Fresno St. vs Wyoming  College Football Preview:

Led by the top rusher in the nation, Fresno State will be looking for a better outcome when it plays in its second straight New Mexico Bowl.

For Wyoming, led by first-year coach Dave Christensen, merely appearing in a postseason game for the first time in five years is a big step for the program.

The Bulldogs and Cowboys kick off the bowl season when they meet in Albuquerque on Saturday.

Fresno State had a rough start to the year, losing three of four. Two of the losses came against ranked teams and one was in double overtime.

The Bulldogs (8-4) rebounded to go 7-1 over their final eight games, ending the season with a 53-52 overtime victory at Illinois and earning a trip to Albuquerque for the second consecutive season.

Fresno State is led by junior running back Ryan Mathews, who topped the Football Bowl Subdivision with 151.3 rushing yards per game. The first-team All-WAC player scored 17 touchdowns to give him 37 for his career, breaking the school record set by Anthony Daigle from 1991-93. He is the second Bulldogs back to run for more than 3,000 yards.

Mathews helped Fresno rank 14th in the nation in points per game at 34.3. The Bulldogs were 19th in yards per contest with 435.9.

With one of the nation’s most prolific offenses, the Bulldogs might have gone to a more prestigious bowl game if they had played sportsbook online better defense. They ranked 111th against the rush at 212.4 yards per game and were 81st in scoring defense at 27.8 points a contest.

Fresno State is making its 10th bowl appearance in the last 11 seasons under coach Pat Hill, and the Bulldogs are looking to leave Albuquerque with a victory this time.

Despite coming into the 2008 New Mexico Bowl with a 7-5 record, Fresno State carried an eight-point lead over Colorado State into the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs couldn’t hold it, giving up 20 points in the final period to lose 40-35.

“We are a much different team, a more confident team than when we came to New Mexico a year ago,” Hill told Fresno State’s official Web site. “We were not a strong team at the end of last season and the fourth quarter against Colorado State showed that.”

While Wyoming will be focused on trying to contain Mathews, it will also have to contend with Ryan Colburn, who threw for 2,333 yards and completed 60.2 percent of his passes. He had 18 touchdowns but was intercepted 11 times.

Wyoming (6-6) won its final game to become bowl eligible. The Cowboys will be playing in their first bowl game since beating UCLA 24-21 in the 2004 Las Vegas Bowl.

Wyoming is led by freshman Austyn Carta-Samuels, who threw for 1,752 yards and completed 59 percent of his passes, but tossed only seven touchdowns with four interceptions. He had one passing touchdown over the final six games, getting sacked 20 times in that span.

Saturday’s game could be a high-scoring one with Wyoming also struggling defensively. The Cowboys gave up 27.3 points a game and ranked 91st against the rush at 170.5 yards per contest.

Wyoming forced 14 turnovers in its first six games but only six over the last six. The Cowboys, though, finished with a plus-7 turnover margin, a big improvement after being at minus-22 last year.

Fresno State won the last matchup with Wyoming 24-7 on Nov. 22, 1997, when both teams played in the WAC. The two have split six meetings, with this being the first at a neutral site.

To bet and get the prize money  from the best betting sites. Bet at sportsbetting.com and get the 110% signup bonus. See at sportsbook – sportsbook online

Tags: college, Football, Fresno, preview, watch, Wyoming