2023 First Responder Bowl

The 2023 First Responder Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 26, 2023, at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in University Park, Texas. The 14th annual First Responder Bowl featured the 2023 [Texas State Bobcats football team|Texas State Bobcats] of the Sun Belt Conference and the 2023 Rice [Owls football team|Rice Owls] of the American Athletic Conference. The game began at approximately 4:30 p.m. CST and was aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2023–24 bowl games concluding the 2023 FBS football season. Sponsored by cleanup and restoration company Servpro, the game was officially known as the Servpro First Responder Bowl.

Teams

The game featured the Texas State Bobcats of the Sun Belt Conference and the Rice Owls of the American Athletic Conference.
This was the fifth meeting between Texas State and Rice; the series was tied at 2–2 entering the game. This was the first appearance in a First Responder Bowl for both teams.

Texas State Bobcats

The Bobcats entered the game with a 7–5 record, tied for second place in their conference's West Division. After starting their season with four wins in their first five games, the Bobcats lost four of their final seven games.
This was the first bowl game in the football program history of Texas State.

Rice Owls

The Owls entered the game with a 6–6 record, tied for fifth place in the conference. After starting their season 4–3, the Owls had a three game losing streak, then won their final two games to become bowl eligible.
JT Daniels began the season as Rice's starting quarterback, but left the Owls' week nine game against SMU on November 1 with a concussion after taking a shot to the helmet in the second quarter. A month later, on December 1, Daniels announced that he would be retiring from football due to the multiple concussions he sustained during his career.