The 2016 Holiday Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game, played at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, on December 27, 2016. This was the last time the Holiday Bowl was played at Qualcomm Stadium. The game was played at SDCCU Stadium, the home of the San Diego State Aztecs. The 39th edition of the Holiday Bowl featured the Minnesota Golden Gophers of the Big Ten Conference versus the Washington State Cougars of the Pac-12 Conference. Sponsored by small business loan company National Funding, the game is officially known as the National Funding Holiday Bowl.
Teams
Minnesota
This was Minnesota's first appearance in the Holiday Bowl. On December 15, Minnesota players threatened to boycott all football activity, including participation in the 2016 Holiday Bowl, in protest against a decision to suspend ten players from the team. The suspension was made as a result of school investigation into sexual assault charges from the beginning of school year. The legal process had already run its course, with no charges filed. On December 17, the Golden Gophers ended their boycott and announced they would play.
Washington State
This was Washington State's third appearance in the Holiday Bowl, having lost to #14 Brigham Young in 1981, and having defeated #5 Texas in 2003.
Game summary Scoring summary
Statistics Statistics MINN WSU First downs 17 16 Plays-yards 61-279 74-303 Third down efficiency 3-12 7-19 Rushes-yards 41-150 23-39 Passing yards 129 264 Passing, Comp-Att-Int 11-20-0 30-51-1 Time of Possession 28:54 31:06
Team Category Player StatisticsMINN Passing Mitch Leidner 11/20, 129 yds, 1 TD Rushing Rodney Smith 17 car, 74 yds, 1 TD Receiving Drew Wolitarsky 5 rec, 73 ydsWSU Passing Luke Falk 30/51, 264 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing Gerard Wicks 5 car, 26 yds Receiving Robert Lewis 6 rec, 86 yds
References