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The pick: Why Utah State will beat Washington State in the Idaho Potato Bowl

By Greg Woods gregw@spokesman.com(509) 459-5587

BOISE – However you do the math, whichever way you slice the matchup, this bowl game profiles as one of Washington State’s more winnable ones in recent years.

At least on the surface.

WSU is taking on Utah State in Monday’s Idaho Potato Bowl, the first time the Cougars have taken part in the game. They’re squaring off against a 6-6 Aggie squad under first-year head coach Bronco Mendenhall. The Cougs have a senior-laden roster, chock full of players fired up to go out on the right note.

But we’re picking Utah State to win Monday’s game because several factors are working in the Aggies’ favor. First, their quarterback is veteran Bryson Barnes, the type of dual-threat QB that has bamboozled the Cougars all season. Their defense has generated 10 interceptions, which have been a thorn in the side of WSU QB Zevi Eckhaus. And as young and promising a career that interim coach Jesse Bobbit has established, he’s never been a head coach before.

Plus, this game is away from Pullman’s Gesa Field, where the Cougs have been at their best. Elsewhere, WSU went just 1-5 this season. However encouraging setbacks to Ole Miss and Virginia might have looked, the Cougars haven’t been the same team on the road.

WSU will also be playing without starting running back Kirby Vorhees, who declared for the portal earlier this week and opted out of the bowl game. The Cougs have other weapons in the backfield – this is a chance for younger tailbacks like Leo Pulalasi and Maxwell Woods to get a head start on the next seasons of their careers – but for a team that leans on the run, the absence of Vorhees will sting.

WSU will have plenty of momentum headed into next season. The Cougars have a new head coach, Kirby Moore, who has made former Oregon State coach Trent Bray his new defensive coordinator. They’ll be playing in the new Pac-12 next season. All of that should excite the WSU fan base.

They’ll just have to forget about this bowl game for a bit.

The pick: Utah State 20, WSU 17