2022 First Responder Bowl

The 2022 First Responder Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 27, 2022, at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in University Park, Texas. The 13th annual First Responder Bowl, the game featured Memphis of the American Athletic Conference and Utah State of the Mountain West Conference. The game began at 2:20 p.m. CST^[4] and was aired on ESPN.^[5] It was one of the 2022–23 bowl games concluding the 2022 FBS football season. Sponsored by cleanup and restoration company Servpro, the game was officially known as the Servpro First Responder Bowl.

2022 Servpro First Responder Bowl
13th First Responder Bowl
Memphis Tigers Utah State Aggies (6–6) (6–6) AAC MWC 38 10 Head coach:  Ryan Silverfield Head coach:  Blake Anderson
1 2 3 4 Total Memphis 3 21 0 14 38 Utah State 0 3 0 7 10
Date	December 27, 2022
Season	2022
Stadium	Gerald J. Ford Stadium
Location	University Park, Texas
MVP	Seth Henigan (QB, Memphis)[1]
Favorite	Memphis by 8
Referee	Francisco Villar (Pac-12)[2]
Attendance	10,343
Payout	US$824,545[3]
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Mike Monaco (play-by-play), Charles Arbuckle (analyst), and Nicole Regoni (sideline)
International TV coverage
Network	ESPN Deportes
First Responder Bowl  ← 2021  2023 →

Teams

Based on conference tie-ins, the game was expected to feature teams from the American Athletic Conference (The American), the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), or the Big 12 Conference. Selected for the bowl were Memphis, of The American, and Utah State, of the Mountain West Conference. This was their eighth meeting; entering the game, the Tigers led the all-time series, 4–3.^[6]

Memphis Tigers

Main article: 2022 Memphis Tigers football team

Memphis compiled a 6–6 record in regular-season play, 3–5 in conference play. Their season included a four-game winning streak followed by a four-game losing streak. The Tigers faced two ranked teams, losing to both Tulane and UCF. Entering this game, Memphis had been invited to a bowl game each season since 2014, including the 2021 Hawaii Bowl, which was canceled the day before kickoff.

Utah State Aggies

Main article: 2022 Utah State Aggies football team

Utah State also recorded a 6–6 regular-season record; they went 5–3 in conference play. After starting the season 1–4, the Aggies then won five of their remaining seven games to become bowl eligible. They faced, and lost to, two ranked FBS teams, Alabama and BYU. This was the Aggies' 10th bowl appearance since the 2011 season.

Game summary

2022 Servpro First Responder Bowl

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Memphis	3	21	0	14	38
Utah State	0	3	0	7	10

at Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, Texas

• Date: Tuesday, December 27, 2022
• Game time: 2:15 p.m. CST
• Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 49 °F (9 °C) • Wind: 4 mph (6.4 km/h) southeast
• Referee: Francisco Villar
• TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Monaco (play-by-play), Charles Arbuckle (analyst), and Nicole Regoni (sideline)
• Box score

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Memphis Utah State 1 1:05 12 64 5:14 Memphis 26-yard field goal by Chris Howard 3 0 2 12:13 9 37 3:52 Utah State 53-yard field goal by Connor Coles 3 3 2 7:24 8 72 4:49 Memphis Eddie Lewis 15-yard touchdown reception from Seth Henigan, Chris Howard kick good 10 3 2 2:56 5 50 2:26 Memphis Eddie Lewis 22-yard touchdown reception from Seth Henigan, Chris Howard kick good 17 3 2 0:24 10 52 1:38 Memphis Caden Prieskorn 3-yard touchdown reception from Seth Henigan, Chris Howard kick good 24 3 4 11:04 5 92 1:48 Utah State Brian Cobbs 44-yard touchdown reception from Bishop Davenport, Connor Coles kick good 24 10 4 7:22 7 47 3:42 Memphis Jevyon Ducker 1-yard touchdown run, Chris Howard kick good 31 10 4 3:16 5 58 1:54 Memphis Jevyon Ducker 48-yard touchdown run, Chris Howard kick good 38 10 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 38 10

Statistics

Team statistical comparison[4] Statistic Memphis Utah State First downs 26 15 First downs rushing 11 7 First downs passing 14 7 First downs penalty 1 1 Third down efficiency 7–14 5–13 Fourth down efficiency 0–0 0–1 Total plays–net yards 76–430 58–261 Rushing attempts–net yards 47–146 35–126 Yards per rush 3.1 3.6 Yards passing 9.8 5.9 Pass completions–attempts 20–29 15–23 Interceptions thrown 0 3 Punt returns–total yards 2–8 1–1 Kickoff returns–total yards 1–26 4–121 Punts–average yardage 4–148 5–188 Fumbles–lost 1–1 0–0 Penalties–yards 5–55 8–54 Time of possession 34:16 23:54

Memphis statistics[4] Tigers passing C–A Yds TD–INT Seth Henigan 20–29 284 3–0 Tigers rushing Car Yds TD Jevyon Ducker 13 83 2 Asa Martin 10 43 0 Gabriel Rogers 2 26 0 Sutton Smith 6 20 0 Roc Taylor 1 5 0 Joseph Scates 1 4 0 TEAM 3 -9 0 Seth Henigan 11 -26 0 Tigers receiving Rec Yds TD Eddie Lewis 5 83 2 Gabriel Rogers 4 58 0 Roc Taylor 4 48 0 Joseph Scates 1 42 0 Jevyon Ducker 1 15 0 Koby Drake 1 12 0 Asa Martin 1 10 0 Caden Prieskorn 2 9 1 Cameron Wright 1 7 0

Utah State statistics[4] Aggies passing C–A Yds TD–INT Bishop Davenport 7–9 100 1–1 Cooper Legas 7–12 34 0–1 Levi Williams 1–2 1 0–1 Aggies rushing Car Yds TD Calvin Tyler Jr. 16 79 0 Cooper Legas 12 25 0 Levi Williams 2 15 0 Terrell Vaughn 2 6 0 Bishop Davenport 1 1 0 Jordan Wilmore 2 0 0 Aggies receiving Rec Yds TD Brian Cobbs 6 79 1 Terrell Vaughn 4 34 0 Josh Sterzer 2 12 0 Otto Tia 1 9 0 Calvin Tyler Jr. 2 1 0