2008 New Mexico Bowl

2008 New Mexico Bowl

To many folks on the East Coast, this game is a question mark. We all heard of the “East Coast Bias” meaning that many on the eastern part of the US rarely hear about stuff on the west coast. Time zones and conference affiliations play a part in that.

So now you’ve got the 2008 New Mexico Bowl, played in…where else, Albuquerque, New Mexico, featuring Colorado State and Fresno State. Colorado State comes in as lowest Mountain West Conference team eligible for a bowl, while Fresno State limps in as the 5th out of 6 eligible teams out of the WAC. This game will be the second of 4 bowls on December 20th, and follows the Eaglebank Bowl. So, what do we know about these two teams, and who is favored?

From the MWC we have Colorado State, coming in at 6-6. This year has been pretty tough for the Rams, starting with the state rival loss to Colorado. The Rams were able to right the ship for a moment, beating Sacramento State and Houston, before losing to California in an away game. Interesting set, 2 wins at home, two losses away.

A third win at home vs. UNLV would be the last they would see for awhile, with big games vs. ranked foes TCU and Utah, losing both of those. There was a brief air of hope when they defeated San Diego State, but was quickly dashed when they faced and lost to BYU and then Air Force.

At 4-6, Colorado State needed to win their last two games just to qualify for a bowl, and they were able to do just that with wins over New Mexico and Wyoming, putting themselves in a position to get to the bowl they now have.

While there are several teams on Colorado State’s schedule that will see bowls and have been ranked, only Houston lost to Colorado State. They defeated the 4 worst teams in the conference, along with said Houston and Sacramento State. Many will severely question the strength of this team in the upcoming bowl.

But what of Fresno State?

The Bulldogs come in 7-5, and having a very tough season as well. Many thought this would be one of the two best teams out of the WAC. Scheduling Rutgers and Wisconsin seemed to be very tough games to start the season, and all seemed well when they traveled across the country to beat Rutgers. But a home loss to then top ranked Wisconsin raised an eyebrow or two. But that was seen to be a hard game to win anyway, I mean, Wisconsin seemed to be poised to fight for the Big 10 Championship.

Who knew?

Fresno State built some ground by beating Toledo and UCLA, both away. This was quickly becoming a team people were talking about. That loss to Wisconsin was only by 3 points, they could easily be 4-0 and possibly ranked. But then came the overtime loss to Hawaii, which cut the Bulldogs out of any BCS chats. They would have to try to shoot for lower goals with 2 losses.

With two games versus basement teams in Utah State and Idaho, the record improved to 5-2 and it seemed Fresno State was making a comeback, until the two game slide to Louisiana Tech and Nevada. Two conference losses punched a hole in their hearts, and was making it hard for the Bulldogs to even qualify for a bowl. Now at 5-4, the Bulldogs had to concentrate on just making a bowl…any bowl.

During the course of the year, many were building the Fresno State vs. Boise State as the “BIG” game, but with Fresno State struggling to just make it to a bowl, and Boise State trying to get in the BCS, they were worlds apart. Even though Fresno State beat New Mexico State and San Jose State, these were two teams at the bottom of the conference. Sure, Fresno State was now qualified for a bowl, but could they justify the season with a win over highly ranked Boise State?

Nope. They lost 61-10.

So Fresno State plays two teams that have been ranked sometime this year, and lost to them both. Only one team, Rutgers, will see post season of the teams Fresno State has played. This spells out a team that just didn’t have it this year.

And so you have the New Mexico Bowl, with two teams that have had a rough season, and both probably lucky to even BE in a bowl. Yet with all the difficulties they have had, this is still a time of hope. This is a bowl where you get to make one more statement, either that of success or failure. Nobody wants to go out a loser, so you can believe both Colorado State and Fresno State will bring their best to this game. If there were several other games on at the same time, I MIGHT not watch this. Not out of disrespect, but because there would likely be a better game on. But unless the Eaglebank Bowl goes too long, this bowl will be the only one on. I will watch it and enjoy it.

Good luck Fresno State and Colorado State.