# 2016 Cactus Bowl (January)

The 2016 Cactus Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on January 2, 2016 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. This was the twenty-seventh edition of the Cactus Bowl, although only the second played under that name. Sponsored by the Motel 6 chain of budget motels, the game was officially known as the Motel 6 Cactus Bowl.
The bowl featured the West Virginia Mountaineers of the Big 12 Conference against the Arizona State Sun Devils of the Pac-12 Conference, and was the concluding game of the season for both teams. It began at 8:15 p.m. MST and aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2015–16 bowl games that concluded the 2015 FBS football season and was the final bowl game prior to the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship game.
Motel 6 took over as title sponsor of the game replacing TicketCity, who had served as sponsor of the previous year's game.
The 2016 Cactus Bowl marked the game's return to Chase Field, its home from 2000 until 2005, after a ten-year absence during which the game was played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. The move was made due to a reconstruction project at Sun Devil Stadium that rendered the facility unusable during the college football offseason and would see Chase Field host the Cactus Bowl through 2018. West Virginia won the game by a final score of 43-42.

## Teams

The game featured the West Virginia Mountaineers against the Arizona State Sun Devils.

### Arizona State Sun Devils

After finishing their season 6–6, the Sun Devils accepted their invitation to play in the game.
This was also the Sun Devils' second Cactus Bowl; they had previously won the 2005 Insight Bowl over Rutgers 45–40.

### West Virginia Mountaineers

After finishing their season 7–5, the Mountaineers accepted their invitation to play in the game.
This was the Mountaineers' second Cactus Bowl; they had previously lost the 1998 Insight.com Bowl to Missouri 34–31.

## Game summary
### Scoring summary

Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | WVU | ASU |
| 1 | 12:02 | 9 | 71 | 2:58 | WVU | 21-yard field goal by Josh Lambert | 3 | 0 |
| 1 | 8:57 | 8 | 56 | 2:25 | WVU | 31-yard field goal by Josh Lambert | 6 | 0 |
| 1 | 5:06 | 4 | 2 | 1:30 | ASU | 37-yard field goal by Zane Gonzalez | 6 | 3 |
| 1 | 3:13 | 6 | 55 | 1:53 | WVU | 27-yard field goal by Josh Lambert | 9 | 3 |
| 2 | 9:59 | 4 | 40 | 1:06 | ASU | Devin Lucien 19-yard touchdown reception from Mike Bercovici, Zane Gonzalez kick good | 9 | 10 |
| 2 | 6:02 | 3 | 80 | 0:39 | WVU | Shelton Gibson 59-yard touchdown reception from Skyler Howard, Josh Lambert kick good | 16 | 10 |
| 2 | 2:53 | 10 | 80 | 3:00 | ASU | 19-yard field goal by Zane Gonzalez | 16 | 13 |
| 2 | 0:28 | 8 | 75 | 2:25 | WVU | Daikiel Shorts 10-yard touchdown reception from Skyler Howard, Josh Lambert kick blocked | 22 | 13 |
| 2 | 0:28 | — | — | — | ASU | Tim White returns blocked PAT for 2-point conversion | 22 | 15 |
| 2 | 0:01 | 4 | 34 | 0:26 | ASU | 35-yard field goal by Zane Gonzalez | 22 | 18 |
| 3 | 11:34 | 8 | 66 | 3:17 | ASU | Tim White 2-yard touchdown reception from Mike Bercovici, Zane Gonzalez kick good | 22 | 25 |
| 3 | 10:02 | 5 | 75 | 1:32 | WVU | Gary Jennings 64-yard touchdown reception from Skyler Howard, Josh Lambert kick good | 29 | 25 |
| 3 | 4:35 | 6 | 66 | 2:26 | ASU | Tim White 33-yard touchdown reception from Mike Bercovici, Zane Gonzalez kick good | 29 | 32 |
| 3 | 3:01 | 4 | 75 | 1:34 | WVU | Daikiel Shorts 17-yard touchdown reception from Skyler Howard, Josh Lambert kick good | 36 | 32 |
| 4 | 14:09 | 4 | 5 | 1:09 | ASU | 48-yard field goal by Zane Gonzalez | 36 | 35 |
| 4 | 4:56 | 4 | 73 | 1:23 | ASU | Gary Chambers 58-yard touchdown reception from Mike Bercovici, Zane Gonzalez kick good | 36 | 42 |
| 4 | 2:19 | 10 | 75 | 2:37 | WVU | David Sills 15-yard touchdown reception from Skyler Howard, Josh Lambert kick good | 43 | 42 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 43 | 42 |
Source:

### Statistics

| Statistics | WVU | ASU |
| First Downs | 29 | 23 |
| Total offense, plays – yards | 84–676 | 84–520 |
| Rushes-yards (net) | 33–144 | 32–102 |
| Passing yards (net) | 532 | 418 |
| Passes, Comp-Att-Int | 28–51–2 | 29–52–0 |
| Time of Possession | 29:02 | 30:58 |