Home -
NCAAF - New Mexico Bowl: Colorado St Rams +2½ vs. Fresno St Bulldogs
New Mexico Bowl: Colorado St Rams +2½ vs. Fresno St Bulldogs
Game Time: Saturday, December 20, 2008 02:30 PM ET
It was a downer season for Fresno State after beginning with BCS hopes. Look for the Colorado St Rams to be well motivated Saturday when they take on the Bulldogs.
This matchup all comes down to motivation: The Colorado State Rams have it and the Fresno State Bulldogs don't.
Fresno State started the season with BCS hopes as they were highly touted to be a BCS buster similar to conference mate Boise State. After an impressive road victory to open the season at Rutgers the bandwagon backers doubled. But after a highly anticipated 13-10 home loss to Wisconsin the team went into the tank.
Fresno failed to cover nine straight games and 10 of 11 to end the regular season. A team that had plenty of success in the past failed to live up to their goals. Now they will be playing in their ninth bowl in the last 10 years knowing a December 20th date in Albuquerque wasn't on the preseason agenda.
"We haven't had the concentration level we usually have during the week of practice," Fresno State coach Hill said. "But we'll see. We want to make sure school is taken care of first. And hopefully, by the time we get to New Mexico, we'll have two days to tighten it up for this game."
That doesn't sound like a confident coach bringing an inspired team into action. The Bulldogs only had five practices and the coaches have missed time to recruit. This isn't a team that is putting this game up high on their priority list.
Colorado State on the other hand is tickled pink about playing in a bowl, their first since 2000. The team has sold virtually their entire allotment of tickets and the game is high on the priority list for new coach Fairchild, for now and in the future. Colorado State will be bolstered by returning players in the secondary, and the defense which was a problem for most of the season looks to be improving.
Fresno State has picked off just seven passes in the last two years, a simply amazing stat. That means the line just isn't getting much of a push and the defensive backs don't anticipate well. That's not good news against this solid Rams scoring unit.
The Bulldogs are a horrible favorite posting a 4-20 spread mark and they simply don't deserve to lay any points here. Colorado State has the motivation and the fan and university support. Look for the energy level to be high as the Mountain West Conference continues their bowl success (9-4 straight up the past three bowl seasons).
Free Pick: Colorado St +2½ (-110)