2025 Xbox Bowl
The 2025 Xbox Bowl was a college football bowl game that was played on December 18, 2025, at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. The first edition of the Xbox Bowl, it began at approximately 8:00 p.m. CST. The Xbox Bowl was one of the 2025–26 bowl games concluding the 2025 [NCAA Division I FBS football season|2025 FBS football season], and the only such bowl to air primarily on ESPN2. The game's title sponsor was Microsoft Gaming via their Xbox brand.
In 2025, the Xbox Bowl was created as a new bowl game, replacing the Bahamas Bowl.
The inaugural Xbox Bowl featured the 2025 [Missouri State Bears football team|Missouri State Bears] of Conference USA football season|Conference USA] and the 2025 [Arkansas State Red Wolves football team|Arkansas State Red Wolves] of the 2025 [Sun Belt Conference football season|Sun Belt Conference]. Arkansas State beat Missouri State by a score of 34–28.
Teams
This matchup between Arkansas State and Missouri State was the sixth all-time meeting between the two programs; they first played in 1923. Entering the bowl, the Red Wolves led the series, 3–2. The most recent prior meeting between the two programs was in 2015, which was a Red Wolves victory, 70–7.Missouri State Bears
Missouri State compiled a 7–5 record. Because this was the final year of a two-year transition from the NCAA [Division I Football Championship Subdivision|Football Championship Subdivision], Missouri State was not originally bowl eligible. However, because of an insufficient number of bowl-eligible teams available to fill all bowl games, the Bears were ultimately granted a bowl game berth. This was the first bowl game in Missouri State school history.The Bears were led by interim head coach Nick Petrino for their bowl game; he took over from Ryan Beard on December 12.