RAMS VS. HERD
Colorado State and Marshall will face off in the 2017 Gildan New Mexico Bowl
The Rams and the Thundering Herd will bump heads at Dream-style Stadium on Dec. 16.
Colorado State of the Mountain West Conference and Marshall of Conference USA will meet in the 12th annual Gildan New Mexico Bowl, it was announced Sunday.
New Mexico Bowl executive director Jeff Siembieda said he likes the matchup for several reasons, most of all because the teams appear evenly matched. Both went 7-5 during the regular season.
“I think it’s a really good football game between two programs that have a rich postseason history,” he said. “And I’m excited to be able to expose our event to a new part of the country, bringing Marshall in.”
Marshall, located in Huntington, W. Va., has been to 13 bowls, winning 10. The Thundering Herd has won five straight bowl games and 10 of its last 11.
Colorado State is 6-9 in bowl games, but two of the victories came at the New Mexico Bowl. In two of the more exciting games in the event’s history, the Rams beat Fresno State 40-35 in 2008 and beat Washington State 48-45 in 2013.
The New Mexico Bowl matchup was one of the final two pairings announced on Sunday, the other sending San Diego State of the Mountain West to play Army in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas, on Dec. 23.
In the end, the Mountain West placed all six of its bowl-eligible teams in bowl games. Of Conference USA’s 10 bowl-eligible teams, nine will play in the postseason. UTSA (6-5), which lost 23-20 to New Mexico in last year’s New Mexico Bowl, will stay home.
The game matches teams that have never before met in football.
Marshall’s visit to Albuquerque will be a first for its football program. Colorado State is a longtime conference rival of UNM and has played here 35 times, including those two prior victories in the New Mexico Bowl.
The game matches teams that got off to fast starts but had problems down the stretch.
Colorado State won four straight games from Sept. 30-Oct. 20, including a 27-24 victory over New Mexico at Dreamstyle Stadium, to move to 6-2. But the Rams then lost three straight before finishing the season with a 42-14 win over San Jose State.
Marshall was 6-1 on Oct. 20 after a 38-10 victory over Middle Tennessee. But the Thundering Herd dropped four its last five.
Siembieda pointed out that CSU lost to Wyoming by three points and took Boise State, the Mountain West champion, to overtime before losing 59-52.
Of Marshall’s five losses, three came by a total of eight points.
“These are two teams that have been really, really good at times this year,” Siembieda said.
The prolific CSU offense is triggered by quarterback Nick Stevens, a first-team All-Mountain West selection.
Wide receiver Michael Gallup (94 catches, 1,345 yards, seven touchdowns) is one of three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the wide receiver voted the best in the nation.
Rams running back Dalyn Dawkins ranked third in the MWC in rushing with 1,349 yards and averaged 6.2 yards per carry.
Offensive linemen Jake Bennett and Zack Golditch were first-team all-conference selections.
Marshall quarterback Chase Litton threw for 23 touchdowns this season. Running backs Tyler King and Keion Davis rushed for a combined 1,385 yards. Linebacker Chase Hancock ranked third in Conference USA with 120 total tackles.
Gildan Activewear, a Canada-based clothing manufacturer, has been the New Mexico Bowl’s title sponsor since 2011.