2011 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas The 2011 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas , the 20th edition of the game , was a post - season American college football bowl game , held on December 22 , 2011 at Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney , Nevada as part of the 2011 – 12 NCAA Bowl season . The game , broadcast on ESPN , featured the Boise State Broncos from the Mountain West Conference versus the Arizona State Sun Devils from the Pacific - 12 Conference . Teams . Meeting for the second time in history , the Broncos and the Sun Devils have previously met with then - No . 5 Arizona State defeating Boise State 56 – 7 in Tempe , Ariz . , on October 5 , 1996 . However , Boise State claims a three - game winning streak over Pac - 12 teams , winning over Oregon twice and Oregon State in 2010 when all three teams were ranked . Boise State . On December 4 , 2011 , the Boise State Broncos accepted an invite to represent the MWC . The Broncos enter the bowl ranked # 7 in the BCS standings with a 11 – 1 record , finishing 2nd in the Mountain West Conference . The Broncos only loss in the season came against TCU , costing the team a chance at the BCS National Championship Game . The Broncos had appeared in the Las Vegas Bowl the previous year , winning 26 – 3 against Utah . The 2011 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas was the final collegiate game for Kellen Moore , the most winningest quarterback in FBS history . Arizona State . On December 4 , 2011 , the Arizona State Sun Devils accepted an invite to represent the PAC - 12 . The Sun Devils enter the bowl with a 6 – 6 record . On November 28 , coach Dennis Erickson was fired after the Sun Devils collapsed with four consecutive losses following a 6 – 2 start . However , Erickson was allowed to coach the team at the Las Vegas Bowl . The 2011 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas was ASU ' s first post season appearance since the 2007 Holiday Bowl . Game summary . Despite committing 3 turnovers , the Boise State Broncos still easily routed the Arizona State Sun Devils 56 - 24 . The Broncos scored quickly when Doug Martin returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to make it 7 - 0 Broncos . Boise State went up 14 - 0 on a 14 - yard touchdown pass to Tyler Shoemaker . The Broncos made it 21 - 0 in the 2nd quarter on touchdown pass to wide receiver Matt Miller . The Sun Devils finally got on board on a 32 - yard Alex Garoutte field goal to cut the deficit to 21 - 3 . Boise State responded with a pass from Matt Miller to Kyle Efaw on a trick play to make the score 28 - 3 going into the half . Arizona State scored quickly to begin the 2nd half when Rashad Ross returned the kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown , making it 28 - 10 . ASU attempted an onside kick but was recovered by BSU . On their next possession , the Broncos turned the ball over on a Kellen Moore interception , but Arizona State turned it back to the Broncos on downs . Broncos then again turned it over on a fumbled snap . The Sun Devils , taking advantage of the turnover , drove to the Broncos ' 1 - yard line . On a 4th down play , Brock Osweiler ' s pass was intercepted by Jamar Taylor , who returned it 100 - yards for a touchdown to put the Broncos up 35 - 10 . In the 4th quarter , the Broncos scored 2 more touchdowns , including 1 fumble return touchdown , to make it 49 - 10 . ASU finally got its first offensive touchdown of the game on a 21 yard pass from Osweiller to Gerell Robinson to make it 49 - 17 . The two teams then traded touchdowns to end the game with a final score of 56 - 24 . A few records were set at the 2011 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas . With the win , the Boise State Broncos became the first FBS team to win 50 games in a 4 year period . The Broncos also set a bowl record in points scored at 56 . ASU ' s Gerell Robinson had a bowl - record 241 - yard receiving , while BSU ' s Doug Martin finished with 301 all - purpose yards , another Las Vegas Bowl record . Scoring summary . Source