The 2017 Cactus Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on December 26, 2017, at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. The game was the 29th edition of the Cactus Bowl, although only the fourth played under that name.

2017 Cactus Bowl
29th Cactus Bowl
1234 Total
Kansas State 701414 35
UCLA 31400 17
DateDecember 26, 2017
Season2017
StadiumChase Field
LocationPhoenix, Arizona
MVPAlex Delton (QB, Kansas State) & Denzel Goolsby (S, Kansas State)[1]
FavoriteKansas State by 6[2]
RefereeJerry Magallanes (ACC)
Attendance32,859[3]
PayoutUS$TBD
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN/ESPN Radio
AnnouncersTV: Jason Benetti, Jordan Rodgers, Olivia Harlan
Radio: Marc Kestecher, Tom Ramsey, Desmond Purnell
Cactus Bowl
 < 2016 2018

The game was one of the 2017–18 bowl games concluding the 2017 FBS football season. The bowl featured the Kansas State Wildcats of the Big 12 Conference against the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference, and was the final game of the season for both teams.[4] Kansas State won, 35–17.

Teams

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Kansas State and UCLA had met three times previously, most recently in the 2015 Alamo Bowl, with UCLA leading the series, 2–1.

Kansas State Wildcats

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UCLA Bruins

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It was announced pregame that UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen had not cleared the concussion protocol and would not play.[5] UCLA named Devon Modster to the starting role in Rosen's absence.[5]

Game summary

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Scoring summary

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Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP KSU UCLA
1 1:00 12 44 6:11 UCLA 44-yard field goal by JJ Molson 0 3
1 0:00 2 76 1:00 KSU Alex Delton 68-yard touchdown run, Matthew McCrane kick good 7 3
2 11:34 8 86 3:26 UCLA Jordan Lasley 52-yard touchdown reception from Devon Modster, JJ Molson kick good 7 10
2 9:25 2 72 0:46 UCLA Theo Howard 70-yard touchdown reception from Devon Modster, JJ Molson kick good 7 17
3 6:39 8 74 4:40 KSU Alex Delton 1-yard touchdown run, Matthew McCrane kick good 14 17
3 4:22 4 24 2:01 KSU Dominique Heath 8-yard touchdown reception from Alex Delton, Matthew McCrane kick good 21 17
4 14:01 4 50 2:08 KSU Alex Barnes 41-yard touchdown run, Matthew McCrane kick good 28 17
4 4:34 15 98 8:06 KSU Alex Delton 3-yard touchdown run, Matthew McCrane kick good 35 17
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 35 17

Statistics

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1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 7 0 14 14 35
Bruins 3 14 0 0 17
Statistics KSU UCLA
First downs 21 14
Plays–yards 66–423 59–364
Rushes–yards 49–344 25–69
Passing yards 79 295
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 10–17–1 21–34–0
Time of possession 35:07 24:43
Team Category Player Statistics
Kansas State Passing Alex Delton 7/10, 52 yds, 1 TD
Rushing Alex Delton 20 car, 158 yds, 3 TD
Receiving Dominique Heath 5 rec, 49 yds, 1 TD
UCLA Passing Devon Modster 21/34, 295 yds, 2 TD
Rushing Bolu Olorunfunmi 12 car, 23 yds
Receiving Jordan Lasley 8 rec, 128 yds, 1 TD

References

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  1. ^ McGalliard, Grant (December 26, 2017). "Kansas State QB Alex Delton named Cactus Bowl offensive MVP; safety Denzel Goolsby is defensive MVP". diehards.com. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  2. ^ "Kansas State vs. UCLA - Game Summary". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  3. ^ "NCAA Game Recap - Kansas State v UCLA - NBCSports". scores.nbcsports.com. AP. December 26, 2017.
  4. ^ Bolch, Ben (December 3, 2017). "UCLA to play Kansas State in Cactus Bowl". Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  5. ^ a b "UCLA QB Josh Rosen still recovering from concussion, won't play in Cactus Bowl". ABC News. December 26, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2017.