Rice +3.5 (-110) over Texas State
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- Rice has won two games in a row coming into their bowl game.
- Rice’s record is not all that impressive, but it should be put into proper context given that many of their losses came to high-level teams in the AAC like Tulane and SMU.
The First Responder Bowl has been around for over a decade, going by different names early on. But no matter which name it has gone by, this game has featured some intriguing matchups in the past, with this year set to be no exception. Here, we break down this year’s First Responder Bowl and look at the history of the game as well.
2023 First Responder Bowl Analysis
In this year’s First Responder Bowl, the question will ultimately be which version of Texas State and Rice we get. Texas State has a non-conference win over Baylor on their resume this season, but they have also had their share of struggles after that point. A lack of consistency has been a problem for the Bobcats this year, but they have a chance to finish their season on a high note in this game.
Rice was a mediocre 6-6 team this season, winning the games they were supposed to while losing the games in which they were underdogs for the most part. The Owls lost games to teams like Tulane, SMU, and UTSA in conference play, but finished their season with two wins to get to this bowl game. Here, the Owls have a chance to get a win as an underdog to close out their season the right way.
First Responder Bowl History
The First Responder Bowl was first played in 2010 as the TicketCity Bowl. It also went by the Heart of Dallas Bowl for a period of time before becoming the game played under its current name. This game has tie-ins with the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, ACC, and Big 12 on a rotating basis, while the Big Ten used to be tied in as well. Below is the list of all matchups in the history of this bowl game, along with the results of those games, excluding the 2018 season, when the game was canceled due to the weather.
| Year | Winners | Runners-Up |
| 2010 | Texas Tech | Northwestern |
| 2011 | Houston | Penn State |
| 2012 | Oklahoma State | Purdue |
| 2013 | North Texas | UNLV |
| 2014 | Louisiana Tech | Illinois |
| 2015 | Washington | Southern Miss |
| 2016 | Army | North Texas |
| 2017 | Utah | West Virginia |
| 2019 | Western Kentucky | Western Michigan |
| 2020 | Louisiana | UTSA |
| 2021 | Air Force | Louisville |
| 2022 | Memphis | Utah State |
Bowl Game MVPs
The large number of conferences that are affiliated with this bowl game has resulted in an interesting list of former MVPs of the game. We have seen future pros like Case Keenum and Myles Gaskin claim the award from both Power 5 and Group of Five programs, for example. Below is the full list of the MVPs of the First Responder Bowl dating back to 2010, with only one player receiving the award each time the game was played.
| Year | MVP | Team |
| 2010 | Taylor Potts | Texas Tech |
| 2011 | Case Keenum | Houston |
| 2012 | Clint Chelf | Oklahoma State |
| 2013 | Derek Thompson | North Texas |
| 2014 | Houston Bates | Louisiana Tech |
| 2015 | Myles Gaskin | Washington |
| 2016 | Ahmad Bradshaw | Army |
| 2017 | Julian Blackmon | Utah |
| 2019 | Lucky Jackson | Western Kentucky |
| 2020 | Elijah Mitchell | Louisiana |
| 2021 | Haaziq Daniels | Air Force |
| 2022 | Seth Henigan | Memphis |
