COLORADO ST. (7-5) VS. MARSHALL (7-5)
Site: Dreamstyle Stadium, Albuquerque.
Kickoff: 4:30 p.m. TV: ESPN.
Line: Colorado State by 5 ½.
All-time series: First meeting.
Last meeting: None.
COLORADO STATE
Coach: Mike Bobo (3rd season, 21-17).
All-time postseason: 6-10.
Last postseason appearance: Lost to Idaho 61-50 in 2016 Idaho Potato Bowl.
Draft spotlight: WR Michael Gallup. Some routes taken in a player’s draft story are more jagged than others. Michael Gallup had a very indirect path to his place atop the nation’s receiving leaders. Originally recruited to Georgia as a QB, Gallup had to go the junior-college route. During this time, UGa offensive coordinator Mike Bobo left to become coach at Colorado State. Read full report here.
Other Rams to watch: QB Nick Stevens, C Jake Bennett, OL Trae Moxley, *LB Josh Watson.
Ram Charges: Colorado State averages 501.1 yards per game, with four outings in excess of 600 yards. CSU’s season high came in October with 610 yards vs. Hawaii. … Three more catches by Gallup would break Rashard Higgins’ school record of 96 in a season. … CSU’s fifth consecutive bowl invite matches a school best.
MARSHALL
Coach: Doc Holliday (8th season, 60-42).
All-time postseason: 10-2.
Last postseason appearance: Beat Connecticut 16-10 in 2015 St. Petersburg Bowl.
Draft spotlight: TE Ryan Yurachek. The South Carolina native has caught a pass in each of his past 41 games, the fourth-longest active streak in FBS. He set career bests this year with 47 catches for 430 yards, and his 9 TDs matches his previous high. Yurachek's 25 career TD grabs is No.2 in Herd history for a TE.
Other Thundering Herd to watch: *WR Tyre Brady, *RB/KR Keion Davis, *LB Chase Hancock.
Herd Tracks: Marshall’s 10-2 mark in bowl games leads the nation in winning percentage. The Herd is 4-0 in bowls under Holliday, and hasn’t lost a postseason game since the 2004 Fort Worth Bowl vs. Cincinnati. … Marshall has allowed just 8 sacks all year, tied for No.2 nationally – with Colorado State.
* underclass draft prospect
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