LAS VEGAS BOWL 25 NOTES

Posted December 18, 2016 | lasvegasbowl

LAS VEGAS BOWL 25 NOTES (D. 17, 2016)

• The 25th Las Vegas Bowl saw Mountain West champion San Diego State rally to score 34 unanswered points and defeat at-large team Houston 34-10
• SDSU senior Donnel Pumphrey earned the Rossi T. Ralenkotter Most Valuable Player Trophy by rushing for 115 yards on 19 carries, including a 32-yard touchdown, and adding one reception for 26 yards. Pumphrey’s 126 yards tied for the 11^th-most in Las Vegas Bowl history
• The senior, who was playing in front of his hometown of Las Vegas for his final collegiate game, came into the day needing 108 yards to pass Wisconsin’s Ron Dayne as the leading rusher in college football history. His 115 yards gave Pumphrey a final total of 6,405
• With the win, the Mountain West improved to 10-7 all-time in the Las Vegas Bowl but notched the first victory by a team from the league since Boise State downed Washington 28-26 in 2012
• SDSU improved to 1-1 in the Las Vegas Bowl in its first appearance in the game since falling to North Carolina in 1998
• Aztec head coach Rocky Long improved to 1-2 in the Las Vegas Bowl as he lost his first two trips while leading New Mexico in 2002 and 2003
• Houston came into the game as an at-large selection and at-large teams fell to 4-3 at the Las Vegas Bowl. The Cougars were the first American Athletic Conference team and first Texas program to appear in the Las Vegas Bowl
• The teams’ quarterbacks were both efficient with their passing as Greg Ward Jr. was third in Las Vegas Bowl history with a .735 clip (25 of34) while Christian Chapman ranked fourth with .714 (10-14). Chapman’s 14 attempts were the second-fewest for any Las Vegas Bowl team and his 10 completions tied for fourth-fewest
• SDSU finished with seven sacks, which tied a Las Vegas Bowl record set by Nevada in 1996 when the Wolf Pack downed Ball State 18-15
• Ward broke the LVB record for interceptions thrown with four, besting Tanner Mangum of BYU who threw three in 2015 vs. Utah
• Ward tied BYU’s Max Hall for second place in a Las Vegas Bowl with 56 total plays and second with 286 all-purpose yards
• SDSU PK John Baron made both of his field goal attempts to tie for fourth-most in LVB history
• SDSU DB Ron Smith became the sixth person in LVB history to return an interception for a touchdown when he took it back 54 yards, which ranked as the third-longest in the event’s history
• Houston tied for the seventh-fewest net offensive yards in a LVB with 254 while SDSU was ninth with 255
• The teams combined for just five accepted penalties on the day. Houston tied the LVB record with just two while SDSU tied for fourth with just three. UH’s 10 penalty yards tied the bowl’s record set by Nevada in 1992 and Washington in 2012
• The teams combined to go 5-5 in the red zone, including 3-3 by SDSU
• The 25th Las Vegas Bowl saw Mountain West champion San Diego State rally to score 34 unanswered points and defeat at-large team Houston 34-10
• SDSU senior Donnel Pumphrey earned the Rossi T. Ralenkotter Most Valuable Player Trophy by rushing for 115 yards on 19 carries, including a 32-yard touchdown, and adding one reception for 26 yards. Pumphrey’s 126 yards tied for the 11^th-most in Las Vegas Bowl history
• The senior, who was playing in front of his hometown of Las Vegas for his final collegiate game, came into the day needing 108 yards to pass Wisconsin’s Ron Dayne as the leading rusher in college football history. His 115 yards gave Pumphrey a final total of 6,405
• With the win, the Mountain West improved to 10-7 all-time in the Las Vegas Bowl but notched the first victory by a team from the league since Boise State downed Washington 28-26 in 2012
• SDSU improved to 1-1 in the Las Vegas Bowl in its first appearance in the game since falling to North Carolina in 1998
• Aztec head coach Rocky Long improved to 1-2 in the Las Vegas Bowl as he lost his first two trips while leading New Mexico in 2002 and 2003
• Houston came into the game as an at-large selection and at-large teams fell to 4-3 at the Las Vegas Bowl. The Cougars were the first American Athletic Conference team and first Texas program to appear in the Las Vegas Bowl
• The teams’ quarterbacks were both efficient with their passing as Greg Ward Jr. was third in Las Vegas Bowl history with a .735 clip (25 of34) while Christian Chapman ranked fourth with .714 (10-14). Chapman’s 14 attempts were the second-fewest for any Las Vegas Bowl team and his 10 completions tied for fourth-fewest
• SDSU finished with seven sacks, which tied a Las Vegas Bowl record set by Nevada in 1996 when the Wolf Pack downed Ball State 18-15
• Ward broke the LVB record for interceptions thrown with four, besting Tanner Mangum of BYU who threw three in 2015 vs. Utah
• Ward tied BYU’s Max Hall for second place in a Las Vegas Bowl with 56 total plays and second with 286 all-purpose yards
• SDSU PK John Baron made both of his field goal attempts to tie for fourth-most in LVB history
• SDSU DB Ron Smith became the sixth person in LVB history to return an interception for a touchdown when he took it back 54 yards, which ranked as the third-longest in the event’s history
• Houston tied for the seventh-fewest net offensive yards in a LVB with 254 while SDSU was ninth with 255
• The teams combined for just five accepted penalties on the day. Houston tied the LVB record with just two while SDSU tied for fourth with just three. UH’s 10 penalty yards tied the bowl’s record set by Nevada in 1992 and Washington in 2012
• The teams combined to go 5-5 in the red zone, including 3-3 by SDSU