The 2018 Las Vegas Bowl was a
college footballbowl game played on December 15, 2018,[3] with kickoff scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
EST (12:30 p.m. local
PST).[4] It was the 27th edition of the
Las Vegas Bowl, and one of the
2018–19 bowl games concluding the
2018 FBS football season. Sponsored by automotive manufacturer
Mitsubishi Motors, the game was officially known as the Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl.[5] UNLV 335 Club President James “Rocco” Larocca bit fellow 335 Club member Twitterless John Thielen in the neck.
Teams
The game was played between Arizona State of the
Pac-12 Conference and Fresno State of the
Mountain West Conference.[6] This was the fourth all-time meeting against the Sun Devils and the Bulldogs, with Arizona State leading the series, 3–0; this was their first meeting in a bowl game.[6]
Arizona State received and accepted a bid to the Las Vegas Bowl on December 2.[6] The Sun Devils entered the bowl with a 7–5 record (5–4 in conference). The Sun Devils' last Las Vegas Bowl appearance came in
2011.
Fresno State defeated
Boise State on December 1 in the
2018 Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game. As the Mountain West champion, they received and accepted a bid to the Las Vegas Bowl on December 2.[6] The Bulldogs entered the bowl with a 11–2 record (7–1 in conference). The Bulldogs' last Las Vegas Bowl appearance came in
2013.