2017 Holiday Bowl

2017 San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl
40th Holiday Bowl
Washington State Cougars Michigan State Spartans (9–3) (9–3) Pac-12 Big Ten 17 42 Head coach:  Mike Leach Head coach:  Mark Dantonio AP Coaches CFP 21 18 18 AP Coaches CFP 19 19 16
1 2 3 4 Total Washington State 3 0 7 7 17 Michigan State 0 21 14 7 42
Date	December 28, 2017
Season	2017
Stadium	SDCCU Stadium
Location	San Diego, California
MVP	Brian Lewerke (QB, Michigan State) & Chris Frey Jr. (LB, Michigan State)
Favorite	Michigan State by 3
Referee	Marc Curles (SEC)
Attendance	47,092
United States TV coverage
Network	FS1
Announcers	Gus Johnson (play-by-play) Joel Klatt (analyst) Jenny Taft (sideline)

The 2017 Holiday Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game, played at SDCCU Stadium in San Diego, California, on December 28, 2017. This was the first time that the Holiday Bowl was played at SDCCU Stadium. Previous to the 2017 season, the Holiday Bowl was played at Qualcomm Stadium. The 40th edition of the Holiday Bowl featured the Washington State Cougars of the Pac-12 Conference versus the Michigan State Spartans of the Big Ten Conference. It was one of the 2017–18 bowl games concluding the 2017 FBS football season. Sponsored by San Diego County Credit Union, the game was officially known as the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl.

Teams

Washington State

Main article: 2017 Washington State Cougars football team

This was Washington State's fourth appearance in the Holiday Bowl, having lost to #14 Brigham Young in 1981, having defeated #5 Texas in 2003, and having lost to Minnesota in 2016. The Cougars finished the 2017 regular season at 9–3, and were third in the Pac-12 North Division (6–3). The season featured wins against then-#5 USC and then-#18 Stanford.

Michigan State

Main article: 2017 Michigan State Spartans football team

This was Michigan State's first appearance in a Holiday Bowl. The Spartans finished the 2017 regular season at 9–3, and were second in the B1G East Division (7–2). The team had upset wins over then-#7 Michigan and then-#7 Penn State. Their three losses were all against teams that finished in the AP Top 20 (#14 Notre Dame, #20 Northwestern and #5 Ohio State).

Game summary

Scoring summary

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP WSU MSU 1 05:45 14 64 6:05 WSU 45-yard field goal by Erik Powell 3 0 2 07:34 16 81 9:24 MSU Cody White 15-yard touchdown reception from Brian Lewerke, Matt Coghlin kick good 3 7 2 04:34 4 63 2:03 MSU Felton Davis 49-yard touchdown reception from Brian Lewerke, Matt Coghlin kick good 3 14 2 00:29 6 68 2:43 MSU LJ Scott 3-yard touchdown run, Matt Coghlin kick good 3 21 3 10:28 10 67 4:32 MSU Cody White 10-yard touchdown reception from Brian Lewerke, Matt Coghlin kick good 3 28 3 05:08 7 27 3:47 MSU Damion Terry 6-yard touchdown run, Matt Coghlin kick good 3 35 3 02:06 7 80 3:02 WSU Davontavean Martin 14-yard touchdown reception from Tyler Hilinski, Erik Powell kick good 10 35 4 08:26 9 67 2:57 WSU Davontavean Martin 15-yard touchdown reception from Tyler Hilinski, Erik Powell kick good 17 35 4 06:14 4 46 2:12 MSU LJ Scott 28-yard touchdown run, Matt Coghlin kick good 17 42 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 17 42

Statistics

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	3	0	7	7	17
Spartans	0	21	14	7	42

Statistics	WSU	MSU
First downs	17	25
Plays–yards	63–296	77–440
Rushes–yards	8–24	48–227
Passing yards	272	213
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	39-50-1	13–22–1
Time of possession	23:18	36:42

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
MSU	Passing	Brian Lewerke	13/23, 213 yds, 3 TD
	Rushing	LJ Scott	18 car, 110 yds, 2 TD
	Receiving	Felton Davis III	4 rec, 118 yds, TD
WSU	Passing	Tyler Hilinski	39/50, 272 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	James Williams	3 car, 14 yds
	Receiving	James Williams	10 rec, 65 yds