Colorado State vs. Idaho, Potato Bowl 2016: Schedule, scores, and more

The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl between Central Michigan and Wyoming got underway Friday afternoon, and with it came the latest installment of one of the game’s commercials. We’ve seen some of these in year’s past, but this one was especially good.

I’m not sure about you, but I’m now going to assume “It’s mashing time!” is the bowl’s official new catchphrase. Not even mad.

Colorado State kicked off the Potato Bowl with hopes of sealing a resilient 2016 with an eighth win. The Rams were one of the best mid-majors over the second half of the year, winning four of their last five games and throwing a major scare into Boise State in Boise on Oct. 15.

They had averaged 47 points per game over their last five contests and finished the regular season by hanging 63 on the same San Diego State that so frustrated Houston in Saturday’s Las Vegas Bowl.

Both sides are right. Bowls are a cynical money-making exercise, an excuse for ESPN inventory, and an outdated way for all the wrong people to maintain some semblance of control over college football. They’re also happy, bonus football.

We are at both extremes in 2016. We once again had 80 bowl bids to give out and fewer than 80 bowl-eligible teams, a sure sign of bloat and excess. We’re also loaded with perhaps more interesting bowl matchups than we’ve ever seen.

Idaho went into the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl against Colorado State looking to get its third bowl victory in school history. The Vandals may have entered the Thursday night matchup as 13-point underdogs, but it was all Idaho throughout the game.

The Rams got on the board first to take a 7-0 lead toward the end of the first quarter, but it would be the last points Colorado would score for a while. The Vandals responded with 20 unanswered points to head to the locker room with a 20-7 lead.

On Thursday, Dec. 22, Idaho will take on Colorado State in the 20th edition of the Potato Bowl. Both teams enter this bowl game having pretty different circumstances in terms of their bowl history in recent years.

In this year’s Potato Bowl, Idaho will be making its first bowl appearance since its 8-5 season back in 2009. Colorado, on the other hand, has had good seasons under both former head coach Jim McElwain and current head coach Mike Bobo. The Rams will be making their fourth straight bowl appearance against the Vandals.

In today’s media landscape (sports and non-sports), self-reflection is unnecessary. You don’t really need to step back and look at what you got wrong or why; you just need to push forward with even more confidence than before.

But does Nick Saban self-reflect? Hell yes, he does! Verne Lundquist? Absolutely! Lamar Jackson? Yep!

All wagers at -110 odds unless otherwise noted. Visit Odds Shark for updated lines throughout each game week.

College football bowl games are a different beast for bettors. Sure, the typical handicapping elements apply. Offense and defense matter. But there are some key elements at play that don’t apply as much during the regular season.

College football’s bowl season is upon us. A full schedule is here.

There are 40 bowl games spread from Dec. 17 to Jan. 2, with the National Championship on Jan. 9. Unless you’re watching on multiple monitors and are really committed, you won’t catch all of them. (If that is your plan, more power to you.)

Also, head over here for the fully updated bowl season calendar as it fills in, from the New Orleans Bowl through the Rose Bowl. We’ll also add picks, scores, and more to that calendar over time.

The 2016 Potato Bowl – college football’s unquestioned top postseason game named for a vegetable – is set for Dec. 22 on Boise State’s blue turf. It’ll be the only college game of the day, though the Giants and Eagles play an NFL game, too.