2018 First Responder Bowl

{{Infobox NCAA football yearly game

| game_name = First Responder Bowl

| subheader = 9th First Responder Bowl
No contest

| title_sponsor = Servpro

| image =

| caption =

| date_game_played = December 26

| year_game_played = 2018

| football_season = 2018

| stadium = Cotton Bowl

| city = Dallas, Texas

| visitor_school = Boston College

| visitor_name_short = Boston College

| visitor_nickname = Eagles

| visitor_record = 7–5

| visitor_conference = ACC

| visitor_rank_AP =

| visitor_rank_coaches =

| visitor_rank_CFP =

| visitor_coach = Steve Addazio

| home_school = Boise State Broncos

| home_name_short = Boise State

| home_nickname = Broncos

| home_record = 10–3

| home_conference = Mountain West

| home_rank_AP = 23

| home_rank_coaches = 24

| home_rank_CFP = 25

| home_coach = Bryan Harsin

| odds = Boise State by 3{{cite web |url=http://www.espn.com/chalk/story/_/id/25435852/full-list-spreads-every-2018-19-college-football-bowl-game |title=Odds for every 2018-19 CFB bowl game |last=Fawkes |first=Ben |date=December 10, 2018 |website=ESPN.com |access-date=December 18, 2018}}

| anthem =

| referee = Kevin Mar (Pac-12)

| attendance =

| payout = 1,867,000 {{cite web|url=http://www.collegefootballpoll.com/bowl-schedule/2018/|title=2018 Bowl Schedule|author= |website=CFP.com |access-date=December 3, 2018}}

| us_network = ESPN

| us_announcers = Lowell Galindo, Ahmad Brooks and Kris Budden

| ratings =

| intl_network =

| intl_announcers =

| different_previous = 2017

}}

The 2018 First Responder Bowl was a college football bowl game scheduled for December 26, 2018, at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas. It was one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. Sponsored by Servpro, a franchisor of fire and water cleanup and restoration, the game was officially known as the Servpro First Responder Bowl. The ninth overall staging of the bowl, this was the first edition since being rebranded; its prior six editions were the Heart of Dallas Bowl, preceded by the TicketCity Bowl in its first two stagings.

The game was delayed in the first quarter, after Boston College took a 7–0 lead, and went into a weather delay due to lightning. Repeated lightning strikes near the stadium forced further delays; under NCAA rules, any lightning within {{convert|8|mile|km}} of a stadium triggers a mandatory 30-minute delay, and the delay is extended with additional strikes. The game was canceled about two hours later amid forecasts that the severe weather would continue throughout the day and night. The game is considered a no-contest for the teams involved.{{cite tweet |user=ActionNetworkHQ |number=1078023702820851713 |title=With Boston College (+1.5) leading Boise State 7-0, the First Responder Bowl has been CANCELLED due to weather |date=December 26, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018}}{{cite web |title=First Responder Bowl: Boise State vs. Boston College canceled, ruled no contest due to inclement weather |url=https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/first-responder-bowl-boise-state-vs-boston-college-canceled-ruled-no-contest-due-to-inclement-weather |website=CBSSports.com |date=December 26, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018}}

This is believed to be the first postseason game at the FBS-level (or its predecessors) that was canceled due to weather.{{Cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/25619231|title=A bowl first: Weather ends BC-Boise St. game|date=2018-12-26|website=ESPN.com|language=en|access-date=2018-12-27}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/734775/2018/12/26/boston-college-boise-state-first-responder-bowl-canceled-weather/ |title=Why the First Responder Bowl became a rare canceled postseason game |first=Nicole |last=Auerbach |website=The Athletic |url-access=limited |date=December 26, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018}} NCAA records reflect only two prior postseason cancellations—a 1941 charity game between San Jose State and Hawaii that was canceled following the attack on Pearl Harbor;{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26544818/sports_comment/ |title=Sports Comment |first=Don |last=Watson |newspaper=Honolulu Star-Advertiser |page=14 |date=December 1, 1941 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |via=newspapers.com}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26544905/san_jose_eleven_is_paid_off/ |title=San Jose Eleven Is Paid Off |newspaper=The Honolulu Advertiser |page=9 |date=December 27, 1941 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |via=newspapers.com}} and a 2013 Division II game, the C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl, between Ouachita Baptist and Tarleton State that was canceled due to severe winter weather.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26544596/the_college_report/ |title=The College Report |first=Dan |last=Chamness |newspaper=Longview News-Journal |location=Longview, Texas |page=B2 |date=December 12, 2013 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |via=newspapers.com}}

Teams

Bowl organizers had intended to invite teams from the Big Ten Conference and Conference USA, based on conference tie-ins. However, Boise State from the Mountain West Conference and Boston College from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) were selected,{{cite news |url=https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/college-sports/collegesports/2018/12/02/no-25-boise-state-boston-college-clash-infirst-responder-bowl-cotton-bowl |title=No. 25 Boise State and Boston College to clash in First Responder Bowl at the Cotton Bowl |first=Ben |last=Baby |website=The Dallas Morning News |date=December 2, 2018}} based on the bowl eligibility of teams and other bowl assignments.

This would have been the second all-time meeting between the two schools, with the previous meeting also coming in a bowl game. Boston College defeated Boise State in the 2005 MPC Computers Bowl, 27–21, on Boise State's home field of Bronco Stadium (now known as Albertsons Stadium).

=Boston College Eagles=

Boston College received and accepted a bid to the First Responder Bowl on December 2. The Eagles entered the bowl with a 7–5 record (4–4 in conference).

=Boise State Broncos=

Boise State was defeated in the 2018 Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game on December 1, then received and accepted a bid to the First Responder Bowl on December 2. The Broncos entered the bowl with a 10–3 record (7–1 in conference).