Dallas, TX – For the first time in bowl history, a bowl was declared no contest and canceled due to weather with no makeup game. Boston College Eagles and Boise State Broncos teams were fired up the SerPro First Responder Bowl.
The Eagles were hoping to get their eighth win of the season. The Broncos were hoping to end their season on a high note after losing the Mountain West Championship game.
“You can’t control the weather,” Boise State head coach Bryan Harsin said afterward. When thunderstorms rumbling through the area shifted course and made clear they were headed toward Fair Park, it was “a game changer,” as Boston College athletic director Martin Jarmond put it.
The game was stopped in first quarter after Boston College jumped out to a 7-0 lead on 19-yard touchdown run by A.J. Dillon on their first drive to start the game. The Eagles were up until 5:08 mark in quarter when lightning was first spotted in the Dallas area.
For player safety the bowl took an 80-minute weather delay, and with more storms expected in the Dallas area throughout the afternoon, officials cancelled the game and it was declared a ‘No Contest’.
“For those two great teams to have come so far for what I think would have been a really great match-up, of course I am very disappointed,” said Willis Winters, director of Dallas’ Park and Recreation Department, who was in the press box when the game was called.
So now SerPro left to pick up the pieces but in the end good or bad press is always press.
Both teams will still receive their conference split of all bowls played but refunds to their fans will hurt financially.
