadium: | Arizona Stadium |
| City: | Tucson, Arizona |
| Visitor School: | Ball State University |
| Visitor Name Short: | Ball State |
| Visitor Nickname: | Cardinals |
| Visitor Record: | 6–1 |
| Visitor Conference: | MAC |
| Visitor Coach: | Mike Neu |
| Visitor 1Q: | 27 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 0 |
| Home School: | San Jose State University |
| Home Name Short: | San Jose State |
| Home Nickname: | Spartans |
| Home Record: | 7–0 |
| Home Conference: | MWC |
| Home Rank Ap: | 19 |
| Home Rank Coaches: | 20 |
| Home Rank Cfp: | 22 |
| Home Coach: | Brent Brennan |
| Home 1Q: | 0 |
| Home 2Q: | 0 |
| Home 3Q: | 13 |
| Home 4Q: | 0 |
| Mvp: | Drew Plitt (QB, Ball State) & Bryce Cosby (S, Ball State)[1] |
| Odds: | San Jose State by 9[2] |
| Referee: | Joe Lehring (C-USA)[3] |
| Attendance: | 0 |
| Us Network: | CBS |
| Us Announcers: | Brad Nessler (play–by–play) Rick Neuheisel (analyst) Jenny Dell (sideline) |
| Different Next: | 2022 |
The 2020 Arizona Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 31, 2020, with kickoff at 2:00 p.m. EST (12:00 p.m. local MST).[4] It was the sixth edition of the Arizona Bowl, and was one of the 2020–21 bowl games concluding the 2020 FBS football season. On October 30, it was announced that the game would be played behind closed doors without spectators, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Arizona.[5] Sponsored by real estate agency Offerpad, the game was officially known as the Offerpad Arizona Bowl.
With the cancellation of the Sun Bowl, on December 10 it was announced that television coverage of the Arizona Bowl would be moved from CBS Sports Network to the CBS broadcast network.[6]
The game was played between teams from the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and the Mountain West Conference (MWC),[7] in the first year of a five-year tie-in for the two conferences with the Arizona Bowl.[8] [9]
See main article: 2020 Ball State Cardinals football team. Ball State accepted a bid to the Arizona Bowl on December 20, after winning the MAC Championship Game on December 18. The Cardinals entered the contest with a 6–1 record, having won six games in a row after an opening loss to Miami (OH), including a win against Buffalo for the conference championship. Ball State was seeking the first bowl game victory in program history. This contest marked their first appearance in the Arizona Bowl.
See main article: 2020 San Jose State Spartans football team. San Jose State accepted a bid to the Arizona Bowl following the Spartans' win in the Mountain West Championship Game on December 19. The Spartans entered the bowl with a 7–0 record and ranked No. 19 in the AP Poll, having won each of their six regular season games before defeating Boise State in the conference championship game. The Spartans were looking to complete their first undefeated season since 1939.[10] This was the first Arizona Bowl appearance by the Spartans, and their first game against Ball State.[11]