Washington State will take on Colorado State in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque later this evening.

The match will mark the first meeting between the teams as well as the first Bowl game for the Colorado State Rams since 2008 and the Washington State Cougars’ first in over a decade.

The Rams finished the season 7-6 behind 1,572 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns ,  a mark that leads the nation,  from running back Kapri Bibbs as well as 3,327 passing yards from junior Garrett Grayson.  Season highlights included wins over Nevada and Air Force.

The Cougars,  on the other hand,  finished 6-6 after losing their season finale to arch rivals Washington 27-17.  Washington State suffered from a turnover prone offense – 21 interceptions from Connor Halliday – and a poor rushing attack – lead back Marcus Mason mustered just 424 yards all season.  Halliday did throw 28 touchdowns and 4,187 passing yards which saw a famous win come against USC.  Wins over Utah and Arizona coupled with narrow a narrow loss to Auburn suggests the program could be finally on the up.

Both coaches will know very little about the opponents and that alone should make for an exciting encounter between two teams who know how to put points on the board – the Cougars ranked fourth in the FBS in passing yards while the Rams were inside the top 40 in passing yards,  rushing yards and points scored.