2023 LA Bowl explained

Game Name:LA Bowl
Subheader:3rd LA Bowl
Title Sponsor:Starco Brands
Title Sponsor Suffix:Hosted by Gronk
Date Game Played:December 16
Year Game Played:2023
Football Season:2023
Stadium:SoFi Stadium
City:Inglewood, California
Home School:Boise State University
Home Name Short:Boise State
Home Nickname:Broncos
Home Record:8–5
Home Conference:Mountain West
Home Coach:Spencer Danielson
Home 1Q:6
Home 2Q:10
Home 3Q:0
Home 4Q:6
Visitor School:University of California, Los Angeles
Visitor Name Short:UCLA
Visitor Nickname:Bruins
Visitor Record:7–5
Visitor Conference:Pac-12
Visitor Coach:Chip Kelly
Visitor 1Q:7
Visitor 2Q:0
Visitor 3Q:21
Visitor 4Q:7
Mvp:Ethan Garbers (QB, UCLA) & Darius Muasau (LB, UCLA)[1]
Odds:UCLA by 2.5[2]
Anthem:Rob Gronkowski and the New Directions Veterans Choir[3]
Referee:Gary Patterson (ACC)[4]
Attendance:32,780
Us Network:ABC
ESPN Radio
Us Announcers:Dave Flemming (play-by-play), Brock Osweiler (analyst), and Kayla Burton (sideline) (ABC)
Mike Couzens (play-by-play) and Tom Ramsey (analyst) (ESPN Radio)
Intl Network:ESPN Brazil
Intl Announcers:Vinicius Moura (play-by-play) and Deivis Chiodini (analyst)

The 2023 LA Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 16, 2023, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The third annual LA Bowl featured the Boise State Broncos of the Mountain West Conference and the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference. The game began at approximately 4:30 p.m. PST and was aired on ABC.[5] [6] The LA Bowl was one of the 2023–24 bowl games concluding the 2023 FBS football season. The game was sponsored by former National Football League player Rob Gronkowski and Starco Brands, and was officially known as the Starco Brands LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk.[7]

Teams

Consistent with conference tie-ins, the game featured the Boise State Broncos from the Mountain West Conference and the UCLA Bruins from the Pac-12 Conference.

This was the second meeting between Boise State and UCLA, as well as both teams' first appearance in the LA Bowl. The Bruins won their only prior meeting, defeating the Broncos, 38–7, on September 4, 1999.[8]

Boise State

See main article: 2023 Boise State Broncos football team.

After losing their first two games to a pair of Power Five opponents, including eventual College Football Playoff qualifier Washington, the Broncos alternated wins and losses to reach a record of just 4–5 after the first week of November. However, Boise State won their final three games in Mountain West play, which set up a three-way tie between them, UNLV, and San Jose State. Per Mountain West tiebreaker rules, an aggregate of different computer rankings were used to determine who would play in the Mountain West Championship, with UNLV and Boise State making the cut and San Jose State being left out.[9] Boise State soundly defeated UNLV, 44–20, to win the 2023 Mountain West conference title. The Broncos entered the LA Bowl with a record of 8–5.

UCLA

See main article: 2023 UCLA Bruins football team. This was UCLA's final game as a member of the Pac-12, as the Bruins committed to join the Big Ten Conference for the 2024 season.[10]

Led by true-freshman QB Dante Moore, the Bruins won their first three regular-season games, but suffered a 14–7 loss to Utah in their Pac-12 opener. Moore struggled mightily as the Bruins continued in Pac-12 play, throwing just three touchdowns vs. six interceptions. This led to his benching by head coach Chip Kelly in favor of junior Ethan Garbers.[11] UCLA went just 4–5 in Pac-12 play, although they did earn a 38–20 win over their traditional rival, USC, with Garbers at quarterback. After the conclusion of the regular season, Moore announced his intention to enter the NCAA transfer portal. UCLA entered the LA Bowl with a record of 7–5.

Game summary

Statistics

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Dominant Second Half Carries UCLA to 35-22 Victory Over Boise State in LA Bowl . mynewsla.com . December 16, 2023 . December 17, 2023.
  2. News: College football bowl schedule, game odds, point spreads for 2023-24. Sports Illustrated. James. Parks. December 11, 2023. December 12, 2023.
  3. Web site: Magliocchetti . Geoff . 2023-12-16 . WATCH: New England Patriots Legend Rob Gronkowski Sings National Anthem At His Own Bowl Game . 2023-12-16 . SI.com.
  4. News: 2023-24 bowl officiating assignments. footballzebras.com. Ben. Austro. December 3, 2023. December 5, 2023.
  5. Web site: Straka . Dean . 2023-24 college football bowl schedule, games, dates, locations, kickoff times, TV channels . CBS Sports . 30 June 2023.
  6. Lewis . Barry . 2023-24 College Football Bowl Schedule, Dates, Times Announced . Sports Illustrated . 30 June 2023.
  7. News: Move over Jimmy Kimmel, it's now the LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk . Joe . Reedy . Associated Press News . October 21, 2023 . October 28, 2023.
  8. Web site: Winsipedia - Boise State Broncos vs. UCLA Bruins . 2023-12-03 . Winsipedia.
  9. Web site: Spartans left out of league championship game . The Mercury News . 6 December 2023.
  10. News: J. Brady. McCollough. Bill. Plaschke. Ryan. Kartje. Ben. Bolch. USC and UCLA rock college sports by leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten. June 30, 2022. Los Angeles Times. July 6, 2022.
  11. Web site: Dante Moore Entering Transfer Portal . The Daily Bruin . 6 December 2023.