2023 Hula Bowl

2023 Tunnel to Towers Foundation Hula Bowl
2023 Tunnel to Towers Foundation Hula Bowl
77th Hula Bowl
Team Kai	Team Aina
16	13
Head coach: ; Brian Billick	Head coach: ; Mike Smith
Date	January 14, 2023
Season	Network
Announcers	Jamie Seh (play-by-play), Brian Baldinger (color), Nick Lowery (sideline), Smacker Miles (sideline)
Hula Bowl
< 2022	2024 >

The 2023 Hula Bowl was a postseason college football all-star game played on January 14, 2023, with kickoff at 12:00 noon EST, at FBC Mortgage Stadium in Orlando, Florida.^[4] It was the first all-star contest of the 2022–23 bowl games and, while not restricted to FBS players, one of the final games of the 2022 FBS football season. Television coverage was provided by CBS Sports Network.^[4] This was the second playing of the Hula Bowl outside of Hawaii, due to Aloha Stadium near Honolulu being closed for renovations.^[5] The game rostered players into Aina and Kai teams, the words for land and sea in the Hawaiian language. Through sponsorship from the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, the game was officially named the 2023 Tunnel to Towers Foundation Hula Bowl.^[6]

Players

Bounce House

in February 2020

Selected players are listed below. Full roster are available online (link); note that a number may be shared by an offensive and defensive player.

Two players from Japan participated in the game: Kento Ogushi (CB, Waseda University) and Mikito Itokawa (WR, Kwansei Gakuin University).^[7]

Team Aina

Coach: Mike Smith

No.	Player	Position	HT/WT	College
17	Tim DeMorat	QB	6'3/224	Fordham
16	Chase Brice	QB	6'2/235	Appalachian State
11	Adrian Martinez	QB	6'2/219	Kansas State
5	Isaiah Bowser	RB	6'0/222	UCF
3	Khalan Laborn	RB	5'9/198	Marshall
7	Charles McClelland	RB	5'11/188	Cincinnati

Team Kai

Coach: Brian Billick

No.	Player	Position	HT/WT	College
10	Holton Ahlers	QB	6'3/237	East Carolina
12	Sean Clifford	QB	6'2/217	Penn State
10	Tanner Morgan	QB	6'0/200	Minnesota
34	Christopher Brooks	RB	6'0/232	BYU
2	Elijah Dotson	RB	5'9/199	Northern Colorado (FCS)
21	Toa Taua	RB	5'8/208	Nevada
6	Calvin Tyler	RB	5'7/211	Utah State

Game summary

Team Kai wore white uniforms and Team Aina wore dark uniforms.^[3] The game was played using National Football League (NFL) rules; however, punt returns were not allowed.^[8] In place of kickoffs, teams automatically started possessions at their own 25-yard line.^[3]

The game was officiated by an all-female crew, assigned by the NFL "from their development pool of college officials."

center judge in the 2022 Fenway Bowl.^[10]

2023 Hula Bowl

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Kai	0	3	7	6	16
Aina	0	7	6	0	13

at FBC Mortgage Stadium • Orlando, Florida

Date: Saturday, January 14, 2023
Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: Sunny• Temperature: 48 °F (9 °C) • Wind 15 mph (24 km/h) northwest
Game attendance: 8,314
Referee: Amanda Sauer
TV: CBS Sports Network
Report 1 Report 2

Game information

First quarter

No scoring

Second quarter

Kai (5:03) – Chris Dunn 30-yard field goal;^[11] Kai 3–0
Aina (0:46) – Ryan Miller 8-yard touchdown reception from Adrian Martinez; Jack Podlesny kick good; Aina 7–3

Third quarter

Kai (0:20) – Michael Ezeike 20-yard touchdown reception from Holton Ahlers; Tanner Brown kick good; Kai 10–7
Aina (0:00) – Trea Shropshire 75-yard touchdown reception from Tim DeMorat; Chris Dunn kick failed (wide left); Aina 13–10

Fourth quarter

Kai (7:00) – Jack Podlesny 26-yard field goal; Tied 13–13
Kai (1:55) – Tanner Brown 27-yard field goal; Kai 16–13

Note: bowl organizers had the three placekickers (Dunn, Podlesny, and Brown) rotate through opportunities to kick during the game, regardless of team affiliations.^[12]

References

^ @ToledoFB (January 14, 2023). "@CoachScott_UT helped coach offensive MVP Holton Ahlers" (Tweet). Retrieved January 23, 2023 – via Twitter.
^ @PeterAriz (January 15, 2023). "Congrats @JoFerg__ on a great week of practice and heck of a Defensive MVP performance in yesterday's @Hula_Bowl!" (Tweet). Retrieved January 23, 2023 – via Twitter.
^ ^a ^b ^c CBS Sports broadcast of the game
^ ^a ^b "Game Day 2022". hulabowl.com. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
^ Jankowski, Jon (August 9, 2021). "Hula Bowl to be played at UCF for one year". clickorlando.com. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
^ "Tunnel to Towers Foundation to Serve as Title Sponsor of Hula Bowl 2023". globenewswire.com (Press release). November 16, 2022. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
^ Gamarra, Max (January 14, 2023). "Team Kai beats Team Aina 16-13 in 2023 Hula Bowl". nicholsonstudentmedia.com. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
^ Jimenez, James H. (January 15, 2023). "2023 Hula Bowl Post-Game Stats and Analysis". hustlebelt.com. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
^ Gallant, Colin (January 14, 2023). "Hula Bowl makes college football history with first all-female officiating crew". clutchpoints.com. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
^ Austro, Ben (January 14, 2023). "Hula Bowl will have an all-female officiating crew". footballzebras.com. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
^ @therealBeede (January 14, 2023). "We've got points at the Hula Bowl! NC State kicker Chris Dunn made a 30-yard field goal for Team Kai. 2Q 5:03: Kai 3, Aina 0" (Tweet). Retrieved January 23, 2023 – via Twitter.
^ Nick Lowery in-game interview with Jack Podlesny

External links

[1] @ToledoFB (January 14, 2023). "@CoachScott_UT helped coach offensive MVP Holton Ahlers" (Tweet). Retrieved January 23, 2023 – via Twitter.

[2] @PeterAriz (January 15, 2023). "Congrats @JoFerg__ on a great week of practice and heck of a Defensive MVP performance in yesterday's @Hula_Bowl!" (Tweet). Retrieved January 23, 2023 – via Twitter.

[CBS-3] CBS Sports broadcast of the game

[about-4] "Game Day 2022". hulabowl.com. Retrieved November 18, 2021.

[5] Jankowski, Jon (August 9, 2021). "Hula Bowl to be played at UCF for one year". clickorlando.com. Retrieved November 18, 2021.

[6] "Tunnel to Towers Foundation to Serve as Title Sponsor of Hula Bowl 2023". globenewswire.com (Press release). November 16, 2022. Retrieved January 23, 2023.

[Gamarra-7] Gamarra, Max (January 14, 2023). "Team Kai beats Team Aina 16-13 in 2023 Hula Bowl". nicholsonstudentmedia.com. Retrieved January 23, 2023.

[Jimenez-8] Jimenez, James H. (January 15, 2023). "2023 Hula Bowl Post-Game Stats and Analysis". hustlebelt.com. Retrieved January 23, 2023.

[9] Gallant, Colin (January 14, 2023). "Hula Bowl makes college football history with first all-female officiating crew". clutchpoints.com. Retrieved January 23, 2023.

[10] Austro, Ben (January 14, 2023). "Hula Bowl will have an all-female officiating crew". footballzebras.com. Retrieved January 23, 2023.

[11] @therealBeede (January 14, 2023). "We've got points at the Hula Bowl! NC State kicker Chris Dunn made a 30-yard field goal for Team Kai. 2Q 5:03: Kai 3, Aina 0" (Tweet). Retrieved January 23, 2023 – via Twitter.

[12] Nick Lowery in-game interview with Jack Podlesny

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v t e 2022–23 NCAA football bowl game season
Bahamas (Dec. 16) Cure (Dec. 16) Fenway (Dec. 17) Celebration (Dec. 17) Las Vegas (Dec. 17) LA (Dec. 17) LendingTree (Dec. 17) New Mexico (Dec. 17) Frisco (Dec. 17) Myrtle Beach (Dec. 19) Famous Idaho Potato (Dec. 20) Boca Raton (Dec. 20) New Orleans (Dec. 21) Armed Forces (Dec. 22) Independence (Dec. 23) Gasparilla (Dec. 23) Hawaii (Dec. 24) Quick Lane (Dec. 26) Camellia (Dec. 27) First Responder (Dec. 27) Birmingham (Dec. 27) Guaranteed Rate (Dec. 27) Military (Dec. 28) Liberty (Dec. 28) Holiday (Dec. 28) Texas (Dec. 28) Pinstripe (Dec. 29) Cheez-It (Dec. 29) Alamo (Dec. 29) Duke's Mayo (Dec. 30) Sun (Dec. 30) Gator (Dec. 30) Arizona (Dec. 30) Orange (Dec. 30) Sugar (Dec. 31) Music City (Dec. 31) ReliaQuest (Jan. 2) Citrus (Jan. 2) Cotton (Jan. 2) Rose (Jan. 2)
College Football Playoff games: Fiesta (Dec. 31) Peach (Dec. 31) National Championship Game (Jan. 9)
All-Star Games Hula Bowl (Jan. 14) Tropical Bowl (Jan. 21) NFLPA Collegiate Bowl (Jan. 28) East–West Shrine Bowl (Feb. 2) Senior Bowl (Feb. 4) HBCU Legacy Bowl (Feb. 25)