Colorado State and Idaho finished the season as two of the hottest teams in the Group of Five, each winning four of their final games and finishing the season on a winning streak. For Idaho, the four-game streak to close the season and wraps up what the program is calling "one of the most memorable seasons in Vandal football history," turning a 1-2 start into an 8-4 record in the program's next-to-last year of Sun Belt and FBS competition before transitioning to the FCS Big Sky Conference in 2018.
Viewing information
Date: Thursday, Dec. 22
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: Albertsons Stadium -- Boise, Idaho
TV: ESPN
Live streams: WatchESPN / WatchESPN apps
Storylines
Colorado State: Some teams were able to skate through the Mountain West with favorable schedules, but the Rams are proving to be one of the top teams in the league now making a bowl game for the fourth straight season. Mike Bobo is the first coach in CSU program history to make a bowl in each of his first two seasons, and the longtime Georgia offensive coordinator has it rolling by running the dang ball. Izzy Matthews ad Dalyn Dawkins are a great one-two threat in the backfield, and quarterback Nick Stevens has flourished since returning to the lineup in mid-October, completing 71.4 percent of his passes and throwing 14 touchdowns to just one interception.
Idaho: It's Idaho's third bowl appearance ever, first since 2009, and it comes in the penultimate year before the Vandals transition out of FBS play. Paul Petrino has this team going out on top thanks to winning six of its final eight games, and the poetry of stepping away from the bowls with a bowl game will be a talking point during the contest. In what has already been a dream season for the program, nothing would mean more than going out with a bowl win.
Players to watch
Michael Gallup, Colorado State WR: With 70 catches and more than 1,000 receiving yards to go with 11 touchdowns, Gallup has become a favored target for quarterback Nick Stevens one of the top targets in the Mountain West and enters the bowl game after collecting first team all-conference honors.
Austin Rehkrow, Idaho K: Rehkrow leads the nation in field goals made per game and he's connecting on 89.7 percent of his attempts. In addition to hitting field goal, Rehkrow is one of the best kickoff specialists and punters in the country, using his leg to help the Vandals win the field position battle.
Prediction
Idaho will come out fighting and should make this an interesting game for awhile, but Colorado State has too much offensive firepower if this turns into a shootout. The Rams averaged 38.5 points per game in conference competition, and I've got the Vandals rated about near the Mountain West average so I'm expecting CSU to hang 40 on the scoreboard in a two-touchdown win. Pick: Rams -13.5
