| Game Name: | First Responder Bowl |
| Subheader: | 11th First Responder Bowl |
| Title Sponsor: | Servpro |
| Date Game Played: | December 26 |
| Year Game Played: | 2020 |
| Football Season: | 2020 |
| Stadium: | Gerald J. Ford Stadium |
| City: | Dallas, Texas |
| Visitor School: | University of Louisiana at Lafayette |
| Visitor Name Short: | Louisiana |
| Visitor Nickname: | Ragin' Cajuns |
| Visitor Record: | 9–1 |
| Visitor Conference: | Sun Belt |
| Visitor Rank Ap: | 16 |
| Visitor Rank Coaches: | 17 |
| Visitor Rank Cfp: | 19 |
| Visitor Coach: | Billy Napier |
| Visitor 1Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 10 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 7 |
| Home School: | University of Texas at San Antonio |
| Home Name Short: | UTSA |
| Home Nickname: | Roadrunners |
| Home Record: | 7–4 |
| Home Conference: | C–USA |
| Home Coach: | Jeff Traylor |
| Home 1Q: | 0 |
| Home 2Q: | 7 |
| Home 3Q: | 14 |
| Home 4Q: | 3 |
| Mvp: | Elijah Mitchell (RB, Louisiana)[1] |
| Odds: | Louisiana by 14[2] |
| Referee: | Riley Johnson (ACC)[3] |
| Attendance: | 3,512 |
| Us Network: | ABC |
| Us Announcers: | Anish Shroff (play-by-play), Tom Luginbill (analyst) and Quint Kessenich (sideline) |
| Intl Network: | ESPN Deportes |
The 2020 First Responder Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 26, 2020, with kickoff at 3:30 p.m. EST (2:30 p.m. local CST) on ABC.[4] It was the 11th edition of the First Responder Bowl, and was one of the 2020–21 bowl games concluding the 2020 FBS football season. Sponsored by fire and water cleanup and restoration company Servpro, the game was officially known as the Servpro First Responder Bowl.
Based on conference tie-ins, the First Responder Bowl was expected to feature teams from the American Athletic Conference (AAC), Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), or the Big 12 Conference.[5] The announced contest matches Louisiana of the Sun Belt Conference against UTSA of Conference USA (C-USA). This was the first meeting of the two programs.[6]
See main article: 2020 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team. Louisiana accepted their bid to the First Responder Bowl on December 20, 2020.[7] The Ragin' Cajuns entered the bowl with a record of 9–1 (7–1 in conference play) and ranked 16th in the AP Poll. Their only loss of the season was to Coastal Carolina, who they were due to face in a rematch in the Sun Belt Championship Game, but it was cancelled due to COVID-19 effects within the Coastal Carolina program.[8]
See main article: 2020 UTSA Roadrunners football team. UTSA accepted their bid to the First Responder Bowl on December 15, 2020.[9] The Roadrunners had originally accepted a bid to play SMU in the Frisco Bowl, but that game was canceled due to COVID-19 problems at SMU.[10] The Roadrunners entered the bowl with a record of 7–4 (5–2 in conference play). They faced one ranked team during the season, losing to BYU in October.
During the week prior to the game, UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor tested positive for COVID-19, and thus did not accompany the team to Dallas. Associate head coach and offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. served as the Roadrunners' coach for the game.[11]