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2023 Fenway Bowl

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2023 Wasabi Fenway Bowl
2nd Fenway Bowl
SMU Mustangs Boston College Eagles
(11–2) (6–6)
The American ACC
14 23
Head coach: 
Rhett Lashlee		 Head coach: 
Jeff Hafley
APCoachesCFP
171924
1234 Total
SMU 01400 14
Boston College 37013 23
DateDecember 28, 2023
Season2023
StadiumFenway Park
LocationBoston, Massachusetts
MVPThomas Castellanos (QB, Boston College)[1] & Kam Arnold (LB, Boston College)[2]
FavoriteSMU by 10.5[3]
RefereeKevin Mar (Big 12)[4]
Halftime showBoston College Marching Band, SMU Mustang Band
Attendance16,238
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN
AnnouncersChris Cotter (play-by-play), Mark Herzlich (analyst), and Sherree Burruss (sideline)
Fenway Bowl
 < 2022  2024 > 

The 2023 Fenway Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 28, 2023, at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. The second edition of the Fenway Bowl featured SMU from the American Athletic Conference (The American) and Boston College from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The game began at approximately 11:00 a.m. EST and aired on ESPN.[5][6] The Fenway Bowl was one of the 2023–24 bowl games concluding the 2023 FBS football season. The game was sponsored by cloud storage company Wasabi Technologies and was officially known as the Wasabi Fenway Bowl.

Teams

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Consistent with conference tie-ins, the game featured Boston College from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and SMU from the American Athletic Conference (The American). This was the second meeting between Boston College and SMU, their prior meeting being a 31–29 SMU victory in 1986.[7]

The Eagles and Mustangs entered the game due to become conference opponents starting with the 2024 season, as SMU committed to join the ACC.[8]

Boston College

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See also: 2023 Boston College Eagles football team

Boston College finished the regular season 6–6, going 3–5 in ACC conference play. This was the Eagles' first appearance in a bowl game since the 2020 Birmingham Bowl, which they lost.

SMU

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See also: 2023 SMU Mustangs football team

SMU finished the regular season 11–2, going 8–0 in conference play in The American. The Mustangs defeated the then 22nd-ranked Tulane, 26–14, in the AAC Championship Game, the program's first conference title since 1984 when it won a share of the Southwest Conference title.[9] The Mustangs entered the bowl 17th in the AP poll and 24th in the College Football Playoff rankings.

This was the Mustangs' second-straight bowl appearance, having appeared in the 2022 New Mexico Bowl, which they lost.

Game summary

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2023 Wasabi Fenway Bowl
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 24 SMU 0 14 0014
Boston College 3 7 01323

at Fenway Park • Boston, Massachusetts

  • Date: Thursday, December 28, 2023
  • Game time: 11:00 a.m. EST
  • Game weather: Rain • Temperature: approx. 40 °F (4 °C) • Wind: approx. 20 mph (32 km/h)[10]
  • Game attendance: 16,238
  • Referee: Kevin Mar
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Chris Cotter (play-by-play), Mark Herzlich (analyst), and Sherree Burruss (sideline)
  • Box score
Game information
First Quarter
  • (6:21) BC – Liam Connor 45 yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 25 yards, 3:42; Boston College 3–0)
Second Quarter
  • (9:14) SMU – LJ Johnson Jr. 1 yard run, Collin Rogers kick (Drive: 15 plays, 78 yards, 6:32; SMU 7–3)
  • (3:07) BC – Kye Robichaux 6 yard run, Liam Connor kick (Drive: 10 plays, 77 yards, 6:07; Boston College 10–7)
  • (0:08) SMU – Jaylan Knighton 6 yard pass from Kevin Jennings, Collin Rogers kick (Drive: 10 plays, 55 yards, 2:59; SMU 14–10)
Third Quarter
  • No scoring plays.
Fourth Quarter
  • (12:22) BC – Thomas Castellanos 15 yard run, Liam Connor kick (Drive: 8 plays, 72 yards, 3:59; Boston College 17–14)
  • (9:48) BC – Thomas Castellanos 14 yard run, Liam Connor PAT failed (Drive: 3 plays, 42 yards, 1:19; Boston College 23–14)

Statistics

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Statistics SMU BC
First downs 22 20
Plays–yards 79–309 59–365
Rushes–yards 31–118 41–263
Passing yards 191 102
Passing: comp–att–int 24–48–0 11–18–1
Time of possession 32:30 27:28
Team Category Player Statistics
SMU Passing Kevin Jennings 24/48, 191 yards, 1 TD
Rushing Kevin Jennings 10 carries, 51 yards
Receiving Jake Bailey 6 receptions, 54 yards
Boston College Passing Thomas Castellanos 11/18, 102 yards, 1 INT
Rushing Thomas Castellanos 21 carries, 155 yards, 2 TD
Receiving Jaedn Skeete 2 receptions, 40 yards

References

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  1. ^ @FenwayBowl (December 28, 2023). "Your Wasabi Fenway Bowl Offensive MVP, Thomas Castellanos!" (Tweet). Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ @FenwayBowl (December 28, 2023). "Congratulations to this year's Defensive MVP, Kam Arnold!" (Tweet). Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ Parks, James (December 11, 2023). "College football bowl schedule, game odds, point spreads for 2023-24". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  4. ^ Austro, Ben (December 3, 2023). "2023-24 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  5. ^ Straka, Dean (May 31, 2023). "2023-24 college football bowl schedule, games, dates, locations, kickoff times, TV channels". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  6. ^ Lewis, Barry (June 3, 2023). "2023-24 College Football Bowl Schedule, Dates, Times Announced". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  7. ^ "Boston College Eagles vs. SMU Mustangs football series history". Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  8. ^ Dodd, Dennis (September 1, 2023). "Stanford, Cal, SMU join ACC: Conference membership growing to 18 schools as latest realignment domino falls". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  9. ^ Stevenson, Stefan (December 2, 2023). "SMU asserts dominance over Tulane, secures first conference championship win in 39 years". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  10. ^ Gartland, Dan (December 28, 2023). "Fenway Bowl Between SMU and Boston College Plagued by Horrendous Weather Conditions". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
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