Event director calls 25th Las Vegas Bowl a success

John Saccenti, the executive director of the Las Vegas Bowl, was starting to get nervous when Houston jumped out to 10-0 lead against San Diego State on Saturday in front of an empty crowd at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Saccenti had the pressure of trying to deliver a memorable 25th Las Vegas Bowl in a major national television time slot. The Las Vegas Bowl was aired on ABC and called by the legendary Brent Musburger to kick off the bowl season.

“Did anybody see a 10-6 game at halftime?” a concerned Saccenti asked a coworker in the press box. “I kind of expected more scoring earlier on.”

Saccenti was banking on San Diego State running back Donnel Pumphrey to make national news in his chase to break Ron Dayne’s FBS all-time rushing record, but Pumphrey was stuck at minus-1 rushing yard to begin the second quarter.

Eventually, Sam Boyd Stadium filled in with black and red on opposite sides of the field, Pumphrey made history in his hometown and Saccenti got his headline.

“I can’t imagine any sports broadcast show not leading with this story,” Saccenti said after San Diego State defeated Houston 34-10. “Donnel is now the all-time leading rusher and a local product kid. What a great story, what a great performance.”

Pumphrey, who graduated from Canyon Springs High, rushed for 115 yards on 19 carries to give him 6,405 career rushing yards, eight more than Dayne. Dayne, the former bruising running back from Wisconsin, half-heartedly congratulated Pumphrey on Twitter.

“Congrats young man #GOAT #7125,” Dayne tweeted.

The numbers 7,125 signify Dayne’s full rushing yardage when including bowl stats. The NCAA didn’t keep track of bowl stats until 2002. Dayne left Wisconsin in 1999 after winning the Heisman Trophy.

Saccenti doesn’t mind a little controversy.

“I think it was a huge success,” Saccenti said. “People are talking about this game. I feel a little relieved now that it’s over because I can sleep, but everyone did a great job in making this bowl game happen.”

The sideline stands were full with San Diego State and Houston fans, but there were plenty of empty seats in the corners of the stadium. The announced attendance was 29,286, a drop off from last year’s crowd that saw more than 42,000 fans. Utah and Brigham Young, a popular rivalry game, met in the Las Vegas Bowl in 2015.

“You can’t always hit a home run,” Saccenti said. “Certainly you want fans to travel and use their tickets but that doesn’t always happen. I thought the stadium looked good and the fans were into it.”

Saccenti is hoping a big number in television ratings can make up for the decline in ticket sales. The numbers don’t come out until Monday, but Saccenti already sees the prime television spot in the middle of a Saturday afternoon as a victory.

“Us being the first major bowl game of the season with a lot of eye balls watching says a lot about this bowl and how far it has come,” Saccenti said. “There were years we struggled to get attention and a decent TV spot.

“Every major publication was speaking positive about this matchup. USA Today had us as seventh best bowl game of the season. That’s pretty remarkable since we’re the first ones after the New Year’s six (bowl games).”

The Las Vegas Bowl didn’t have a sponsor name attached to it like in years past and was simply seen around town as the Las Vegas Bowl 25. On TV, it was referred to as The Las Vegas Bowl presented by Geico.

“We wanted to keep it just Las Vegas Bowl because it is a big deal for us to get to 25,” Saccenti said. “Geico was OK with it and only wanted the title in radio and TV. It was cool seeing the people who started this bowl 25 years ago like proud papas on the sidelines.”

Saccenti said Houston players and staff were respectful and appreciate of the opportunity to participate in the program’s first Las Vegas Bowl.

San Diego State made its first appearance since 1998, but Saccenti knows the coaching staff well. Saccenti’s father-in-law, Rich Diller, was teammates with Aztecs head coach Rocky Long during their playing days at New Mexico.

“Both teams seem to have enjoyed being here and we loved having them,” Saccenti said. “Let’s see what happens next year.”

Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow @gmanzano24 on Twitter.