GAME NOTES:

• The Snow College Badgers will head to Cedar Falls, Iowa to participate in the 2023 Iowa Community College Athletic Conference Game One Bowl Sunday, Dec. 3.  They will face No. 11 Iowa Central Community College in the 45th edition of the event.

• Despite winning their final five games of the season, the Badgers were not selected by participate in the NJCAA Division I Football Playoff.  The finished fifth in the week 13 Division I Football Poll and were invited to participate in the Game One Bowl as an alternative.

• Snow College finished the regular season with a 32-13 victory against Monroe College in New York.  With the victory, Snow College recorded nine wins in a season for the first time since it went 10-1 throughout the 2017 season.  

• 2017 was the last time the Badgers participated in a bowl game that wasn't part of the NJCAA Football Playoff.  They defeated No. 10 Blinn College in a 43-41 thriller to claim the 2017 El Toro Bowl.  

• Snow College finished the season as the nation's third-best defense in terms of points per game allowed.  The Badgers allowed opponents to score just 15.4 points per game.  What's more, they also sported a top-10 offense scoring 35 points per game, which was good enough for seventh overall. 

• Offensively, the Badgers are led by quarterback Donovan Smith, who finished the regular season as one of the best quarterbacks in the country.  Smith was second in the nation in completions (196) and passing yards (2,477) and third overall in passing touchdowns with 25.

• Snow College paced the nation in a handful of categories including first downs (274), total 3rd-down conversions (74), total 4th-down conversions (21), and red zone touchdowns.  The Badgers also finished sixth in rushing yards per game allowed.

•ICCC owns a 6-4 overall record and finished the season 11th in the NJCAA Division I Football Poll.  The Badgers have won both of their meetings against the Tritons historically.  Their last meeting was a matchup in Fort Dodge, Iowa May 8, 2021 in which the Badgers claimed a 48-18 victory.
 

SEASON RECAP: Snow College entered the 2023 campaign at No. 4 in the NJCAA Division I Preseason Poll following an 8-2 regular season record in 2022.  They finished the 2022 regular season one spot shy of the coveted top four slots that make the NJCAA Football Playoff.  

The Badgers returned quarterback Donovan Smith, who played just four snaps last year before suffering a season-ending injury.  Smith would go on to be one of the best quarterbacks in the nation during the 2023 season.

Snow College started the year with a heartbreaking loss against No. 15 Trinity Valley Community College.  The Cardinals scored a touchdown with 10 seconds remaining to hand the Badgers their first loss of the season.

Following the loss, Snow College rattled off four consecutive victories, including wins over No. 14 New Mexico Military Institute and No. 13 Georgia Military College.  The 4-1 Badgers were then pitted against the No. 2, undefeated, and reigning National Champion Reivers of Iowa Western Community College.

Snow College took a 13-10 lead into halftime but was held scoreless in the second half to drop the game to the Reivers 20-13.  The Badgers wrapped up their home schedule of games with three consecutive victories.  They scored 50 points or more in each of those games including back-to-back shutouts against St. George Junior College and Pacific Northwest Christian College.

The Badgers gutted out a 33-32 victory against Garden City Community College to begin November.  Snow College scored 12 unanswered points, including the game-winning touchdown with 1:42 left in the 4th quarter to earn the 1-point victory.

Snow College culminated its 2023 season with a 32-13 victory over Monroe College to earn its ninth victory of the season.  This is the highest win total the Badgers have recorded since going 10-1 during the 2017 season.

As mentioned, Donovan Smith finished the season as one of the best quarterbacks in the nation.  He was third overall in touchdown passes and second in total passing yards.  He was second in the country in completions with 196 and completed 58 percent of his passes throughout the year.

Entering the Game One Bowl, the Badgers sport the seventh-best offense in the nation averaging 35 points per game.  Snow College is also third overall defensively allowing opponents to score just 15.4 points per game.  The Badgers pace the nation in total first downs (274), total 3rd-down conversions (74), total 4th-down conversions (21), and red zone touchdowns (28).

GAME ONE BOWL: The 2023 Game One Bowl matchup is set and will feature the #11 Iowa Central Tritons (6-4, 1-1) against the #5 Snow (Utah) College Badgers (9-2) on Sunday, Dec. 3 at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls.

The two teams will square off on the University of Northern Iowa Campus for the first time since Spring 2021, and just the third time in history. Snow won the previous two meetings taking the 2021 game 48-18 and also picking up a victory in 2019, 30-20. 

Snow is making their second appearance at the Game One Bowl after attending back in 2018. The Badgers narrowly fell to Iowa Western in a battle of top 10 teams, 19-17. The Reivers won on a game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter. 

The Tritons will play in their sixth-straight bowl dating back to 2018. They have won their previous five Game One Bowls, most recently a 31-24 win over Trinity Valley (Texas) last season.

Iowa Central saw peaks and pits during the 2023 season, but found their way to a 6-4 record and yet another bowl berth. The Tritons jumped out to a 5-1 record with their only loss coming to No. 1 Hutchinson. Ranked No. 3 in the country midway through the season, Iowa Central ran into a three-game losing skid that dropped them down to No. 15 in the country. In the final week, the Tritons blew out Highland (Kan.) 41-13 and climbed back up to No. 11 where they stood in the final NJCAA poll.  

The Tritons were led by their passing attack which ranked 10th in the country in yards per game at 238.9. Iowa Central's top wideout had one of the best seasons in the NJCAA at any position. The 2023 ICCAC Offensive Player of the Year Mario Sanders is currently the nation's leader in receptions (70) and touchdowns (12), while also being top three in yards (926) and yards per game (92.6). 

Defensively, the Tritons were 11th in the country in takeaways defensively with 11 interceptions and 13 fumble recoveries -- along with 31 sacks, also 11th in the country. 

On the other side of the field, the No. 5 ranked Snow Badgers are a playoff caliber football team. At 9-2, Snow were the odd team out of the four-team conversation after the latest poll. The Badgers have made the playoffs twice since it began in Spring 2021, most recently in the fall session of the 2021 season.

Their only losses this season came in Week 1 on the road at Trinity Valley -- and in Council Bluffs against the No. 2 ranked Reivers.

In 2023, Snow produced a top 10 offense through the regular season averaging 35 points per game and nearly 400 yards of offense. Quarterback Donovan Smith is second in the country in attempts, and has the second most yards at 2477 to go along with 25 touchdowns. 
 

Smith's top targets are Jared Wilson, Ayo Shotomide-King and Amir McGruder. All have 425 yards or more --- and Wilson has hauled in nine TDs. 
 

Running backs Spencer Lambert and AJ Tillman share the load in the running game. Both have accumulated over 500 yards on the ground this season. Lambert leads the team in yards with 640, while Tillman gets the Badgers into the end zone. He has 10 touchdowns. 

Defensively, Snow is also in the top 10 as a team. They allow just 269 yards of offense and have 25 takeaways.

Historically, Iowa Central is 18-9 at the Game One Bowl. The Tritons have won in each of their last 12 appearances. As mentioned, Snow is 0-1 in Iowa's oldest bowl game. 

The 2023 Game One Bowl will be the 45th edition of the event, with its first ever game being played back in 1978.

Game time is 1:00 p.m. Doors open to the public at 11:30 a.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students. 

For more information on the 2023 Game One Bowl visit www.gameonebowl.com.