Colorado State 6-6 (4-4), 5th Mountain West
vs
Fresno State 7-5 (4-4), 5th Western Athletic
Saturday December 20, 2008 2:30 pm EST ESPN
The Rams and the Bulldogs use to be old rivals in the WAC, but 10 years ago Colorado State decided to move over to the Mountain West. The New Mexico Bowl will be one settling point between the two conferences as to which one is the best Non-BCS Conference.
Fresno State started off the year good with a now impressive win at Rutgers, only to fall one week later by 3 points to Wisconsin at home. The Bulldogs are a balanced team on offense, but when you look at their defensive numbers, you will see that they are very vulnerable against the pass.
Senior Tom Brandstater did not have the year many thought he would, but still put up some nice numbers throwing for 17 touchdowns and 2478 yards. The Bulldogs have three people in the backfield that can hurt you. Anthony Harden, Lonyae Miller, and Ryan Mathews all ran for over 599 yards and combined for 15 touchdowns. It will be interesting to see how Fresno State bounces back after losing their last game 62-10 to Boise State.
Colorado State has a one two punch at QB and WR of Billy Farris and Rashaun Greer. Farris has thrown for 17 touchdowns and 2600 yards while Greer has been on the receiving end of over 1000 of those yards and 2 touchdowns. Farris' favorite target close to the goalline is Dion Morton who has 10 touchdown catches. In the backfield Gartrell Johnson has close to 1200 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns.
The Rams defensively do not put much pressure on the quarterback as they have only registered 9 sacks this year, the least in the FBS. On the flip side the Bulldogs' secondary has only intercepted a total of 4 passes this season, the least in the FBS. If you like offense, watch this game. Both teams will be able to move up and down at will (as you will see from the Tale of the Tape).
Tale of the Tape
Colorado State
Offense - 377 ypg, 247 ypg passing, 129 ypg rushing
Defense - 407 ypg, 222 ypg passing, 185 ypg rushing
Quality 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
Quality Wins versus Bowl Teams - Rutgers
Prediction: Colorado State 40 Fresno State 35
