2016 Holiday Bowl

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.

2016 National Funding Holiday Bowl
39th Holiday Bowl
Minnesota Golden Gophers Washington State Cougars (8–4) (8–4) Big Ten Pac-12 17 12 Head coach:  Tracy Claeys Head coach:  Mike Leach
1 2 3 4 Total Minnesota 0 3 7 7 17 Washington State 3 3 0 6 12
Date	December 27, 2016
Season	2016
Stadium	Qualcomm Stadium
Location	San Diego, California
MVP	Offense: Minnesota RB Rodney Smith Defense: Minnesota LB Blake Cashman
Favorite	Washington State by 10
Referee	Gary Patterson (ACC)
Attendance	48,704
Payout	US$5.93 million (total for both teams)
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN/ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes
Announcers	Bob Wischusen, Brock Huard, Allison Williams

Teams

Minnesota

Main articles: 2016 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team and 2016 Big Ten Conference football season

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

Main articles: 2016 Washington State Cougars football team and 2016 Pac-12 Conference football season

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

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP MINN WSU 1 6:23 17 76 6:33 WSU 26-yard field goal by Erik Powell 0 3 2 7:26 6 14 2:53 MINN 43-yard field goal by Emmit Carpenter 3 3 2 0:33 7 14 1:56 WSU 41-yard field goal by Erik Powell 3 6 3 3:23 10 84 5:22 MINN Shannon Brooks 13-yard touchdown reception from Mitch Leidner, Emmit Carpenter kick good 10 6 4 2:06 4 31 0:59 MINN Rodney Smith 9-yard touchdown run, Emmit Carpenter kick good 17 6 4 0:19 10 79 1:42 WSU Kyle Sweet 8-yard touchdown reception from Luke Falk, 2-point pass (Falk–Lewis) failed 17 12 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 17 12

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	Statistics
MINN	Passing	Mitch Leidner	11/20, 129 yds, 1 TD
	Rushing	Rodney Smith	17 car, 74 yds, 1 TD
	Receiving	Drew Wolitarsky	5 rec, 73 yds
WSU	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