2019 Cheez-It Bowl

The 2019 Cheez-It Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 27, 2019, with kickoff at 10:15 p.m. EST (8:15 p.m. local MST) on ESPN.^[5] It was the 31st edition of the game originally staged as the Copper Bowl, the second edition played under the sponsorship of Cheez-It, and one of the 2019–20 bowl games concluding the 2019 FBS football season.

2019 Cheez-It Bowl
31st Cheez-It Bowl
Chase Field prior to the game
Air Force Falcons Washington State Cougars (10–2) (6–6) Mountain West Pac-12 31 21 Head coach:  Troy Calhoun Head coach:  Mike Leach AP Coaches CFP 24 24 NR
1 2 3 4 Total Air Force 0 17 7 7 31 Washington State 0 14 0 7 21
Date	December 27, 2019
Season	2019
Stadium	Chase Field
Location	Phoenix, Arizona
MVP	Kadin Remsberg (RB, Air Force) & Grant Donaldson (LB, Air Force)[1]
Favorite	Air Force by 2.5[2]
Referee	Jeff Servinski (Big Ten)[3]
Attendance	34,105
Payout	US$1,625,560[4]
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN and ESPN Radio
Announcers	ESPN: Clay Matvick (play-by-play) Ryan Leaf (analyst) Taylor McGregor (sideline) ESPN Radio: Mark Neely, Tom Ramsey, and Marty Cesario
Cheez-It Bowl  < 2018  2021 >

Teams

The game matched the Air Force Falcons from the Mountain West Conference (MWC) and the Washington State Cougars from the Pac-12 Conference. This was the first meeting between the two programs.^[6]

Air Force Falcons

Main article: 2019 Air Force Falcons football team

Air Force entered the game ranked 24th in the AP Poll, with a 10–2 record (7–1 in conference) and a seven-game winning streak. The Falcons finished in second place in the Mountain Division of Mountain West. This was Air Force's second Cheez-It Bowl; their 1995 team appeared in the then-Copper Bowl, losing to Texas Tech, 55–41.

Washington State Cougars

Main article: 2019 Washington State Cougars football team

Washington State entered the game at 6–6 (3–6 in conference). The Cougars tied for fifth place in the Pac-12's North Division. This was Washington State's second Cheez-It Bowl; their 1992 team won the then-Copper Bowl over Utah, 31–28.

Left: Kadin Remsberg of Air Force (with ball) and Justus Rogers of Washington State. Right: Anthony Gordon of Washington State (with ball) and Christopher Herrera of Air Force.

Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Air Force	0	17	7	7	31
Washington State	0	14	0	7	21

Game information

First Quarter No scoring Second Quarter (14:52) AF – Donald Hammond III 1 yard rush, Jake Koehnke kick (Drive: 20 plays, 98 yards, 12:23; Air Force 7–0) (10:43) WSU – Anthony Gordon 2 yard pass to Dezmon Patmon, Blake Mazza kick (Drive: 11 plays, 74 yards, 4:09; Tied 7–7) (3:39) AF – Jake Koehnke 28 yard field goal (Drive: 15 plays, 65 yards, 7:04; Air Force 10–7) (1:19) AF – Taven Birdow 3 yard rush, Jake Koehnke kick (Drive: 4 plays, 23 yards, 2:08; Air Force 17–7) (0:24) WSU – Anthony Gordon 5 yard pass to Max Borghi, Blake Mazza kick (Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 0:55; Air Force 17–14) Third Quarter (8:19) AF – Donald Hammond III 7 yard rush, Jack Koehnke kick (Drive: 13 plays, 75 yards, 6:41; Air Force 24–14) Fourth Quarter (9:59) WSU – Anthony Gordon 13 yard pass to Brandon Arconado, Blake Mazza kick (Drive: 4 plays, 31 yards, 1:16; Air Force 24–21) (3:50) AF – Kadin Remsberg 3 yard rush, Jake Koehnke kick (Drive: 10 plays, 60 yards, 6:09; Air Force 31–21)

2019 Cheez-It Bowl

at Chase Field • Phoenix, Arizona

• Date: Friday, December 27, 2019
• Game time: 10:15 p.m. EST (8:15 p.m. MST)
• Referee: Jeff Servinski
• TV announcers (ESPN): Clay Matvick (play-by-play), Ryan Leaf (analyst) and Cole Cubelic (sideline)
• ESPN game summary

Statistics

Statistics	AF	WSU
First downs	28	15
Plays–yards	81–401	50–366
Rushes–yards	69–371	8–15
Passing yards	30	351
Passing: comp–att–int	4–12–1	28–42–0
Time of possession	43:23	16:37

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Air Force	Passing	Donald Hammond III	4–12, 30 yds, 1 INT
	Rushing	Kadin Remsberg	26 car., 178 yds, 1 TD
	Receiving	Benjamin Waters	2 rec., 12 yds
Washington State	Passing	Anthony Gordon	28–42, 351 yds, 3 TD
	Rushing	Max Borghi	6 car., 27 yds
	Receiving	Brandon Arconado	11 rec., 167 yds, 1 TD

See also

• 2020 Cheez-It Bowl, the next so-named bowl game, played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida