Colorado State to play Utah in Las Vegas Bowl

Usually, an interim coach in the Las Vegas Bowl represents the Pac-12 Conference team.

This time it’s the Mountain West school, Colorado State, that brings an interim coach to the Dec. 20 game at Sam Boyd Stadium when the Rams play No. 23 Utah.

Whereas an interim from the Pac-12 team probably means the head coach got fired, the opposite is true if it’s on the Mountain West side. It was probably a banner season, resulting in a great job opportunity elsewhere.

That’s what happens when a bowl pits the top selection from one conference (Mountain West) against the sixth choice from another (Pac-12).

Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Dave Baldwin will serve as the Rams’ interim coach, and he is in charge of helping them overcome what could be a distracting time in preparing for the Utes (8-4). He steps in for Jim McElwain, who was hired at Florida after leading Colorado State to a 10-2 record.

“It was a circus around here for a couple of days, created by Twitter and Facebook and the media in Florida and the whole deal,” Baldwin said. “Our kids have been as classy as they can be. They didn’t get caught up in all that.

“They have a lot of excitement for Coach Mac. They knew that it was his dream, and they’ve been very classy about sending him on his way.”

Quarterback Garrett Grayson and wide receiver Rashard Higgins are the star attractions for Colorado State. Grayson was the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year after passing for 3,779 yards and 32 touchdowns. Higgins is a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, and he has 89 catches for 1,640 yards and 17 TDs.

The Rams also are balanced, with Dee Hart having rushed for 1,254 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also averages 6.7 yards per carry.

A Salt Lake Tribune reporter asked Baldwin about the ho-hum Utah fan reaction to this bowl pairing and whether a possible letdown by the Utes could serve as an advantage.

“Turn on the film of Colorado State,” Baldwin said, his voice rising as he then ticked off the Rams’ individual accomplishments.

“If you can’t get excited to play against great competition, I don’t care what school it is, then there’s something wrong,” he continued. “I guarantee this Colorado State team’s going to come there with excitement and meet that challenge, and we know you’ve (the Utes) got talent there and we’re looking forward to it.”

This is a classic matchup on paper, with Colorado State’s high-powered offense against Utah’s aggressive defense. The Utes lead the country with 52 sacks, and they are fourth with 100 tackles for loss. Defensive end Nate Orchard has recorded 20 tackles for loss, including 17½ sacks.

Utah also owns one of the nation’s top special teams, with Kaelin Clay having returned three punts and one kickoff for a touchdown. Tom Hackett, who averages 47.0 yards per punt, is a finalist for the Ray Guy Award.

The Utes, at one point, looked headed to a more prestigious bowl than Las Vegas, sitting at 6-1 and ranked No. 18 after a 24-21 victory over Southern California. Utah then lost three of its final five games.

“We will not have any letdown worries,” Utes coach Kyle Whittingham said. “We’ve been out of the postseason for a couple of years now, so our guys are anxious to be involved in postseason play. It’s great for our seniors to go out on a positive like this and a chance to play in a bowl game. I don’t foresee anybody being disappointed in any way, shape or form.”

The Utes get ready to face a team from the conference they left in 2011. Instead of being the Mountain West team trying to knock off the school from the power conference, the Utes are that team from one of the big leagues.

“Like Colorado State’s completely turned over, we’ve completely turned over our personnel since we were last in the Vegas Bowl,” Whittingham said. “So I don’t think there’s a chance our players will view it in that light. I think we’re elated to have the type of season we had, which enabled us to play in the postseason.”

This is Utah’s fourth appearance in the Las Vegas Bowl, having last played in this game in a 26-3 loss to Boise State in 2010. Colorado State has never played in this game.

Las Vegas Bowl executive director John Saccenti said he’s optimistic fans from both teams will turn out. The Rams traveled 5,000 to 6,000 fans to last season’s New Mexico Bowl, and on the night of the Las Vegas Bowl, the Utes’ men’s basketball team will play UNLV at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

‘I think you’re going to get Utah trying to prove to Colorado State that they’re the bigger, better Pac-12 team now,” Saccenti said. “And I think you’re going to have Colorado State trying to prove to them that ‘we don’t care you’re in the Pac-12, we can play with just about anybody.’ So I expect both teams to come out fired up and prepared.”

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.