2013 New Mexico Bowl Preview: Washington St. vs. Colorado St.
The Gildan New Mexico Bowl may not be the ideal postseason destination for most big-time college football programs, but the Washington State Cougars (6-6) and Colorado State Rams (7-5) are both more than happy to be heading to Albuquerque for a bowl game.
The Rams are playing in their first bowl game since 2008, while the Cougars will get their first postseason experience in a decade. After enduring some rough losing seasons and plenty of hardships in recent years, both teams will certainly be revved up and ready to go when they clash for the first time ever on Saturday.
“One of the accomplishments you want early is to get in a bowl game and be part of that club,” Colorado State coach Jim McElwain told reporters at a news conference in Albuquerque, according to ESPN.com. “There’s a certain aura that comes with being a bowl team.”
Not knowing if they would ever play in a bowl game, Washington State’s seniors will finally get the opportunity this weekend and it’s one that head coach Mike Leach said they plan to make the most of.
“They’ve never been in a bowl and (had) hoped they would,” Leach said. “Talking about it and actually doing it are two different things.”
After nearly upsetting the BCS title-bound Auburn Tigers earlier this season, the Cougars earned some valuable big-game experience. They also faced off against one of the nation’s premier rushing attacks, which is something they’ll have to do again in challenging the Rams, who ranked 31st in the country this season with 202.7 rushing yards per game.
Meanwhile, Colorado State’s defense will have to gear up for a much different style of attack against a Cougars squad that threw for 364.5 yards per game (4th in nation). While McElwain admitted he didn’t know a whole lot about Washington State’s game, he noted he is well aware of Leach’s air raid offense.
“I know they throw the heck out of it,” McElwain said. “I know (Leach) isn’t afraid to throw it and he’ll probably throw it coming off the bus.”
While Washington State has managed to score nearly 30 points per game this season with a one-dimensional offense, Colorado State has featured a much more balanced attack. Although the Rams were known primarily for their running game, they also were effective through the air, throwing for 258.5 yards per game (40th in nation). In fact, you could argue that Colorado State employed the nation’s most balanced offense this season, as it ended the year as the only school with a 3,000-yard passer (Garrett Grayson) and a 1,500-yard rusher (Kapri Bibbs).
Despite gaining more total yards, allowing fewer total yards and scoring more points than the Cougars this season, the Rams find themselves on the underdog side of the line. Washington State is a 4.5-point favorite today, most likely because of the higher level of competition it faced in the Pac-12, but considering the Cougars have never seen the Rams’ dynamic high-powered attack up close, they could easily be caught off guard in this match-up.
Take the Colorado State Rams to cover +4.5 in the 2013 New Mexico Bowl.
