Akron @ Utah State preview

FAMOUS IDAHO POTATO BOWL STORYLINES

1. The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Dec. 22 in Boise, Idaho may not have the desired warm weather location of most bowl games, but that doesn't matter to either Akron or Utah State. Both teams are just happy to be going bowling but for different reasons. This is just the second bowl appearance ever for the Zips since becoming an FBS program in 1987 while the Aggies will be making a school-record fifth straight bowl appearance despite scuffling down the stretch.

2. Akron, which won its final four games to finish in a tie for second in the MAC East Division, lost to Memphis, 38-31, in its only previous bowl game, the 2005 Motor City Bowl. The Zips have steadily improved under fourth-year head coach Terry Bowden, going 1-11 in his first season and then 5-7 in back-to-back years before finishing 7-5 this year. "The thing that's beginning to hit us now it's time for us to go out and win a bowl -- not play a bowl, but win a bowl," Bowden told the Akron Beacon Journal.

3. Utah State looked like it might be headed to a more prestigious bowl game back in mid-October when it forced eight turnovers and stunned then No. 21-ranked Boise State, 52-26, to take over the Mountain Division lead in the Mountain West Conference. But the Aggies lost four of their final six games, including back-to-back road games at New Mexico (14-13) and Air Force (35-28), and ended up in a four-way tie for second place at 5-3 in the division behind the Falcons (6-2). This is the third time in five years that Utah State will play in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, which is just a four-hour drive from campus in Logan, Utah.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN. LINE: Utah State -6

ABOUT AKRON (7-5): Senior running back Conor Hundley is the team's leading rusher with 883 yards and 10 touchdowns on 188 carries while sophomore quarterback Thomas Woodson has completed 53 percent of his passes for 2,034 yards,16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Senior wide receiver Imani Davis (46 receptions, 593 yards, 3 TDs) is the top receiver for the Zips, who run a spread offense. Akron's defense, which ranks third nationally in rushing defense (89.8 yards per game) and 17th in total defense (328.5), is led by senior linebacker Jatavis Brown, who was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Year after leading the team with 108 tackles, including 17.5 for loss, and 10.5 sacks.

ABOUT UTAH STATE (6-6): The Aggies have arguably the two best linebackers in the Mountain West in 6-5, 250-pound senior Kyler Fackrell, who led the nation in fumble recoveries (five) and is considered an NFL prospect, and junior Nick Vigil, who ranks fifth in the nation in tackles (11.7 per game) and is only the player in the nation to have at least nine tackles in every game. Both Fackrell and Vigil were first team all-Mountain West picks while senior wide receiver Hunter Sharp, who had 60 receptions for 746 yards and eight touchdowns, was a second team choice. Sophomore quarterback Kent Myers passed for 1,470 yards, 14 touchdowns and three interceptions and also rushed for 348 yards and three touchdowns, which ranked second on the team behind junior running back Devante Mays' 842 yards rushing.



PREDICTION: Utah State 24, Akron 13