The 2005 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl matched the UCF Golden Knights against the Nevada Wolf Pack.
Trailing late in the game by ten points, UCF rallied to tie the score 42–42 and force overtime.
UCF scored a touchdown, but kicker Matt Prater, who would go on to kick an NFL-record 64-yard field goal on December 8, 2013, as a member of the Denver Broncos, missed the 60-foot extra point, sealing the victory for Nevada.
UCF kicker Matt Prater capped off the 11–play drive with a 47–yard field goal and a 17–7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The first score came after UCF kicker Matt Prater missed a 40–yard field goal attempt (off a wobbly snap).
Jeff Rowe threw a 54–yard pass to Nichiren Flowers, then Hubbard broke away for another long run, this time a 24–yard touchdown rush to make the score 28–17.
UCF drove to the Nevada 16 yard line in the final minute and Matt Prater kicked a 38–yard field goal.
[3][4][5] In the fourth quarter, Robert Hubbard scored a 5–yard touchdown run, after a lengthy clock–burning drive to give Nevada a 35–32 lead.
With 3:18 to go in the game, quarterback Jeff Rowe threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Travis Branzell to extend the Nevada lead to 42–32.
Kevin Smith answered with a 19–yard touchdown run for UCF, but Matt Prater missed the extra point and Nevada escaped with a 49–48 win.
The school only brought 253 people in their travel party and as few as 380 fans bought game ticket packages.
The especially long distance (nearly 5,000 miles), costly airline tickets and expensive hotel rates during the busy holiday season were the primary reason cited.