| Game Name: | Sun Bowl |
| Subheader: | 88th Sun Bowl |
| Title Sponsor: | Tony the Tiger |
| Date Game Played: | December 31 |
| Year Game Played: | 2021 |
| Football Season: | 2021 |
| Stadium: | Sun Bowl |
| City: | El Paso, Texas |
| Visitor School: | Washington State University |
| Visitor Name Short: | Washington State |
| Visitor Nickname: | Cougars |
| Visitor Record: | 7–5 |
| Visitor Conference: | Pac-12 |
| Visitor Coach: | Jake Dickert |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 14 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 7 |
| Home School: | Central Michigan University |
| Home Name Short: | Central Michigan |
| Home Nickname: | Chippewas |
| Home Record: | 84 |
| Home Conference: | MAC |
| Home Coach: | Jim McElwain |
| Home 1Q: | 13 |
| Home 2Q: | 8 |
| Home 3Q: | 0 |
| Home 4Q: | 3 |
| Mvp: | Lew Nichols III (RB, Central Michigan)[1] |
| Referee: | Larry Smith (Big Ten) |
| Attendance: | 34,540 |
| Us Network: | CBS |
| Us Announcers: | Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (Analyst), and Jamie Erdahl (Sideline) |
| Different Previous: | 2019 |
The 2021 Sun Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 31, 2021, with kickoff at 12:00 p.m. EST (10:00 a.m. local MST) and televised on CBS.[2] It was the 88th edition[3] of the Sun Bowl (87th playing, as the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic), and was one of the 2021–22 bowl games concluding the 2021 FBS football season. Sponsored by Kellogg's Frosted Flakes breakfast cereal, the game was officially known as the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl, after its mascot, Tony the Tiger.
On December 26, the Miami Hurricanes announced that they would not be able to play in the game, due to COVID-19 issues; organizers stated that they would try to secure a replacement team to face the Washington State Cougars.[4]
On December 27, the Central Michigan Chippewas were named as the Sun Bowl replacement team.[5] The Chippewas had originally been scheduled to face the Boise State Broncos in the Arizona Bowl, until Boise State withdrew from that bowl due to COVID-19 issues.[6]
The bowl has tie-ins with the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Pac-12 Conference. The originally planned matchup featured teams from those conferences. The withdrawal of the Miami Hurricanes, an ACC team, led to Central Michigan, a team from the Mid-American Conference (MAC), being selected to face Washington State of the Pac-12. This was the first time Central Michigan and Washington State played each other.[7]
See main article: 2021 Washington State Cougars football team.
Washington State finished their regular season with a 7–5 record, 6–3 in Pac-12 play. After losing three of their first four games, the Cougars won six of their final eight games. They faced one ranked opponent during the season, losing to Oregon in mid-November. Washington State had previously appeared in two Sun Bowls, winning the 2001 and 2015 editions.
See main article: 2021 Central Michigan Chippewas football team.
Central Michigan finished their regular season with an 8–4 record, 6–2 in MAC play. After losing three of their first five games, they had only a single loss in their final seven games. They did not face any ranked opponents during the season. This was the first Sun Bowl appearance for Central Michigan.[8]
The bowl's attendance was the lowest for a Sun Bowl since the 1982 edition.