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March 18, 2024

Blog: Travis Wilson scores four times in Utah’s Las Vegas Bowl rout

Colorado State never threatens in game’s second-biggest blowout ever

Las Vegas Bowl 2014

John Locher / AP

Utah quarterback Travis Wilson runs for a touchdown against Colorado State during the first half of the Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014.

Updated Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014 | 4:05 p.m.

2014 Las Vegas Bowl

Utah quarterback Travis Wilson, right, and other players celebrate after they defeated Colorado State in the Las Vegas Bowl NCAA college football game Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014, in Las Vegas. Utah won 45-10. (AP Photo/John Locher) Launch slideshow »

Utah quarterback Travis Wilson high-stepped his way into the end zone for the third time with no disruption.

Wilson was free to do as he pleased Saturday afternoon at Sam Boyd Stadium. Hardly anyone ever got near Wilson as he led the Utes to a 45-10 victory over Colorado State in the 2014 Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl.

Wilson ran the ball 11 times for 91 yards and three touchdowns, as well as throwing for 158 yards and a score on 17-for-26 passing. A game that looked like one of the closest Las Vegas Bowl matchups in years turned out the opposite.

Utah registered the second-biggest blowout, behind Oregon State’s 55-14 win over New Mexico in 2003, in the bowl's history. And the Utes did it swiftly.

They led 14-0 in less than eight minutes, scoring twice in their first nine plays. Wilson rushed in the first score, then found Delshawn McClellon for a 16-yard score.

And he was just the start of the Rams’ problems. Running back Devontae Booker racked up 26 carries for 162 yards, leading a running game that averaged more than eight yards per carry.

Colorado State had eight rushing yards total as Utah’s vaunted defensive front controlled the line of scrimmage. The Utes forced the Rams into two turnovers, both of which they turned into points.

The final yardage figures were 543 to 274 in favor of Colorado State. Utah finished the year 9-4, while Colorado State dropped to 10-3.

Stay tuned to lasvegassun.com for more coverage of the Las Vegas Bowl to come.

A long-running series is renewed today at Sam Boyd Stadium in the 2014 Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl.

Utah and Colorado State don’t make for an eccentric bowl matchup. On the contrary, they’ve played 76 times mostly as members of the Mountain West Conference.

A three-year hiatus will be snapped with kickoff, which is minutes away, after Utah bailed for the Pac-12. Most of the recent meetings didn’t carry the stature of today’s clash.

Utah and Colorado State managed major turnarounds in the same season. The Rams have already reached a 10-win plateau for the first time in 12 years.

They’ve got the nation’s leader in receiving yards per game, sophomore Rashard Higgins, and the man throwing to him, senior Garrett Grayson, is second in the country in passing efficiency.

The Rams’ proficiency in the passing game creates intriguing matchups all over the field. The Utes are playing in the postseason for the first time in three years because of their defense.

A secondary starring senior safety Brian Blechen and senior cornerback Eric Rowe has proven stingy all year. They’re assisted by the nation’s leader in sacks, senior defensive end Nate Orchard.

But Orchard faces one of the best offensive lines he’s seen this season in Colorado State. This looks like the first bowl game of the year to possibly to feature a first-round NFL draft pick on each side — directly against each other, no less.

Colorado State left tackle Ty Sambrailo has raised up draft boards all season in powering the high-octane attack, which has also featured Alabama transfer Dee Hart with more than 1,000 yards on the ground.

Utah starting running back Devontae Booker is one of only 27 players in the country with more rushing yard than Hart. He’s racked up 1,350 yards, and more than five yards per carry, since transferring to Utah out of a junior college.

Stay tuned to lasvegassun.com for a live blog of all the action.

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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