FRB: 2020 Postgame Notes
Postgame Notes
No. 19 Louisiana vs. UTSA
Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020
Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, Texas
RECORDS: Louisiana (10-1 overall; 7-1 in Sun Belt), UTSA (7-5, 5-2 in C-USA).
Most Valuable Player:
Elijah Mitchell, RB, Louisiana (19 carries for 127 yards and one touchdown).
*Louisiana’s victory today means that 10 different programs have won the first 10 SERVPRO First Responder Bowl games.
*This was the second straight year and the fourth time in SFR Bowl history that the game was decided by a single possession.
*UTSA had 14 chunk plays in the game (9 rushes of 10+ yards and 5 passes of 20+ yards), 5 of which went for 20 yards or longer. Louisiana had 11 chunk plays (7 rushes of 10+ and 4 passes of 15+), 4 of which went for 20 yards or longer.
*This was just the second time in SFR Bowl history that each team produced a 100-yard rusher. Louisiana senior Elijah Mitchell ran for 127 yards, while UTSA sophomore Sincere McCormick rushed for 122 yards. Mitchell’s total is the fourth-most in bowl history, while McCormick’s total is sixth. The only other time both participants had 100-yard rushers was the inaugural game between Northwestern and Texas Tech in 2011.
*With a five-yard run midway through the second quarter, UTSA sophomore RB Sincere McCormick became the school’s all-time leading rusher in just his 23rd career game. After gaining 122 yards today he has 1,467 this season and 2,360 in his career.
*UTSA became just the second school in SFR Bowl history to produce a 100-yard rusher and a 100-yard receiver in the same game. Sophomore RB Sincere McCormick ran for 122 yards and sophomore WR Zakhari Franklin caught five passes for 115 yards.
*With Louisiana winning today, it means that the team that scores first has now won eight of the 10 SFR Bowls. The team leading at halftime has also won eight times, with two being tied at the half.
*With this win, Louisiana finished the season 10-1. The Ragin Cajuns, who were 11-3 last year, have posted back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time in program history under Billy Napier. Louisiana is just the sixth FBS program to win 10 games in the 2020 season.
*Under first-year head coach Jeff Traylor, UTSA ends the season at 7-5, its best finish since the 2013 squad closed 7-5 under former Miami (Fla.) national championship head coach Larry Coker. The 7 victories tie the Roadrunners with Marshall (7-3) for the most wins in Conference USA in 2020.
*Conference USA schools are now 4-3 in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl. The seven appearances are more than any other league. This was the first SFR Bowl appearance for a team from the Sun Belt Conference.
*This was the first meeting of these two teams and the first bowl game played in Texas for both schools.
*Louisiana head coach Billy Napier is now 28-11-0 in his three seasons as a head coach – all with the Ragin Cajuns. He is 3-0 all-time against Conference USA opponents and 2-1 in bowl games.
*With UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor not able to travel with the team to Dallas for the Bowl following a second positive COVID-19 test, Roadrunners associate head coach/offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. served as acting head coach (the result goes on Traylor’s record). Twice previously a team has been coached by an interim head coach in bowl history: Purdue in 2012 and Penn State in 2011.
*Louisiana is 538-562-34 all-time over 120 seasons and 6-2 in eight bowl appearances as part of NCAA FBS – all since 2011. The 2011 and 2013 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowls’ appearances were vacated by the NCAA. UTSA fell to 0-2 in bowls, as the Roadrunners fell to New Mexico in the New Mexico Bowl in 2016.
*This was the fourth time that a bowl game has been played at Gerald J. Ford Stadium and each have been decided by seven points or less, including three by exactly three points. In last year’s SERVPRO First Responder Bowl, WKU kicked a 52-yard field goal as time expired to defeat Western Michigan, 23-20. In 2010 and 2011 the Armed Forces Bowl was played in Dallas due to stadium renovations in Fort Worth. In 2010, Army edged SMU, 16-14, and in 2011, BYU held off Tulsa, 24-21.
SFR BOWL RECORDS BROKEN
Most Penalties – 10, Louisiana
Most Penalty Yards – 84, Louisiana
Penalty First Downs (both teams) – 8
Penalty First Downs – 4, Louisiana & 4, UTSA
Shortest Scoring Drive - 3 yards, Louisiana vs. UTSA (1 play, four seconds, TD), 2020
Fewest Plays, Scoring Drive (tied) - 1, Louisiana vs. UTSA (3 yards, rushing TD), 2020; and 1, North Texas vs.
Army (18 yards, passing TD), 2016;
Shortest Scoring Drive, Time Elapsed - 0:04, Louisiana vs. UTSA (1 play, 3 yards, rushing TD), 2020