GAME NOTES: Taking part in the postseason for the ninth time in the last 10 years, the Fresno State Bulldogs size up the Colorado State Rams in the third annual New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque.

FSU head coach Pat Hill, who had spoken to Washington about its coaching vacancy but then withdrew his name from consideration, had high hopes for his Bulldogs this season and had the program ranked in the Top-25 early on, but injuries and lackluster play left the squad just 7-5 overall and 4-4 within the WAC. Perhaps the most telling stat for the Bulldogs on offense is that they never fielded the same starting lineup in back-to-back games and it took the defense until the eighth game of the campaign to be able to turn the trick.

As for the Rams, first-year head coach Steve Fairchild had some huge shoes to fill coming in on the heels of the legendary Sonny Lubick, yet somehow he got the team into the postseason for the first time since 2005 when they were crushed in the Poinsettia Bowl by a score of 51-30 versus Navy. CSU, which won back-to-back games over New Mexico and Wyoming to close out the regular season and make it to the critical six-win plateau, is just 4-7 all-time in the postseason and hasn't won a bowl since defeating North Texas (45-20) in the New Orleans Bowl in 2001.

Over on the FSU side, they've been playing an extra game almost routinely since 1999 and last season took care of Georgia Tech in the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise by a score of 40-28, marking the team's fourth win in the last five bowls and pushing the squad to 12-9 all-time in the postseason dating back to the 1937 All-American Bowl versus Arkansas State.

With respect to the all-time series between these two schools, CSU leads by a game at 6-5 and has won two in a row over FSU, including a 35-23 decision in California back in 2006.

Pitting members of the Mountain West Conference against those from the Western Athletic, the New Mexico Bowl was won by the Lobos a season ago when they blanked Nevada in a 23-0 decision.

"Neither one of us runs a spread offense," coach Fairchild has said about the similarities between the Rams and Bulldogs on offense. "We try to run the ball first, which is what they do. They've got some talented backs."

CSU's offensive attack begins with Gartrell Johnson who ranked third in the Mountain West this season with his 99.3 ypg on the ground. Johnson averaged close to five yards per carry and tallied 10 rushing touchdowns however, as a group the Rams placed just seventh in the league and 78th nationally with an average of 129.8 ypg rushing and averaged 3.7 ypc.

Second only to BYU in the MWC, the passing offense for Colorado State was spearheaded by quarterback Billy Farris as he completed close to 62 percent of his pass attempts. Farris appeared in all 12 games for the Rams and managed to toss 17 touchdowns, but he also delivered 12 interceptions along the way. Averaging better than 17 yards per catch, Dion Morton is one of the more dangerous receivers in the league this season and was responsible for 10 touchdowns all by himself.

Coach Fairchild is well aware of what Fresno State quarterback Tom Brandstater brings to the table but expects his defense to be ready. "He's experienced, he seems like he can thread the ball into tight windows, he's an accurate guy and he has some mobility. He buys time and makes some plays that way."

The Rams are not much of a hard-charging team when it comes to sacks, at least not this season. The team was not only last in the MWC with a mere 0.75 sacks per game, that number also placed the group dead last among the 119 Football Bowl Subdivision programs as well. When it comes to tackles for loss it is much the same story with Colorado State ranking ninth in the conference and 118th nationally with a mere 3.8 TFLs per outing. Mychal Sisson led the group in the latter department with seven TFLs and was also first on the unit with 99 tackles overall, but it will be interesting to see how the Rams deal with Mike Pagnotta who is reportedly progressing to the point where he might be able to make an appearance. In eight games, Pagnotta averaged almost seven tackles, was tied for the team lead with a pair of fumble recoveries and two interceptions.

Perhaps the best news for the Bulldogs at the moment is that running back Ryan Mathews is listed as questionable for this final game even though he has missed the last five contests with injury. Despite missing significant time, Mathews is still at the top of the rushing touchdowns list with six, with Lonyae Miller and Anthony Harding following close behind with five and four scores, respectively. Miller had back-to-back big games versus Hawaii and Idaho in the middle of the season with a total of 342 yards and three touchdowns, accounting for almost half of his rushing total (699) over 11 games.

Expected to be one of the first handful of quarterbacks taken in the next NFL Draft, Brandstater had a few strong games against Toledo, UCLA and Louisiana Tech as he combined to throw for 11 of his 17 touchdowns this season, but for the most part he was more of a facilitator of the offense. In fact, over the last three games, Brandstater failed to throw a single TD pass and was picked off three times.

In 2007, it took forever for the Bulldogs to log their first interception of the season and this year the team failed to progress much from that point. In fact, coach Hill's crew had very few game-changing plays to cheer about, recovering only eight fumbles and making a mere four interceptions. As a result, Fresno State ranked second-to-last in the WAC and 109th in the nation with a turnover margin of minus-0.92 miscues per outing.

Ben Jacobs, the team's top tackler with 106 stops and an All-WAC Second Team selection, logged one fumble recovery, one forced and a blocked kick as he tried to keep up the tough facade of the FSU defense. Like the Rams, Fresno State didn't pose much of a threat to opposing quarterbacks, averaging just 1.4 sacks per game and was eighth in the WAC with 4.7 TFLs per outing as well during the regular season.

As someone who encourages aggressive play on the defensive side of the ball, coach Hill may understand that this group had several key injuries in 2008 (see Jon Monga) but that still doesn't mean he's satisfied. "No one within our program is completely pleased with the results of this season, but the season's not over. We can finish it with a bowl win and build toward next year."

As long as the Bulldogs can bring along plenty of power in the backfield to give Brandstater something to lean on, Fresno State and coach Hill should at least be able to finish off the year on a high note.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Fresno State 31, Colorado State 20