Andy Iskoe | CFB Side
Double Dime - - - 219 Colorado St. -15.0 (-106)
Pinnacle vs 220 Idaho
Analysis: Colorado State is in a Bowl for a fourth straight season, seeking to end a 2 Bowl losing streak. Idaho's last Bowl was their 2009 win over Bowling Green in this Bowl. Only Temple (11-1) had a better ATS record this season than Colorado State. 3-4 SU in mid season, the Rams won 4 of their last 5 games, scoring at least 37 points in each game and covered each of their last 7 games. Idaho is poised to drop down from FBS status to FCS but might rethink that decision following this season's surprise success. After winning just 5 total games between 2011 and 2014 the Vandals went 4-8 in 2015 and that improvement continued this season. After early season one sided losses to Washington and Washington State the Vandals finished the season winning 6 of 7 and covering in all 7. Even though the Bowl is being played in its home state Boise is nearly 300 miles from the Idaho campus. Still, expect the Vandals to enjoy the vast majority of the crowd support. Colorado State enjoys several key edges, including a much better ability to run the football and an edge in avoiding turnovers. The defensive stats are fairly close although the combination of both show CSU with a yards per play differential of +0.5 with Idaho -0.6. Idaho defended the run fairly well but was below average vs the pass. Those games against the two Washington schools give Idaho the tougher schedule although CSU stepped up in class as well, losing badly to Colorado and more competitively at Minnesota. The weather conditions could influence this game and if so CSU has that edge in the running game that is complemented by a decent passing game. In winning 4 of its last 5 games each of those CSU wins was by at least 18 points or more. The lone loss was at geographical and conference rival Air Force, 49-46. While it is tempting to call for Idaho to end its surprising season on a high note Colorado State has too much in its favor to call for the upset. CSU's ability to run the football also suggests edges late in the game. And the Rams also had the much more impressive win over their lone common foe, at UNLV.