Las Vegas Bowl
Sam Boyd Stadium - Las Vegas, NV
Kickoff: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET
Line: Utah -3, Total: 57.5

No. 22 Utah looks to win its first bowl game since the 2011 season when it takes on Colorado State in the Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday afternoon.

Utah had a great season in the tough Pac-12 and looked to be in the conference title hunt before losing three of its final five games (SU and ATS). Although within that timeframe the team was able to get a nice 20-17 win over Stanford as 10-point underdogs on the road, and it was the third SU win on the year as underdog, also it also won at Michigan and at UCLA. This is the Utes' first time in a bowl game since the 2011 season when they earned an impressive 30-27 victory against Georgia Tech as 1.5-point underdogs in the Sun Bowl. Colorado State rattled off nine consecutive SU wins (7-2 ATS) in the middle part of the season before losing its final game 27-24 to Air Force as a 7.5-point favorite on the road. The Rams were laying double-digit points in five of their nine victories and were able to defeat their opponents by an average of 16.9 PPG during the streak while committing just 10 turnovers. They made it to the New Mexico Bowl last year and faced Washington State as 4-point underdogs but were not intimidated by the Cougars in a 48-45 victory. There are some interesting trends to consider in this one before placing a bet, as the Utes are 27-9 ATS (75%) after playing a game where 70+ total points were scored since 1992, while the Rams are an impressive 9-1 ATS (90%) in non-conference games over the past two seasons. There are no game-changing injuries on Utah’s side of the ball, while Colorado State is happy to have WR Joe Hansley (concussion), who has been upgraded to probable.

Can Utah take care of the 10-win Colorado State on Saturday? For the answer, connect to College Football Best Bets for all the StatFox Experts picks throughout the 2014-15 bowl season. StatFox Dave is heating up with a 75% ATS mark (6-2) in College Football Best Bets in the past three weeks, while StatFox Brian is 60% ATS (9-6) in Best Bets over the past four weeks.

Utah's offense was solid across the board offensively, but not doing anything spectacular as it gained 198.4 passing YPG (92nd in FBS) and 176.3 rushing YPG (54th in nation), leading to 30.2 PPG (59th in FBS). QB Travis Wilson (2,012 pass yards, 17 TD, 4 INT) is coming off his best performance of the year in the win over Colorado (311 pass yards, 3 TD, 0 INT) to cap off the season, and was great with decision making all year long with his four interceptions coming over the final four contests. It was a big improvement from the 16 picks that he threw last season, as he finished off the 2014 regular season with six straight games with a completion percentage better than 50%. HB Devontae Booker (1,350 rush yards, 9 TD) was a true workhorse while getting more than 20 rushing attempts in seven of his games, as he averaged 5.1 YPC. He went over triple-digits in rushing yards six times on the year, but has just one touchdown on the ground since Oct. 25, while also adding quite a bit as a receiver (282 rec yards, 2 TD). There is no main go-to receiver that really threatens opposing defense, as WRs Kaelin Clay (460 rec yards, 4 TD), Kenneth Scott (445 rec yards, 4 TD), Dres Anderson (355 rec yards, 4 TD) and TE Westlee Tonga (382 rec yards, 4 TD) split the duties. The defense for this program has allowed opponents to score 26.2 PPG against them, as they tend to struggle more against the pass (245.0 YPG). DLs Nate Orchard (17.5 sacks, 81 tackles) and Hunter Dimick (10 sacks, 52 tackles) are one of the best tandems in the nation at getting to the opposing quarterback, and they should wreak havoc once again on Saturday.

Colorado State likes to get it done through the air to the tune of 326.3 YPG (8th in nation) while adding 171.6 YPG on the ground (57th in FBS) and have scored 35.9 PPG (22nd in nation). QB Garrett Grayson (3,779 pass yards, 32 TD, 6 INT) has been the driving force for this team all season long and has eclipsed 300 yards six times while throwing 16 TD to just one interception over his past five performances. Grayson was also quite efficient while hitting for 64.8% of his passes for 9.8 YPA in the regular season and will have one of his toughest matchups with the opposing defensive line breathing down his neck. HB Dee Hart (1,254 rush yards, 16 TD) averaged an impressive 6.7 YPC and was able to score 10 of his 16 touchdowns on the year over the final four games. He was also able to surpass 100 yards in each of those contests and hit triple-digits for rushing yards a total of seven times on the year. WR Rashard Higgins (1,640 rec yards, 17 TD) was nearly unstoppable with 100 receiving yards in nine of his 11 games while getting a score in all but two of those contests. He averaged an impressive 18.4 yards per catch, and is coming off a big game in the loss to Air Force (12 catches, 193 yards, 2 TD). The defense for this program was also quite impressive, as it allowed opponents to score only 23.4 PPG (34th in FBS) despite allowing 414.8 yards of total offense per game. It will be up to senior LB Aaron Davis (110 tackles, 6.5 TFL) to keep the opposition in check, and allow the Rams to stay in this game.