TEMPE, Ariz. – The Arizona State Sun Devils will face the No. 21 Fresno State Bulldogs in the 27thedition of Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 15 at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., Las Vegas Bowl executive director John Saccenti announced on Sunday afternoon.
ASU will play in its 31st bowl game overall and the team's seventh bowl appearance in the last eight seasons. It will be the Sun Devils' second appearance in the Las Vegas Bowl, joining its 2011 appearance.
The 27th Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl will be played Saturday, Dec. 15, at 12:30 p.m. PT (3:30 p.m. ET) at Sam Boyd Stadium. The game will be televised nationally on ABC, featuring the top choice from the Mountain West against the sixth pick from the Pac-12 Conference. Fresno State will serve as the home team in the contest.
"Arizona State University and Sun Devil nation will enjoy the Las Vegas Bowl experience," Vice President for University Athletics Ray Anderson said. "It's a fantastic destination for our program and fan base. It's even within convenient driving distance of so many of our fans. The Las Vegas bowl committee and community put on a first-class experience for everyone."
Tickets will go on sale to the general public at 9 a.m. on Dec. 3, and can be purchased by calling the Sun Devil Athletics Ticket Office at 480-727-0000 or by clicking here. Football season ticket holders and Sun Devil Club members were rewarded with the exclusive right to request bowl tickets shortly after ASU's victory over UCLA to become bowl eligible.
Fans are encouraged to support Sun Devil Athletics and purchase tickets through the Sun Devil Athletic Ticket Office as opposed to purchasing tickets through the bowl itself. Information on student ticketing will be available on Tuesday, Dec. 4.
"The Las Vegas Bowl invitation provides a tremendous opportunity for our team and coaching staff to compete against a quality program and close out the 2018 season," Head Coach Herm Edwards said. "We look forward to representing Arizona State University and our fans in Las Vegas. A bowl game is a reward for a good season and I am happy for our players and coaching staff to be able to have this experience."
The Sun Devils are coming off a 7-5 campaign that saw the program finish second in the Pac-12 South under first year head coach Herm Edwards.
Coach Edwards is the first ASU football coach in the Pac-10/12 era to beat both Southern California teams and Arizona in his first season. Manny Wilkins joined Taylor Kelly (2013) and Jake Plummer (1996) as the only other ASU quarterbacks to accomplish the feat in their careers.
Eno Benjamin – a Doak Walker Award semifinalist - will enter the game within 42 yards of the Sun Devil single season school rushing record of 1,565 yards set by Woody Green in 1972. Benjamin has already set the school single-season record for carries and enters the game ranked third nationally in total rushing yards, seventh in rushing touchdowns and ninth in all-purpose yards.
The contest will also mark the final game in the career of wide receiver N'Keal Harry. The Hornung Award finalist and Biletnikoff Award semifinalist announced his intention to forgo his senior campaign and enter the 2019 NFL Draft following the conclusion of this season.
Harry is third in program history in both career receptions (213) and career receiving yards(2,889). At 5.76 receptions per game in his career, Harry is third among the NCAA's active career leaders in the category. His 78.7 career receiving yards per game are fifth among all active players. His 213 career receptions are 7th among all active players but first among players that are not seniors. All six players ahead of him in the category are seniors.
The Sun Devils have allowed just 25.1 points per game this season, good for 49th nationally. A year ago, ASU was 103rd nationally at 32.8 points per game and had finished 99th or worse in three consecutive seasons prior to the marked improvement this year.
This will be the fourth matchup between ASU and Fresno State in history, though it will be the first one in the modern era of college football. The two teams played in 1931, 1933 and 1941 – all Sun Devil victories.
"This will be a rare matchup of programs from two historic programs from the West who have not met on the field in nearly eight decades," Saccenti said. "Fresno State's impressive season continued with a big win in the snow up in Boise while Arizona State made national news with its turnaround this fall under Herm Edwards. Neither team has been here in a while so we are excited to host the Bulldogs and Sun Devils and their tremendous fan bases for another great bowl week in Las Vegas."
With the Mountain West Championship game in the balance in overtime on a snow covered field, sophomore running back Ronnie Rivers skated in from one-yard on an option pitch from senior quarterback Marcus McMaryion for a touchdown to give Fresno State a 19-16 win over Boise State, its third Mountain West title in just seven seasons in the league.
Fresno State has recorded 11 wins for the sixth time in program history and have never recorded 12 wins in a year. The Bulldogs have won 20 of their last 24 games and have a nation-leading streak of 24 straight games holding opponents under 30 points.
Held every December since 1992, the Las Vegas Bowl has boasted sold-out attendance for eight of the last 13 years at Sam Boyd Stadium, including the second-largest team sporting event crowd in state history of 42,213 people in 2015.
This will mark the sixth consecutive year and seventh time overall that the Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl will appear on ABC. It will be the seventh consecutive Saturday kickoff and 12th in the event's history. It will also be the bowl's 12th day game. The Las Vegas Bowl will be heard throughout the country and overseas by Sports USA and along the American Forces Radio Network. The Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl is one of 14 bowl games owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN.
Last year's edition saw No. 25 Boise State defeat Oregon 38-28 in front of the ninth-largest crowd in history. First played in 1992, it is the 16th-oldest active FBS bowl game.
Ticket Link: https://oss.ticketmaster.com/aps/sundevils/EN/link/buy/details/18fbvb
Can't make it to the game in Las Vegas and want to help send a military family to the game? Choose Donate as your delivery method. VetTix will help distribute donated tickets on your behalf.
ASU will play in its 31st bowl game overall and the team's seventh bowl appearance in the last eight seasons. It will be the Sun Devils' second appearance in the Las Vegas Bowl, joining its 2011 appearance.
The 27th Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl will be played Saturday, Dec. 15, at 12:30 p.m. PT (3:30 p.m. ET) at Sam Boyd Stadium. The game will be televised nationally on ABC, featuring the top choice from the Mountain West against the sixth pick from the Pac-12 Conference. Fresno State will serve as the home team in the contest.
"Arizona State University and Sun Devil nation will enjoy the Las Vegas Bowl experience," Vice President for University Athletics Ray Anderson said. "It's a fantastic destination for our program and fan base. It's even within convenient driving distance of so many of our fans. The Las Vegas bowl committee and community put on a first-class experience for everyone."
Tickets will go on sale to the general public at 9 a.m. on Dec. 3, and can be purchased by calling the Sun Devil Athletics Ticket Office at 480-727-0000 or by clicking here. Football season ticket holders and Sun Devil Club members were rewarded with the exclusive right to request bowl tickets shortly after ASU's victory over UCLA to become bowl eligible.
Fans are encouraged to support Sun Devil Athletics and purchase tickets through the Sun Devil Athletic Ticket Office as opposed to purchasing tickets through the bowl itself. Information on student ticketing will be available on Tuesday, Dec. 4.
"The Las Vegas Bowl invitation provides a tremendous opportunity for our team and coaching staff to compete against a quality program and close out the 2018 season," Head Coach Herm Edwards said. "We look forward to representing Arizona State University and our fans in Las Vegas. A bowl game is a reward for a good season and I am happy for our players and coaching staff to be able to have this experience."
The Sun Devils are coming off a 7-5 campaign that saw the program finish second in the Pac-12 South under first year head coach Herm Edwards.
Coach Edwards is the first ASU football coach in the Pac-10/12 era to beat both Southern California teams and Arizona in his first season. Manny Wilkins joined Taylor Kelly (2013) and Jake Plummer (1996) as the only other ASU quarterbacks to accomplish the feat in their careers.
Eno Benjamin – a Doak Walker Award semifinalist - will enter the game within 42 yards of the Sun Devil single season school rushing record of 1,565 yards set by Woody Green in 1972. Benjamin has already set the school single-season record for carries and enters the game ranked third nationally in total rushing yards, seventh in rushing touchdowns and ninth in all-purpose yards.
The contest will also mark the final game in the career of wide receiver N'Keal Harry. The Hornung Award finalist and Biletnikoff Award semifinalist announced his intention to forgo his senior campaign and enter the 2019 NFL Draft following the conclusion of this season.
Harry is third in program history in both career receptions (213) and career receiving yards(2,889). At 5.76 receptions per game in his career, Harry is third among the NCAA's active career leaders in the category. His 78.7 career receiving yards per game are fifth among all active players. His 213 career receptions are 7th among all active players but first among players that are not seniors. All six players ahead of him in the category are seniors.
The Sun Devils have allowed just 25.1 points per game this season, good for 49th nationally. A year ago, ASU was 103rd nationally at 32.8 points per game and had finished 99th or worse in three consecutive seasons prior to the marked improvement this year.
This will be the fourth matchup between ASU and Fresno State in history, though it will be the first one in the modern era of college football. The two teams played in 1931, 1933 and 1941 – all Sun Devil victories.
"This will be a rare matchup of programs from two historic programs from the West who have not met on the field in nearly eight decades," Saccenti said. "Fresno State's impressive season continued with a big win in the snow up in Boise while Arizona State made national news with its turnaround this fall under Herm Edwards. Neither team has been here in a while so we are excited to host the Bulldogs and Sun Devils and their tremendous fan bases for another great bowl week in Las Vegas."
With the Mountain West Championship game in the balance in overtime on a snow covered field, sophomore running back Ronnie Rivers skated in from one-yard on an option pitch from senior quarterback Marcus McMaryion for a touchdown to give Fresno State a 19-16 win over Boise State, its third Mountain West title in just seven seasons in the league.
Fresno State has recorded 11 wins for the sixth time in program history and have never recorded 12 wins in a year. The Bulldogs have won 20 of their last 24 games and have a nation-leading streak of 24 straight games holding opponents under 30 points.
Held every December since 1992, the Las Vegas Bowl has boasted sold-out attendance for eight of the last 13 years at Sam Boyd Stadium, including the second-largest team sporting event crowd in state history of 42,213 people in 2015.
This will mark the sixth consecutive year and seventh time overall that the Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl will appear on ABC. It will be the seventh consecutive Saturday kickoff and 12th in the event's history. It will also be the bowl's 12th day game. The Las Vegas Bowl will be heard throughout the country and overseas by Sports USA and along the American Forces Radio Network. The Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl is one of 14 bowl games owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN.
Last year's edition saw No. 25 Boise State defeat Oregon 38-28 in front of the ninth-largest crowd in history. First played in 1992, it is the 16th-oldest active FBS bowl game.
Ticket Link: https://oss.ticketmaster.com/aps/sundevils/EN/link/buy/details/18fbvb
Can't make it to the game in Las Vegas and want to help send a military family to the game? Choose Donate as your delivery method. VetTix will help distribute donated tickets on your behalf.