Off Topic » the meeting to two overtimes before bowing

Las Vegas, NV (SportsNetwork.com) - Former foes from the Mountain West Conference battle in the 23rd annual Las Vegas Bowl, as the 23rd-ranked Utah Utes clash with the Colorado State Rams at Sam Boyd Stadium on Saturday. Utah, which left the MWC in favor of the Pac-12 Conference, finished the regular season with a record of 8-4 which was somewhat disappointing given the fact that the program opened the campaign with six wins in seven tries. Down the stretch the Utes lost three of five, while the two victories against Stanford and Colorado came by a combined seven points. The lackluster finish to the regular season still left the Utes among the nationally ranked and gave the team an opportunity to take the field one more time, which is something head coach Kyle Whittingham is certainly thankful for. Its great to be back playing in the postseason. One of the biggest benefits is the extra practice work for the younger players. Its almost like another spring camp. Having the seniors play in a bowl game is huge. Meanwhile, the Rams took the MWC by storm this season, at one point putting together a nine-game win streak which pushed them into the national rankings as well. Unfortunately, the success was a double-edged sword for Colorado State, as the team finished second in the Mountain Division of the MWC with a record of 6-2, because it also meant that head coach Jim McElwain was a hot commodity on the head coaching market. Turns out McElwain, who was the offensive coordinator at Alabama before taking the job in Fort Collins, was lured away by Florida and has agreed to become the next coach for the floundering Gators. As a result, offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin has stepped up on an interim basis to lead the Rams into battle this weekend. From a postseason perspective, the Rams are aiming to even out their bowl record as they take part in their 14th postseason affair. The teams very first bowl game was a 21-20 loss to Occidental in the 1949 Raisin Bowl, while the most recent was a hard-fought 48-45 triumph over Washington State in the 2013 New Mexico Bowl. Utah, which is 2-1 in this particular bowl, has won 10 of its last 11 bowl outings, with the lone setback coming against Boise State in the 2010 version of the Las Vegas Bowl. Overall, the Utes have a 13-4 bowl mark, dating back to a 26-0 win against New Mexico in the 1939 Sun Bowl. The most recent postseason victory for the program was a 30-27 overtime triumph versus Georgia Tech in the 2011 Sun Bowl. These squads have a long and storied history dating back more than a century, with Utah owning a 55-22-2 advantage. This will be the first neutral-site battle and the first meeting overall since the Utes, ranked ninth in the nation at the time, crushed CSU by a score of 59-6 on Oct. 23, 2010. Coach Whittinghams offense was rather pedestrian this season, placing 84th in the nation with just 374.8 ypg. although that doesnt mean there were not standout performers on that side of the ball. Running back Devontae Booker made a name for himself as he carried the ball 266 times for 1,350 yards and nine touchdowns, while quarterback Travis Wilson registered an efficiency rating of 135.93 thanks to his 60.3 percent completions and his 17 touchdowns, against only four interceptions. Wilson had four different receivers who logged four touchdowns through the air, his favorite target being Kenneth Scott with his 42 grabs for 445 yards. Although he doesnt necessarily fit the profile of an offensive player, punter Tom Hackett was no less a valuable asset for the Utes when the offense stalled, as the All-American and Ray Guy Award winner placed second in the country with a punt average of 47.0 yards per kick and was first with punts inside the 20 (35) and 10 (19) yard lines. Utah leads the nation in total sacks with 52 and is also first in sacks per game with 4.33. Nate Orchard, who won the Ted Hendricks Award as the nations top defensive end, led the country with 1.46 sacks per outing and was second in total sacks with 17.5 to set a single-season record for Utah. The Rams have to be careful not to focus all their energy on stopping Orchard because Hunter Dimick can also disrupt plays in the backfield after posting 14.5 TFL and 10 sacks of his own. Orchard and Dimick will both be targeting CSU quarterback Garrett Grayson, the all-time leading passer in Rams history and the 2014 MWC Offensive Player of the Year. Grayson completed close to 65 percent of his passes for a fantastic 314.9 ypg and a total of 32 touchdowns, against just six interceptions on 386 attempts. Making the job that much easier for Grayson, as he led the eighth-best passing attack in the country, was the play of wide receiver Rashard Higgins. A finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, Higgins led the nation with 149.1 ypg receiving and scored 17 touchdowns. He set a school record for consecutive games with at least 100 yards receiving with seven, en route to being named the first AP All-American at CSU since 1995. Its a great honor for Colorado State football, and especially for Rashard, coach Baldwin said of his selection. Im very proud of him, and proud of what everybody in this entire program has worked to accomplish this season. The offense has claimed most of the headlines at Colorado State this season, but that doesnt mean the defense is completely void of star players. Aaron Davis led the team in tackles with 110, while Cory James stepped up to produce team highs in TFL (8.5) and sacks (6.5). Trent Matthews was not only responsible for 51 tackles, he was tied for the lead in interceptions with three and logged a pair of blocked kicks as well. Kenneth Faried Jersey .com) - Mike Miller scored a season-high 21 points in a rare start and the Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back from their worst loss of the season with a 95-91 win over the Brooklyn Nets. Richard Jefferson Jersey . Thaddeus Young scored seven of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, Evan Turner added 22 points, and the 76ers hung on for their first road win since Nov. 1, beating the depleted Los Angeles Lakers 111-104 on Sunday night. http://www.nuggetsprostore.com/kids-jama...nuggets-jersey/. As future stars prepare to make the big leap to the professional ranks, TSNs Draft Week delivers wall-to-wall coverage of both the NHL and NBA Entry Drafts, highlighted by exclusive live coverage of both events. Dikembe Mutombo Jersey . The Senators return from a lengthy layoff caused by Wednesdays attack on Parliament Hill to host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night. Trey Lyles Jersey .Y. -- As if the worst start in franchise history isnt bad enough, Buffalo Sabres President Ted Black braced his teams win-starved fans for potentially more tough times.Edmonton, AB (SportsNetwork.com) - Jockeying for position in the West Division standings continues this week, as the Edmonton Eskimos entertain the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Commonwealth Stadium on Friday night. Both clubs are still sitting behind Calgary in the standings at the moment, but with an injury to Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, now might be the best time to try and make a move towards unseating Calgary. The Riders are second in the standings with 18 points, two behind the Stamps, while Edmonton has amassed 16 points, even though it is only 2-3 in division play. Despite playing with backup quarterback Tino Sunseri, the Roughriders still came out on top against a pesky Ottawa squad last Sunday, although the Redblacks were able to take the meeting to two overtimes before bowing out in the 35-32 final. Sunseri, who is filling in for an injured Darian Durant, hit on 20-of-32 passes for 260 yards and a pair of majors, one each to Weston Dressler and Will Ford. Dressler finished the meeting with seven catches for a game-high 125 yards. A one-yard TD run by Anthony Allen late in the fourth quarter brought the Riders back from an eight-point hole, a two-point conversion by Sunseri to Dressler knotting the score and sending the meeting into overtime. After a scoreless first OT, kicker Chris Milo played the hero for the hosts as he knocked through a 22-yard field goal. Dressler, who has been back in the league with Saskatchewan for just four games after trying to hang on with an NFL team this year, also returned a punt 78 yards for a major during the thrilling comeback. The North Dakota product finished with five punt returns for a total of 103 yards, en route to being named the CFL Special Teams Player of the Week. Saskatchewan, which dealt with nine penalties for a loss of 70 yards, generated just 345 yards of offense, compared to 405 yards for the struggling RedBlacks. The victory for the Riders was the eighth in the last nine outings and came on the heels of the squad being embarrassed by Hamilton on the road a weekk prior, 28-3.dddddddddddd The Eskimos appeared to be well on their way to a much-needed win last weekend, leading Hamilton 15-3 at the break, but then it all fell apart for the visitors as they surrendered 22 points in the second half to the home team. Quarterback Mike Reilly converted 23-of-42 passes for 283 yards and two scores, but he was picked off twice and sacked five times as the Esks coughed up a double-digit advantage and headed to the loss column yet again. While Reilly was putting up solid numbers through the air, the so-called rushing attack was less than spectacular as the squad generated a mere 48 net yards on nine attempts. Edmonton, a loser in three of the last four contests, did not do itself any favors by being flagged 10 times for a loss of 85 yards, although that was still better than Hamilton which suffered 11 penalties (86 yards). Miscues and mistakes have become a big issue with the Eskimos this season, as the team averages more than 11 penalties per contest and has the third-most penalty yards in the CFL (1,155). By contrast, Saskatchewan is one of the more disciplined squads in the league, ranking second in overall flags (116) and yards assessed (1,025). However, Edmonton seems to have found a balance between penalties and scoring points as it ranks second this week with 26.4 ppg, not to mention being second in overall defense with 295.0 ypg allowed. Perhaps the most promising stat for the Esks has them first in the league in pass defense, allowing opponents to convert just 56.7 percent of their attempts, while Saskatchewan is next-to- last in that department at 64.8 percent. With respect to the all-time series between the clubs, Edmonton is on top by a count of 115-90-2 when taking into account only regular-season bouts dating back to 1938. The Esks won the most recent matchup last November by a score of 30-26 in Regina, giving the teams a split of the last six meetings. Over the final three weeks of this regular season the teams will meet twice, with both battles going on in Saskatchewan. 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