New Mexico Bowl Recap

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What a game this was, and if you liked offense then this was the game for you. As expected the running backs dominated the offense. Gattrell Johnson III from Colorado State was named the games MVP because of this stat line: 27 carries, 285 yards, 2 touchdowns plus he caught 5 passes for 90 yards for a total of 375 of total offense. On the Fresno State side they had two backs over 100 yards wit Anthony Harding who had 2 scores and 120 yards, and then Lonyae Miler also had two scores plus 113 yards.

Fresno was the team that got off to the fast start by scoring their first score within four minutes, and then the Rams countered with a similar drive and scored very quickly. The game went back and forth through the first three quarters, but it was the fourth quarter that separated the two teams. The Rams down 28-20 going into the fourth quarter and scored 20 unanswered points to put the game out of reach.

The rushing game gave up big yards per play, but the Rams nearly averaged a first down per play with 9.6 yards per rush attempt. Fresno was no slouch as they were able to rush for 6.4 per rush.

The difference in this game was that Colorado State quarterback Bill Farris played an exceptional game going 17 for 29 with 257 yards along with one score and pick. The passing game for the Rams yielded 15.11 yards per catch with 5 catches that went 69, 57, 22, 21, and 19 yards. Farris was also able to spread the ball around to eight different receivers, as well. The success in the rushing game was no surprise for the Rams, because running up the middle was Fresno's achilles, but they supposedly had great defensive speed and the Rams were able to still swing the ball to every part of the field.

Fresno State on the other hand was unable to beat the Colorado State secondary in the passing game. The Rams were well prepared after playing in the Mountain West where four of the teams pass the ball around and spread the field in their offense. That was the real difference because Colorado State was able to pass when they needed to and had big catches by Rashaun Greer who only had one catch but it was a 69 yard touchdown, and then super tight end Kory Sperry caught a 22 yard touchdown reception while being double teamed in the corner of the endzone.

The 77 yard rushing touchdown by Gattrell Johnson with 1:46 remaining, and this was the Rams first bowl win in seven years, and this was the first bowl win by a first year head coach at Colorado State. The Rams look to be in safe hands in the future after turning the program over from legend Sunny Lubbick to current head coach Steve Fairchild.

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New Mexico Bowl Preview: Colorado State vs. Fresno State

(6-6) (7-4)

New Mexico Bowl, University Stadium 2:30PM MT TV:




The ever so many bowl games are here and this game features two old WAC rivals, and gives this game some meaning to what league is superior. Fresno State was a team that fell of the map after being in the top 25 and being mentioned as a BCS buster.

Then the Bulldogs do what they do best which is beat a big name opponent at Rutgers and then played then number 10 Wisconsin to a close lose. After that Fresno did their typical thing and lose a few conference games and then get crushed in their biggest conference game against Boise State.

Colorado State was not expected to be this good with first year coach Steve Fairchild and a new quarterback, but the Rams were lead by their running attack of Gattrel Johnson III and Kyle Bell.

Fresno had their bowl game invited wrapped up in early November, but the Rams had to win their last two games to become bowl eligible and also has to defeat their rival Wyoming on the last game of the year.

What to expect in this game is a lot of points and the total to have at least 55. Both teams are pretty identical in total offense per game, with the Rams having a slight edge in the running game and Fresno having the edge in the passing game.

The Rams' ground attack is fueled by first-team All-MWC 225-pound RB Gartrell Johnson, who is a powerful between-the-tackles runner. Behind Johnson, 234-pound Kyle Bell provides excellent depth, and he too is at his best running inside. This doesn't bode well for a Fresno State run defense that's giving up an average of 5.3 yards per carry, so look for the Rams to try to control the time of possession and ride the running game.

Even if the running game gets stalled or the Rams have to pass they have one of the best tight ends in the country in Kory Sperry who catches anything thrown his way. If not for Dennis Pita from BYU, Sperry would be getting some big time recognition.

Rashaun Greer is another receiving threat for the Rams who has 1,045 yards on the year and a couple of scores, but the real strength is the running game of Colorado State.

Fresno will not back down from anyone and should look to pass against the Rams, because the Rams only have 9 sacks on the year. So, they will have plenty of time to find their main receivers in Chastin West, Seyi Ajirotutu and Devon Wylie should have plenty of time to separate from the coverage.

The running game could be another strength for Fresno, because Colorado State is not great in stopping the run as they gave up 5.2 yards per carry. However the main back for Fresno, Ryan Mathews has been hampered by a knee injury for the better part of the season, and it's unknown whether he'll be able play in the game. The replacement will be Anthony Harding and Jamal Rashad and the way the offensive line for Fresno will allow them to be able to run against the Rams defense.

The Essentials
Colorado State
Offense - 377 ypg, 247 ypg passing, 129 ypg rushing
Defense - 407 ypg, 222 ypg passing, 185 ypg rushing
Wins versus Bowl Teams - Houston

Fresno State
Offense - 383 ypg, 206 ypg passing, 177 ypg rushing
Defense - 393 ypg, 196 ypg passing, 197 ypg rushing
Wins versus Bowl Teams - Rutgers

Prediction: Colorado State 27 Fresno State 21

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WhatifSports Bowl Predictions for the Mountain West

WhatifSports posted their bowl projections for all 34 bowls. For those that do not know about What if Sports it is basically a simulation sight where you can take control of teams and one can get very lost in their site by playing historical matchups and seeing complete play by play in their sim matchups.

WhatIfSports.com’s Beyond the Box score predictions have been on roll in 2008. Using the same methodology the last two bowl seasons, we accurately predicted the winner of 78 percent of the bowls straight-up (and 64 percent of them against-the-spread).

Here are their predictions:

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
Boise State 23 - TCU 18 (Click for Boxscore)
Highlight: Ian Johnson fumbles the ball away, but the Broncos still recover in the end zone for the game-winning touchdown to win the game late in the fourth quarter.
Player of the Game: Jeremy Childs, WR, Boise State (72 receiving yards, 2 TDs)

New Mexico Bowl
Fresno State 44 - Colorado State 28 (Click for Boxscore)
Highlight: Ryan Mathews who? Two Bulldogs rush for 140+ yards and Fresno State totals 380 yards on the ground in total versus a porous Colorado State defense (106th in FBS).
Player of the Game: Lonyae Miller, RB, Fresno State (153 rushing yards, 2 TDs)

Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl
BYU 25 - Arizona 24 (Click for Boxscore)
Highlight: Mitch Payne’s 35-yard field goal with 19 seconds left, his fourth made field goal of the day, edges BYU ahead of Arizona in a classic.
Player of the Game: Harvey Unga, RB, BYU (111 total yards, 3 TDs)

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
Houston 33 - Air Force 24 (Click for Boxscore)
Highlight:Case Keenum’s almost perfect day (just four incompletions and no interceptions) lights up Air Force.
Player of the Game: Case Keenum, QB, Houston (315 passing yards, 3 TDs)

Allstate Sugar Bowl
Utah 19 - Alabama 17 (Click for Boxscore)
Highlight: Utah kicker/punter Louie Sakoda hits his fourth field goal of the game, a 51-yarder, as time expires to keep the Utes undefeated.
Player of the Game: Matt Asiata, RB, Utah (132 rushing yards, 1 TD)

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Final Bowl projections for the MWC

There were no major upsets, well technically if you count Florida because they were behind in the rankings, but a 10 point favorite. There has been steam gaining that since Florida is ranked sixth by the computers and fourth in the coaches poll. I crunched some numbers and if Florida moves up to number three in the computer rankings which is where Alabama was, then if Florida jumps Texas, only 9 poll votes, and takes the second spot and gets the same votes as Oklahoma did at number two, and finally in the Harris poll if they stay true to their rankings Florida would be number one and just for this purpose get the same votes Alabama did at that spot.

Here is a small chart below to point out how close it would be. This is my estimation, but Texas could get a strength of schedule boost for beating Oklahoma earlier and perhaps get a big bump ahead of Florida in the computer, but who knows.

Florida Texas
Computer Avg .920 (3rd ranking) Computer Avg .950 (2nd ranking)
Coaches Poll .9161 (2nd ranking) Coaches Poll .9154 (3rd Ranking)
Harris Poll .9965 (1st ranking) Harris Poll .9115 (3rd Ranking)
Total .9442 Total .9256

Utah vs. Alabama

This is the best possible matchup for Utah because Alabama’s offense is not that great and the only great player is running back Glenn Coffee and freshman Julio Jones is pretty good.

BYU Vs. Arizona

This is a financial decision for the bowl to sell out the crowd and hotel sponsors. BYU gets the reward by playing a 7-6 Arizona team.

Colorado State vs. Fresno State

Fresno has all ready accepted this bowl invite and almost a certainty to be playing Colorado State, because the New Mexico bowl gets the last selection of MWC teams.

Air Force vs. Nevada

This is a good fit, because San Diego has a presecence in the armed services, and this spot is an at large Nevada gets the cut because they are 7-5 and close to the area. There is speculation that TCU and Boise State would play here, but I can not see the bowls releasing either since they both have the chance to play at home. A Boise State versus TCU would be a great matchup and possible one of the highest ranked teams in a non-BCS bowl game.

TCU vs. Houston

This would be another old Southwest Conference matchup. A good matchup between a great offense and a great defense.

Once the official bowl announcements are out I will post on that.

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New Mexico Bowl fills one spot

Fresno State has been officially invited to play a Mountain West team in the New Mexico Bowl, according to the AP. The Bulldogs will be with their head coach Pat Hill who was in the running for the University of Washington job. Fresno is from the Western Athletic Conference and finished the regular season at 7-5. The most likely opponent is Colorado State Rams from the Mountain West. This bowl takes place at University Stadium in Albuquerque, New Mexico on December 20th.