The 2022 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 20, 2022, at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho. The 26th annual Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, the game featured the Eastern Michigan Eagles from the Mid-American Conference and the San Jose State Spartans from the Mountain West Conference. The game began at 1:33 p.m. MST and aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2022–23 bowl games concluding the 2022 FBS football season.
The Spartans started the game the better team, as they scored a touchdown on their first offensive drive and forced a fumble on their first defensive series. They scored another touchdown on their third drive, but the extra point was blocked and returned for a defensive two-point conversion by Eastern Michigan's Tristen Hines. Both teams' fortunes turned from there: Eastern Michigan scored touchdowns on each of their final four drives of the first half, and San Jose State committed a turnover on downs and threw two interceptions, giving the Eagles a 17-point halftime lead. The teams traded punts on each of their first two drives of the third quarter before Eastern Michigan extended their lead with a 51-yard Jesús Gómez field goal, followed by a San Jose State touchdown. In some of their final drives, the teams traded touchdowns before trading interceptions, leading to the end of the game with Eastern Michigan defeating San Jose State, 41–27.
Teams
The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl featured the Eastern Michigan Eagles from the Mid-American Conference and the San Jose State Spartans from the Mountain West Conference. This was the second all-time meeting between Eastern Michigan and San Jose State. Eastern Michigan — known then as the Hurons — defeated the Spartans 30–27 in the 1987 California Bowl in the teams' first meeting.
Eastern Michigan
The Eagles finished their regular season with an 8–4 record. They improved to 9–4 after the bowl victory, thus finishing with their second-best season in program history. This was the fourth bowl game appearance in the last five seasons for Eastern Michigan, though all of the previous three came without victories. The Eagles' only previous bowl win came against San Jose State in the 1987 California Bowl, mentioned above. Eastern Michigan's rush offense was expected to be an indicator of their potential for success in the contest, with running back Samson Evans entering the game with 1,084 yards on the season, and quarterback Taylor Powell had been reliable for EMU entering with over 1,800 passing yards and a 65 percent completion rate.
San Jose State
San Jose State entered the game with a 7–5 record. They entered with the nation's fourth-best turnover margin, having given the ball away just six times over the course of the season. The San Jose State defense was ranked No. 26 in the country, averaging 333 yards allowed per game. The Spartans' offense was led by quarterback Chevan Cordeiro, who entered the game with 508 yards rushing in addition to his passing stats. To complement Cordeiro, wide receiver Elijah Cooks was expected to be the leading playmaker out of the Spartans' receiving corps.
Game summary
The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl was televised by ESPN, with a commentary team of Clay Matvick, Rocky Boiman, and Dawn Davenport. The game's American Athletic Conference officiating crew was led by referee Nate Black and umpire Bill Lamkin. At kickoff, the weather at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho, the site of the game, was and cloudy.