USC vs. Fresno State, 2013 Las Vegas Bowl: Trojans reach 10th win (on third coach)

Record attendance at Saturday night’s R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. Local matters in minor bowls, and two local teams, Tulane and UL Lafayette, filled quite a bit of the Superdome. Those on hand saw an intense, dramatic, not very well-played game -- a 24-21 win for the Cajuns of Lafayette, their third straight New Orleans Bowl win -- but the latter doesn’t necessarily matter if you have enough of the former.

Percentage of San Diego State’s drives that finished in Buffalo territory during a 49-24 Aztec win. SDSU went three-and-out once, in the second quarter. Otherwise, the Aztecs’ 13 drives finished on the other side of the 50.

Saturday, the tables were turned, as Kessler had an excellent game while Carr struggled in USC’s 45-20 blowout win.

The two teams traded touchdowns early, with Kessler and Carr each finding their targets for scores -- but Fresno State’s extra point was blocked, giving the Trojans an early advantage. USC was eager to prove they didn’t need the slight difference, scoring 28 straight points with three Kessler touchdown tosses to make the game 35-6 heading into halftime.

The college football bowl game commercial is a specific artform. Unlike ads made specifically for the Super Bowl, which call for companies to go way over the top and far too high-concept (or, alternately, to have a dozen beerdogs bite each other in the nuts for beer), each bowl game features commercials by the game’s title sponsor. They are always horrific.

Typically, each involves the company’s CEO uttering things about football being a real touchdown of a sport, just like the company that CEO works for, which is like buying a touchdown you can own. It’s a blueprint that works. For what it works, I do not know. Making CEOs slightly famous among college football nerds.

Carr has made great strides in his game as a senior. The difference between his 2012 performance and 2013 performance has been night and day. But questions still linger. He hasn’t faced too many tough defenses in 2013. That has allowed one of his biggest flaws to fly under the radar. Carr still struggles to sense and deal with pressure in the pocket, though he hasn’t had to deal with a ton of pocket pressure this season. Carr also plays in an offense that doesn’t allow him to make a ton of NFL-type reads or attack the intermediate areas of the field very often.

If Carr wants to help his evaluation and increase his odds of being a top ten pick in May, it starts with Saturday. We know Carr will look good in the pre-draft process. He’ll be an outstanding interview and will dazzle at his pro day. But the final test of his collegiate career is also one of his biggest tests. Let’s see how he holds up under pressure, both in the pocket and the pressure that comes with having all eyes on him.

Mountain West champions Fresno State take on USC in an intriguing early bowl matchup in Las Vegas.

The Bulldogs looked on track for a BCS-busting bid, starting the season 10-0 with wins against Boise State and San Diego State, all led by star quarterback David Carr. On a late November Friday night in San Jose, that all ended, as Fresno State lost to the San Jose State Spartans, 62-52. The team had already clinched their division, however, and beat Utah State the following week to win the Mountain West.

Call it the Motivation Bowl.

After winning six of seven for interim coach Ed Orgeron after Lane Kiffin’s firing, USC got whipped at home by UCLA, lost Orgeron after the full-time hiring of Steve Sarkisian, and will play in the Las Vegas Bowl with a different interim coach, Clay Helton.

Former Alabama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain has taken Colorado State bowling for the first time since 2008, going 7-6 and finishing third in the Mountain division of the Mountain West. Out of those seven wins, none came against teams that finished with a winning record, but the Rams have a legitimate star in running back Kapri Bibbs. The sophomore led the nation with 28 touchdown runs this season on fewer than 20 carries per game, and has set school records in rushing touchdowns, total touchdowns and points scored.

Carr is one of the very best quarterbacks in the country, passing for 48 touchdowns and nearly 5,000 yards on the season. The Bulldogs started the year 10-0, with notable wins over Rutgers, Boise State and San Diego State before a dramatic Friday night loss to San Jose State. Fresno State still won the conference, defeating Utah State in the conference title game.

Missing both Madden and Redd would be a big blow to USC. The Trojans need to control the pace of the game against Fresno State, who would be more than happy to turn this game into a shootout. If they can’t run the ball effectively, Fresno will be able to dictate the pace, and that could be very dangerous for USC.

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Fresno State (Mountain West, 11-1 SU, 5-7 ATS, 6-6 OU) closed out the regular season with a 4-2 record ATS in its last six games and the total stayed UNDER in five of its last seven contests.

With quarterback Derek Carr pulling the trigger, the Bulldogs will come into this matchup with the No. 1 passing offense in the nation in total yardage. He has thrown for 4,866 yards and 48 touchdowns and the offense as a whole is racking up an average of 409.8 passing yards while scoring 45.3 points a game.