Marshall vs Colorado State Free College Football Pick 12-16-17

CD Staff:  New Mexico Bowl:

Marshall and Colorado State took plays out of each other’s playbooks on their way to this year’s New Mexico Bowl.

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The Thundering Herd began the season with a 6-1 start, the only loss to a very good N.C. State team in the second week of the season. Likewise, the Rams were 6-2 with losses to Colorado and the nation’s No. 1-ranked team at the time, Alabama. Both teams struggled with close losses the rest of the season.

The Herd lost four of their final five games. Three of those losses were by a combined eight points. Head coach Doc Holliday elected to go for two after scoring a touchdown in the season finale against Southern Miss with 1:15 left in the game. The attempt failed and Marshall lost 28-27 to finish the season at 7-5. It was that type of year for Holliday and company.

Colorado State lost three of its last four, but did win its season finale, a 42-14 blowout of San Jose State. The Rams lost to Wyoming by a field goal and to Boise State by a touchdown. The Broncos scored twice in the game’s final two minutes to force overtime where they ended up winning 59-52.

The key for Colorado State will surely be the play of quarterback Nick Stevens. A 6-foot-3-inch senior, Stevens has completed nearly 64 percent of his passes for 3,479 yards and 27 touchdowns. Stevens commands the controls of an offense that is tenth in the nation in total offense. The Rams average 501 yards per game and score 33.8 points a game.

Stevens is surrounded by talent including running backs Dalyn Dawkins and Izzy Matthews. Dawkins ran for 1,349 yards while his backup Matthews added 583. Each scored eight touchdowns. The Rams also had a 1,000-yard receiver in Michael Gallup. The 6-1 senior caught 94 passes for 1,345 yards and seven scores this season. Gallup was one of the three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award given annually to the nation’s best receiver.

If history is any indication, Marshall has won all five of its bowl games since 2009. Holliday’s senior class is 3-0 in bowl games and could close out their careers with a fourth straight bowl win. The Herd’s opponent, Colorado State, has not fared as well in recent bowl games. The Rams have lost three straight bowls including last year’s Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. The last time CSU won a bowl game was in 2013 when the Rams won the New Mexico Bowl.