The game was played Wednesday, December 22, 2010, at 5 p.m. PST at 40,000-seat Sam Boyd Stadium near Las Vegas, broadcast on ESPN.
The Utes had played in the Las Vegas bowl twice before, defeating Fresno State 17–16 in 1999 and beating USC 10–6 in 2001.
[3] Boise State was invited to the bowl after not enough Pac-10 teams were bowl-eligible to meet their contractual requirements.
The 2010 game marked BSU's first Maaco Bowl Las Vegas appearance.
The two schools, which have been considered among the best non-AQ programs in the Football Bowl Subdivision, had previously met on six occasions.