
The first Las Vegas Bowl at its new location, Allegiant Stadium, will feature a match between Wisconsin and Arizona State. The game is scheduled for Thursday, December 30, starting at 7:30 p.m. PT (10:30 p.m. ET) and will be broadcast on ESPN. Those wishing to attend can purchase tickets starting at $50.
The Las Vegas Bowl is experiencing numerous changes in 2021. Besides a new venue, the game is scheduled later in the Bowl Season and will showcase a different matchup compared to past years.
The Las Vegas Bowl, which traditionally commenced the college football bowl season in early December, historically showcased teams from the Mountain West and Pac 12. However, this year it includes a team from the Big 10 for the first time.
The Las Vegas Bowl currently aligns with three college football conferences. In 2021, ’23, and ’25, a team from the Pac-12 will play against a team from the Big 10. The opposing team will shift to one from the Southeastern Conference in 2022 and ’24.
John Saccenti, the executive director of SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl, stated that the game has also acquired a new sponsor.
“We are pioneering by being the first to host a globally acclaimed Big Ten team and are equally thrilled to invite the loyal ASU fans back to the World’s Entertainment and Sports Capital. Las Vegas eagerly anticipates serving as the venue for the inaugural postseason showdown between these two legendary programs.”
Despite Wisconsin never having participated in the Las Vegas Bowl, the Badgers have still played in Las Vegas. They faced UNLV at Sam Boyd Stadium five times from 1986 to 2010. The Badgers also have a strong following, with three of their games against UNLV ranking among the top five most attended games.
The Las Vegas Bowl 2021 matchup
The Wisconsin Badgers, with an 8-4 record, will compete against the Arizona State Sun Devils, also with an 8-4 record, in the 30th Las Vegas Bowl. This will be the inaugural bowl game between these two teams. In regular-season games, the Sun Devils hold a 3-1 advantage over the Badgers.
This season, Arizona State ended in second place in the Pac-12 South with a 6-3 record, trailing behind the ultimate Pac-12 champion, Utah. Similarly, Wisconsin also held a 6-3 conference record, securing a second-place finish behind Iowa in the Big 10 West.
The teams commenced the season heading in contrasting directions. Wisconsin began with a sluggish 1-3 record in the initial month of the season, while Arizona State kicked off the season at a 5-1 start.
Wisconsin finished the season strongly, however, they lost to Minnesota in the final regular-season game and failed to reach the Big 10 conference title game. On the other hand, Arizona State had a lackluster end to the season, with a record of 3-3 in their last six games.
The game odds according to BetMGM Nevada are:
Point Spread: Wisconsin has a 7-point advantage over Arizona State. Moneyline: The odds are -285 for Wisconsin and +230 for Arizona State. The Over/Under Total is set at 43 points.
Bets on specific propositions could become available nearer to the day of the game.
College Football Playoffs
Currently, the Las Vegas Bowl is not included in the College Football Playoff (CFP) rotation. The final rankings of the college football season have placed Alabama, Michigan, Georgia, and Cincinnati in the CFP.
The CFP semifinal round will occur on New Year’s Eve.
The Cotton Bowl will showcase a match between (1) Alabama and (4) Cincinnati. The Alabama Crimson Tide, who are currently top-ranked, are favored by -13.5 against the Cincinnati Bearcats according to BetMGM Nevada. The over/under for this game has been set at 58.5.
The Orange Bowl will see (2) Michigan take on (3) Georgia. On the BetMGM Nevada app, the Georgia Bulldogs, who are ranked third, have a -7.5 spread against the Michigan Wolverines. The over/under for this game is 43.5, which is significantly less than the other CFP matchup.
The victors of each match will compete against each other in the CFP Championship game in Indianapolis on January 10.
Alabama has odds of +115 to win the CFP, placing them slightly ahead of their Southeastern conference counterparts, Georgia, who have odds of +135 to win the title of the best college football team this season. The Crimson Tide are therefore the slight favorites.
Michigan has odds of +750 to win the championship. Cincinnati, ranking fourth, has significantly lower odds at +1400 to win the CFP title game.
Future college football games in Las Vegas
Thanks to the inauguration of Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas is set to host an unprecedented number of college football games. In addition to being the home ground for the UNLV Rebels football team, the stadium will also be the venue for several neutral site games in the coming years.
The inaugural Pac 12 Conference title game in Las Vegas, featuring Utah against Oregon, was a significant success last week. The game attracted 56,511 spectators, filling 92% of the venue’s capacity, marking the highest attendance in the game’s neutral-site history.
Earlier this year, BYU and Arizona faced off in a neutral site game at Allegiant Stadium, which was crammed with BYU fans. The game set a record with an attendance of 54,541, which stood until it was surpassed during the Pac 12 Conference title game.
In the future, Las Vegas could potentially become a regional hub for neutral site games. Notre Dame is set to play BYU in the Shamrock Series on October 8 of next year.
Recently, Allegiant Stadium announced the 2025 Vegas Kickoff Classic where USC will face LSU. This marks the first game that LSU will play in Nevada.
Las Vegas ranks among the top vacation hotspots in the country. Similarly, neutral site football matches provide a great reason for fans to visit Las Vegas. Allegiant Stadium plans to continue accommodating more college football games in the future.