2020_LendingTree_Bowl_(December)
2020 LendingTree Bowl (December)
Postseason college football bowl game
The 2020 LendingTree Bowl was a college football bowl game that was played on December 26, 2020, with kickoff at 3:30 p.m. EST (2:30 p.m. local CST) on ESPN.[4] It was the 22nd edition of the LendingTree Bowl, and was one of the 2020–21 bowl games concluding the 2020 FBS football season. Online lending marketplace LendingTree was the game's title sponsor. It was also the final LendingTree Bowl played at Ladd-Peebles Stadium before the game moved to Hancock Whitney Stadium the following season.
| 2020 LendingTree Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 22nd LendingTree Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 26, 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Ladd–Peebles Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Mobile, Alabama | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Cornelious Brown IV (QB, Georgia State)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Georgia State by 3[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Mike Cuttone (Mountain West)[3] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 5,128 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Mike Couzens (play-by-play), Jay Walker (analyst) and Dawn Davenport (sideline) | ||||||||||||||||||
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The 2020 LendingTree Bowl was contested by the Georgia State Panthers, from the Sun Belt Conference, and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, from Conference USA.[5] The two teams had met twice previously, with the series tied at 1–1. The teams' last meeting was played in 2017; Georgia State won, 27–17 in the Cure Bowl.[6]
Georgia State
Georgia State of the Sun Belt entered the bowl with an overall record of 5–4 (4–4 in conference play).
Western Kentucky
Western Kentucky of C-USA entered the bowl with a record of 5–6 (4–3 in conference play). They are one of a limited number of teams to enter a bowl game with a losing record.
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Kentucky | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Georgia State | 7 | 20 | 3 | 9 | 39 |
| Game information |
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at Ladd–Peebles Stadium • Mobile, Alabama
- Date: Saturday, December 26, 2020
- Game time: 3:30 p.m. EST (2:30 p.m. CST)
- Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 53 °F (12 °C) • Wind: SE 3 mph
- Referee: Mike Cuttone (Mountain West)
- TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Couzens (play-by-play), Jay Walker (analyst) and Dawn Davenport (sideline)
- ESPN game summary
Statistics
| Statistics | WKU | GSU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 14 | 27 |
| Plays–yards | 59–284 | 85–478 |
| Rushes–yards | 26–104 | 55–227 |
| Passing yards | 180 | 251 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 17–33–2 | 16–30–1 |
| Time of possession | 24:58 | 35:02 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Kentucky | Passing | Tyrrell Pigrome | 17/33, 180 yards, 2 TD |
| Rushing | C.J. Jones | 5 carries, 57 yards, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Joshua Simon | 4 receptions, 84 yards | |
| Georgia State | Passing | Cornelious Brown IV | 16/30, 232 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT |
| Rushing | Destin Coates | 23 carries, 117 yards, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Cornelius McCoy | 5 receptions, 88 yards, 1 TD |
- @JMacDonaldSport (December 27, 2020). "Cornelious Brown is the LendingTree Bowl MVP, Destin Coates is the Offensive MVP, Jontrey Hunter was the Defensive MVP and Noel Ruiz was the Special Teams MVP" (Tweet). Retrieved December 26, 2020 – via Twitter.
- "ESPN Game Summary - Western Kentucky vs. Georgia State - December 26, 2020". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
- Austro, Ben (December 23, 2020). "2020-21 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
- "College Football Bowl Schedule | 2020". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
- Stephenson, Creg (December 13, 2020). "LendingTree Bowl to feature Georgia State, Western Kentucky". AL.com. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
- "Winsipedia - Georgia State Panthers vs. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football series history". Winsipedia. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
- Game statistics at statbroadcast.com