| 2021 Hula Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 75th Hula Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 31, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Aloha Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Honolulu,Hawaii | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | See#Awards | ||||||||||||||||||
| National anthem | Sabrina McKenna[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Steve Strimling (Pac-12)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | Halau Manaola[3] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | CBS Sports Network | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Kanoa Leahy (play-by-play),Brian Baldinger (color), Ian Scheuring & Kainoa Carlson (sidelines)[4] | ||||||||||||||||||
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The2021 Hula Bowl was a post-seasoncollege footballall-star game played on January 31, 2021, with kickoff at 4:30 p.m.HST (9:30 p.m.EST), atAloha Stadium inHonolulu,Hawaii.[5] The game was the last of the2020–21 bowl games and, while not restricted toFBS players, the final game of the2020 FBS football season. Television coverage was provided byCBS Sports Network.[6] The game was played without fans in attendance, as Aloha Stadium was "deemed unsafe to hold crowds" in December 2020.[7]
On January 22, organizers announced thatRex Ryan would coach the Kai team,[8] andMike Singletary would coach the Aina team;[9] both have served as head coaches in theNational Football League (NFL). They named as theiroffensive coordinators former NFL quarterbackMark Sanchez for Kai and former NFL quarterback and head coachJim Zorn for Aina.[10][11] For team KAI Ronnie Jones was selected to be the Defensive Coordinator Coach and for team AINA former NFL player Abe Elimimian was selected to be the Defensive Back Coach.
Player invitations were determined by the Hula Bowl Selection Committee, primarily based on "potential to make a professional Football team roster".[12] Players were expected from "several levels of theNCAA as well as athletes from Japan, Canada, Australia, and Polynesia."[13]
Alist of accepted invites was maintained on the bowl's website. Notable players includedK. J. Costello (QB,Mississippi State) andBrady White (QB,Memphis).
Team Aina was uniformed in red, and Team Kai in blue.[1] The game utilizedNFL rules, with some modifications—for example, all kicks and punts were fielded only viafair catch.[1] Due to the fair catch requirement, noonside kick could be attempted, but in its place the "kicking" team could attempt essentially a 4th-and-15 from their own 30-yard-line.[14] This occurred once in the game, late in the 4th quarter after Team Aina scored on apick six, but the attempt did not result in a first down.
An offensive and defensive MVP were named for each team.[1] For Team Aina, the MVPs were running backMekhi Sargent (Iowa) and defensive endCarlo Kemp (Michigan).[15] For Team Kai, the MVPs were running back CJ Marable (Coastal Carolina) and cornerbackNick McCloud (Notre Dame).[16] Offensively, Sargent had 61 yards on six rushes plus an 18-yard reception, while Marable had five carries for 17 yards including a touchdown; defensively, Kemp had four tackles and returned an interception for a touchdown, while McCloud had two interceptions with 34 return yards.[17]
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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| Aina | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
| Kai | 0 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 15 |
atAloha Stadium •Honolulu, Hawaii
| Game information |
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Official Twitter Account of the Hula Bowl College Football Game - Game Day Kickoff: January 31st 2021 - 4:30 PM HST - Honolulu, HI - Aloha Stadium - CBS Sports