Vegas Play of the Day: Utah vs. Colorado State in Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014 | 2 a.m.

Here’s the latest installment of the Play of the Day, which uses odds from the South Point. Our three sports writers started with a $10,000 bankroll — fictional, of course.

Utah minus-3 vs. Colorado State in Las Vegas Bowl: $550 to win $500: Case Keefer, the Sun’s handicapping expert, likes Colorado State against Utah in the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl. More times than not, he’s right — especially when it comes to college football. But today I’ll roll the dice and bet the other side.

Colorado State went 10-2 this season and has one of the nation’s best passing attacks, averaging 326.3 yards per game through the air. The Rams were 22nd nationally in points scored with 35 points per game, and quarterback Garrett Grayson threw 36 touchdowns with just six interceptions.

But the numbers are deceiving. Consider the competition.

Colorado State plays in the awful Mountain West — remember last year when UNLV posted a winning record in the league to reach a bowl game? Colorado State put up lopsided scores against UC Davis (49 points), San Jose State (38), Hawaii (49) and New Mexico (58). Not that impressive, right?

While the Rams were world beaters against the weak schedule, Utah was solid in the tough Pac-12 Conference. They won close game after close game to finish with a respectable 8-4 record, including five league wins.

The step-up in competition won’t treat Colorado State nicely. Also, it will be interesting to see how Colorado State plays under interim coach Dave Baldwin. The Rams surely won’t be the same team without Jim McElwain, who left for the Florida job, calling the shots on the sideline.

Standings: Bern (59-51-1, $11,366), Keefer (53-60-1, $7,727), Brewer (51-57-3, $5,055)

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21