Las Vegas Bowl Moment 9: Utah State defeats Ball State for first bowl victory
To celebrate the local bowl’s 25th anniversary milestone, the Review-Journal will rank the top 25 moments in Las Vegas Bowl history. We’ll relive one moment per day until game day on Dec. 17 at Sam Boyd Stadium:
No. 9: Utah State’s passing attack stifles Ball State
Date: Dec. 17, 1993
Score: Utah State 42, Ball State 33
Back story: Utah State played in its first bowl game in 32 years and was looking for the school’s first ever bowl victory. The Aggies had an explosive offense led by quarterback Anthony Calvillo and running back Profail Grier. Ball State entered the bowl with a four-game winning streak.
Game: Calvillo torched Ball State with 286 passing yards and three touchdowns and was named MVP of the second ever Las Vegas Bowl. The Aggies recorded 491 yards of offense en route to winning the program’s first bowl game after losing the first four.
Since: Calvillo had a standout career in the Canadian Football League and is the league’s all-time passing leader with 79,816 yards. He captured three Grey Cups for the Montreal Alouettes before retiring in 2014. Calvillo started his CFL career in 1994 with the Las Vegas Posse, which only lasted one year when the CFL shut down the U.S expansion.
Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow @gmanzano24 on Twitter.
