2022 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl
89th Sun Bowl
Pittsburgh Panthers UCLA Bruins
(8–4) (9–3)
ACC Pac-12
37 35
Head coach: 
Pat Narduzzi		 Head coach: 
Chip Kelly
APCoachesCFP
181818
1234 Total
Pittsburgh 68716 37
UCLA 71477 35
DateDecember 30, 2022
Season2022
StadiumSun Bowl
LocationEl Paso, Texas
MVPRodney Hammond Jr. (RB, Pittsburgh)[1]
FavoriteUCLA by 8.5
RefereeDerek Anderson (Big 12)[2]
Attendance41,104
PayoutUS$4,550,000[3]
United States TV coverage
NetworkCBS
AnnouncersBrad Nessler (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (analyst) and Jenny Dell (sideline)
Sun Bowl
 < 2021  2023 > 

The 2022 Sun Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 30, 2022, at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. The 89th edition[4] (88th playing) of the Sun Bowl, the game featured Pittsburgh from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and UCLA from the Pac-12 Conference. The game began at 12:13 p.m. MST[5] and was aired on CBS.[6] It was one of the 2022–23 bowl games concluding the 2022 FBS football season. Sponsored by Kellogg's Frosted Flakes breakfast cereal, the game was officially known as the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl, after its mascot, Tony the Tiger.

Teams

The bowl has tie-ins with the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Pac-12 Conference, who supplied Pittsburgh and UCLA, respectively, for the game. This will be the 15th meeting between the programs; the Bruins lead the all-time series, 9–5.[7]

Pitt

Main article: 2022 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

Pittsburgh played to a 8–4 regular-season record, 5–3 in conference play. They were ranked as high as No. 17. in September, but fell out of the rankings after losing two of their first five games. The Panthers finished their regular season with four consecutive wins. They faced three ranked FBS teams during the season, defeating Syracuse while losing to Tennessee and North Carolina.

Several days before the game, three Pittsburgh players had their flight from Dallas to El Paso canceled on Christmas Day, but were able to make the 600-mile (970 km) trip via a carpool with Joe Golding, head basketball coach of the UTEP Miners men's basketball team, who was making the same Dallas-to-El Paso journey with his family.[8]

UCLA

Main article: 2022 UCLA Bruins football team

UCLA compiled a 9–3 regular-season record, 6–3 in conference play. They opened the season with six consecutive wins, but then lost three of their next five games. They faced four ranked opponents during the season, defeating Washington and Utah while losing to Oregon and USC. Ranked as high as No. 9 during the season, the Bruins enter the bowl ranked No. 18 in major polls. Appearing in their fifth Sun Bowl, UCLA is 3–1 in prior editions of the bowl.

Game summary

2022 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl
Period 1 2 34Total
Pittsburgh 6 8 71637
No. 18 UCLA 7 14 7735

at Sun Bowl • El Paso, Texas

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP Pittsburgh UCLA
1 12:08 13 71 6:55 Pittsburgh 22-yard field goal by Ben Sauls 3 0
1 5:21 7 74 2:50 UCLA Logan Loya 11-yard touchdown reception from Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Nicholas Barr-Mira kick good 3 7
1 00:03 11 71 5:15 Pittsburgh 48-yard field goal by Ben Sauls 6 7
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 37 35

Statistics

References

  1. ^ @TonyTheTigerSB (December 30, 2022). "MVP @RodneyLHammond1" (Tweet). Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Austro, Ben (December 4, 2022). "2022–23 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  3. ^ "2022 Bowl Schedule". College Football Poll. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  4. ^ "Pitt Defeats No. 18 UCLA in One of the Most Exciting Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl Games in History". sunbowl.org. December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d "2022 Sun Bowl Final Stats" (PDF). Statbroadcast. December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  6. ^ "2022 College Football Bowl Schedule". FBSchedules.com.
  7. ^ "Winsipedia - Pittsburgh vs. UCLA". Winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  8. ^ Wilson, Dave (December 26, 2022). "Stranded Pitt players hitch ride to Sun Bowl with UTEP basketball coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
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