College football game
The 2016 Cactus Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on January 2, 2016 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona . This was the twenty-seventh edition of the Cactus Bowl , although only the second played under that name. Sponsored by the Motel 6 chain of budget motels, the game was officially known as the Motel 6 Cactus Bowl .
The bowl featured the West Virginia Mountaineers of the Big 12 Conference against the Arizona State Sun Devils of the Pac-12 Conference , and was the concluding game of the season for both teams. It began at 8:15 p.m. MST and aired on ESPN . It was one of the 2015–16 bowl games that concluded the 2015 FBS football season and was the final bowl game prior to the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship game.
Motel 6 took over as title sponsor of the game replacing TicketCity , who had served as sponsor of the previous year's game.[ 3]
The 2016 Cactus Bowl marked the game's return to Chase Field, its home from 2000 until 2005 , after a ten-year absence during which the game was played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona . The move was made due to a reconstruction project at Sun Devil Stadium that rendered the facility unusable during the college football offseason and would see Chase Field host the Cactus Bowl through 2018. West Virginia won the game by a final score of 43-42.
Teams
The game featured the West Virginia Mountaineers against the Arizona State Sun Devils .
Arizona State Sun Devils
After finishing their season 6–6, the Sun Devils accepted their invitation to play in the game.[ 4]
This was also the Sun Devils' second Cactus Bowl; they had previously won the 2005 Insight Bowl over Rutgers 45–40.
West Virginia Mountaineers
After finishing their season 7–5, the Mountaineers accepted their invitation to play in the game.[ 5]
This was the Mountaineers' second Cactus Bowl; they had previously lost the 1998 Insight.com Bowl to Missouri 34–31.
Game summary
Scoring summary
Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
WVU
ASU
1
12:02
9
71
2:58
WVU
21-yard field goal by Josh Lambert
3
0
1
8:57
8
56
2:25
WVU
31-yard field goal by Josh Lambert
6
0
1
5:06
4
2
1:30
ASU
37-yard field goal by Zane Gonzalez
6
3
1
3:13
6
55
1:53
WVU
27-yard field goal by Josh Lambert
9
3
2
9:59
4
40
1:06
ASU
Devin Lucien 19-yard touchdown reception from Mike Bercovici , Zane Gonzalez kick good
9
10
2
6:02
3
80
0:39
WVU
Shelton Gibson 59-yard touchdown reception from Skyler Howard , Josh Lambert kick good
16
10
2
2:53
10
80
3:00
ASU
19-yard field goal by Zane Gonzalez
16
13
2
0:28
8
75
2:25
WVU
Daikiel Shorts 10-yard touchdown reception from Skyler Howard, Josh Lambert kick blocked
22
13
2
0:28
—
—
—
ASU
Tim White returns blocked PAT for 2-point conversion
22
15
2
0:01
4
34
0:26
ASU
35-yard field goal by Zane Gonzalez
22
18
3
11:34
8
66
3:17
ASU
Tim White 2-yard touchdown reception from Mike Bercovici, Zane Gonzalez kick good
22
25
3
10:02
5
75
1:32
WVU
Gary Jennings 64-yard touchdown reception from Skyler Howard, Josh Lambert kick good
29
25
3
4:35
6
66
2:26
ASU
Tim White 33-yard touchdown reception from Mike Bercovici, Zane Gonzalez kick good
29
32
3
3:01
4
75
1:34
WVU
Daikiel Shorts 17-yard touchdown reception from Skyler Howard, Josh Lambert kick good
36
32
4
14:09
4
5
1:09
ASU
48-yard field goal by Zane Gonzalez
36
35
4
4:56
4
73
1:23
ASU
Gary Chambers 58-yard touchdown reception from Mike Bercovici, Zane Gonzalez kick good
36
42
4
2:19
10
75
2:37
WVU
David Sills 15-yard touchdown reception from Skyler Howard, Josh Lambert kick good
43
42
"TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football .
43
42
Source:[ 2]
Statistics
Statistics[ 2]
WVU
ASU
First Downs
29
23
Total offense, plays – yards
84–676
84–520
Rushes-yards (net)
33–144
32–102
Passing yards (net)
532
418
Passes, Comp-Att-Int
28–51–2
29–52–0
Time of Possession
29:02
30:58
References
^ Odds, Los Angeles Times , December 8, 2015
^ a b c d "2016 Cactus Bowl: West Virginia vs. Arizona State Stats" . Stat Broadcast. Retrieved January 2, 2016 .
^ "Archived copy" (PDF) . Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2018. Retrieved December 7, 2015 .{{cite web }}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link )
^ "Arizona State To Face West Virginia In Motel 6 Cactus Bowl Jan. 2" . TheSunDevils.com . Arizona State University . December 6, 2015. Archived from the original on December 12, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2015 .
^ "WVU, Arizona State to Meet in Motel 6 Cactus Bowl" . WVUSports.com . West Virginia University . December 6, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2015 .
Formerly known as the Copper / Insight / Buffalo Wild Wings / Cactus / Cheez-It Bowl / Guaranteed Rate Bowl
History & conference tie-ins Games
# - denotes National Championship Game.