FORT COLLINS — For the third time in program history, Colorado State’s football team gets to take part in an inaugural bowl game.
It is the first time, however, their bowl date has been a conference game, too.
The Rams accepted an invitation Sunday to play in the Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl on Dec. 29, facing Nevada, also out of the Mountain West at Arizona Stadium (5:30 p.m.).
Colorado State also appeared in the first New Orleans Bowl (2001) and the Poinsettia Bowl (2005).
The Rams will arrive in Tucson on Christmas day.
The Arizona Bowl was originally set up to select teams from the Mountain West, Conference USA or the Sun Belt, but the latter two didn’t meet all of their obligations. With a record 80 teams needed to fill spots, the equation started getting messy when only 77 teams were bowl-eligible. The NCAA ruled the empty spots could be filled by 5-7 teams, ranking them based on APR.
Nevada (6-6) finished second in the West Division behind San Diego State. The Wolf Pack and Rams faced six common foes, with both beating New Mexico and Fresno State, both losing to Utah State and San Diego State. Colorado State beat both UNLV and Wyoming, teams Nevada lost to this season.
The two didn’t play this year, nor will they next year. They played as part of cross-division play the two years prior, with Colorado State winning both games.
The last time two teams from the same conference played in a non-playoff bowl game was 1979 when Oklahoma played Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.
