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The Cougs wait for the formality of an official announcement on the ESPN BCS Bowl Selection Show tonight at 5:30 PM PST, but Washington State will face Colorado State in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl in the opening game of Bowl Week.
#YESSIR RT @ESFloyd: The Cougs are headed to New Mexico. See you there. #GoCougs
— CougCenter (@CougCenter) December 8, 2013
The bowl game will be Saturday December 21, at 11:00 AM PST at University Stadium in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Let's take a quick look at the Colorado State Rams
CSU holds a 7-6 record, losing games to: Colorado, TULSA, Alabama, San Jose State, Boise State, and Utah State.
The Rams have just the type of defense that should have Connor Halliday and the Wazzu offense licking its chops. CSU is ranked 97th in total defense (out of 125) -- giving up 29.9 points per game -- and 117th in passing defense, surrendering 283.9 yards per game.
Colorado State's offense does seem very capable, putting up 485.2 yards per game, and scoring 38.3 points per game, both good for 20th in the nation. The Rams have a fairly balanced offense, rushing on 51% of their plays, and their ground game dominates their scoring with 34 TDs on the season (60% of all TDs).
Quarterback Garret Grayson has amassed 3,180 yards through the air, completing 64 percent of his throws for 8.17 yards per target. Running back Kapri Bibbs, in addition to being on the All-Conference Name Team, has 1518 yards on the ground at 6.4 yards per carry and averages 126 yards per game.
We'll get more into what to expect from Colorado State in the coming week, but for now, it looks like the Gildan New Mexico Bowl went with a couple of very good offenses that could turn their bowl into a shoot-out pretty easily.