Saturday, December 19, 2009 kicks off the bowl season for 2009-10 through Christmas, the holiday season, the New Year and closing out on Thursday, January 7, 2009 with the BCS Title Game from Pasadena, California in the Rose Bowl, with the #Alabama Crimson Tide facing #2 Texas Longhorn (though my #3 team, behind #2 TCU) for the BCS title.
Today, the 2009 New Mexico Bowl will kick off at 3:30 pm, Central Time, in Albuquerque, New Mexico with the Mountain West vs. WAC with a game matching Wyoming vs. Fresno State. ESPN Preview of the game between Wyoming and Fresno State.
Phil Steele's preview magazine picked Fresno State at the beginning of the season to play again in the New Mexico Bowl, but to face Utah (MWC), who are headed to the Poinsettia vs. Cal on Wednesday, December 23Rd.
The Wyoming Cowboys finished 5Th in the MWC with a 6-6 overall record and 4-4 in conference play. The Cowboys went 0-4 against four Top 25 teams in 2009 (#3 Texas, @ #21 Utah, #14 BYU and #2 TCU). Wyoming is coached by first year coach Dave Christensen, who was OC at Missouri prior to accepting the job in Laramie.
The Cowboys were 4-8 in 2008 and are headed to their first bowl, since the 2004 season, when the Cowboys beat UCLA 24-21 in the Las Vegas Bowl. The Cowboys are looking to get to .500 in bowls, bringing a 5-6 mark into the New Mexico Bowl vs. Fresno State.
The Fresno State Bulldogs finished 3Rd in the WAC with a 8-4 overall record and 6-2 in conference play. The Bulldogs went 0-3 against four Top 25 teams in 2009 (@ #24 Wisconsin, #6 Boise State and @ #5 Cincinnati) all in September of the regular season.
The Bulldogs were 7-6 in 2008 and lost in the New Mexico Bowl 35-40 to Colorado State (MWC team) in last year's game. The Bulldogs bring a 10-8 bowl mark to Albuquerque this season. The last bowl win for the Bulldogs was 2007, when Fresno State defeated Georgia Tech 40-28 in the Humanitarian Bowl in coach Chan Gailey's final season at Georgia Tech.
Can David knock off Goliath in New Mexico? The Wyoming Cowboys are trying to obtain their first winning season, since the 2004 season. The top QB for the Cowboys is a freshman right out of San Jose CA, Austyn Carta-Samuels who is 6-2 210 and was a Phil Steele #85 rated QB out of high school last season. Fresno State is lead by first year starter, QB Ryan Colburn, a junior.
Most of the wins this season by Wyoming was with 30 points on the score board. They had one win where they beat New Mexico 37-13 at home and scored over 30 points. By the way, the Cowboys haven't won in New Mexico, since the 2006 season. Fresno State is far superior football program to the Lobos (3-7-1 in bowls), who won the '07 New Mexico Bowl.
Only two teams have held Fresno State under 30 points all season. In those two games, Fresno State lost @ # 5 Cincinnati (L, 20-28) and @ Nevada (L, 14-52), so defense is key. Teams have put up points on Fresno State, but winning those shootouts can be dangerous, as the Illinois Fighting Illini found out, in a 52-53 loss to end the Fighting Illini's season.
- Wyoming wins if the game is 28 points or less
- Fresno State wins, if they can force enough points and make it a shoot out, over 35 points
- MWC is a better conference than the WAC and will be going for its third straight win, since San Jose State's 20-12 win over New Mexico in the 2006 New Mexico Bowl
Our pick: Wyoming 30, Fresno State 25... Go Cowboys and Happy Holidays!
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