The 2025 First Responder Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 3, 2025, at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in University Park, Texas. The 15th annual First Responder Bowl featured North Texas and Texas State. The game began at approximately 3:00 p.m. CST and aired on ESPN.[3][4] It was one of the 2024–25 bowl games concluding the 2024 FBS football season. Sponsored by cleanup and restoration company Servpro, the game was known as the Servpro First Responder Bowl.
Teams
Consistent with conference tie-ins, the game featured teams from the Group of Five conferences. North Texas and Texas State had previously met 39 times, dating back to 1915 and most recently in 1994, with North Texas holding the advantage in the series, 29–7–3.[5]
North Texas
North Texas completed their regular season with an overall record of 6–6 (3–5 in conference play). After starting with five wins in their first six games, the Mean Green finished with five losses in six games. North Texas faced one ranked team, losing to Army.
Texas State
Texas State had an overall record of 7–5 in regular-season play (5–3 in conference). The Bobcats had a 4–4 record after eight games, then won three of their final four games. Texas State did not face any ranked opponents.
Game summary
| Game information
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- First Quarter
- (8:58) TXST – Mason Shipley 34 yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 58 yards, 4:19; Texas State 3–0)
- (6:33) UNT – Miles Coleman 46 yard pass from Drew Mestemaker, Kali Nguma kick (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 2:25; North Texas 7–3)
- (2:45) TXST – Mason Shipley 21 yard field goal (Drive: 7 plays, 71 yards, 3:48; North Texas 7–6)
- Second Quarter
- (14:54) UNT – Landon Sides 16 yard pass from Drew Mestemaker, Kali Nguma kick (Drive: 8 plays, 59 yards, 2:51; North Texas 14–6)
- (11:02) TXST – Mason Shipley 47 yard field goal (Drive: 9 plays, 35 yards, 3:52; North Texas 14–9)
- (3:27) TXST – Jaden Williams 24 yard pass from Jordan McCloud, Mason Shipley kick (Drive: 10 plays, 68 yards, 4:33; Texas State 16–14)
- Third Quarter
- (8:04) TXST – Lincoln Pare 1 yard run, Mason Shipley kick (Drive: 13 plays, 75 yards, 6:56; Texas State 23–14)
- Fourth Quarter
- (3:20) UNT – Makenzie McGill II 1 yard run, Kali Nguma kick (Drive: 3 plays, 58 yards, 1:36; Texas State 23–21)
- (2:25) TXST – Lincoln Pare 73 yard run, Mason Shipley kick (Drive: 2 plays, 75 yards, 0:55; Texas State 30–21)
- (1:49) UNT – Drew Mestemaker 70 yard run, Kali Nguma kick (Drive: 3 plays, 72 yards, 0:36 Texas State 30–28)
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Statistics
| Statistics
|
UNT
|
TXST
|
| First downs |
22 |
26
|
| Plays–yards |
66–491 |
79–508
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| Rushes–yards |
25–98 |
44–201
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| Passing yards |
393 |
307
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| Passing: comp–att–int |
26–41–2 |
26–35–1
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| Time of possession |
22:13 |
37:47
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| Team |
Category |
Player |
Statistics
|
| North Texas
|
Passing |
Drew Mestemaker |
26/41, 393 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
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| Rushing |
Drew Mestemaker |
9 carries, 55 yards, 1 TD
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| Receiving |
Damon Ward Jr. |
5 receptions, 133 yards
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| Texas State
|
Passing |
Jordan McCloud |
26/35, 307 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
|
| Rushing |
Lincoln Pare |
21 carries, 143 yards, 2 TD
|
| Receiving |
Jaden Williams |
8 receptions, 155 yards, 1 TD
|
References
- ^ @Keff_C (January 3, 2025). "Post game ceremony commencing. #TXST RB Lincoln Pare named MVP" (Tweet). Retrieved January 3, 2025 – via Twitter.
- ^ Austro, Ben (December 9, 2024). "2024-25 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
- ^ Cobb, David. "2024-25 college football bowl schedule, games, dates, locations, kickoff times, TV channels". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
- ^ Kelley, Kevin. "College football bowl schedule for 2024-25 season released". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
- ^ "North Texas Mean Green vs. Texas State Bobcats football series history games list". winsipedia.com. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
External links
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Formerly known as the TicketCity / Heart of Dallas Bowl |
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| Venues |
- Evans Field (a.k.a. Normal Field) (1915–1931)
- Evans Field (a.k.a. Kyle Field) (1932–1980)
- UFCU Stadium (1981–present)
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| Bowls & rivalries | |
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| Culture & lore | |
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| Seasons | |
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National championship seasons in bold |