Cheez-It Bowl Betting History

The Cheez-It Bowl has undergone a number of changes in name and venue since first being christened as the Copper Bowl in 1989. The Arizona Wildcats enjoyed home-field advantage in the inaugural edition of the Copper Bowl, handing the North Carolina State Wolfpack a 17-10 loss on the familiar turf of Arizona Stadium, which would serve as the site of this contest until 1999.

This game has seen several name changes, starting with a renaming to the Insight.com Bowl in 1997, which was later modified to the Insight Bowl in 2002. That again changed to the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl for two years starting in 2012, before being rechristened as the Cactus Bowl in time for the 2014-15 bowl season. Now, it’s known as the Cheez-It Bowl.

The Cactus Bowl has also seen numerous changes in venue during its three decades of existence.  The game left Tucson following the 1999 Insight.com Bowl, taking up residence at Bank One Ballpark, home of baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks, for six years before settling in Tempe at Sun Devil Stadium, home of the Wildcats’ archrivals, the Arizona State Sun Devils.

Starting with the 2015-16 edition of the Cactus Bowl, in which the West Virginia Mountaineers shaded the Sun Devils 43-42 as 3-point underdogs, the game returned temporarily to the home of the Diamondbacks, now known as Chase Field, while Sun Devil Stadium underwent major offseason renovations.

The Cheez-It Bowl now features teams from the Pac-12 and Big 12 conferences, and has produced some notable game MVPs. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers claimed 2003 MVP honors as a member of the California Golden Bears, and Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell was selected as 2012 MVP while with the Michigan State Spartans.

The 2018 Cheez-It Bowl will see the California Golden Bears vs the TCU Horned Frogs. For the latest odds, a free pick and handicapping information, visit our Cheez-It Bowl Game Center.