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Potato Bowl, Idaho vs Colorado State: Highlights, score and recap

By Connor Muldowney

Dec 22, 2016; Boise, ID, USA; Idaho Vandals running back Isaiah Saunders (21) breaks away from the Colorado State Rams defense during the first half at the Idaho Potato Bowl at Albersons Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Losness-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 22, 2016; Boise, ID, USA; Idaho Vandals running back Isaiah Saunders (21) breaks away from the Colorado State Rams defense during the first half at the Idaho Potato Bowl at Albersons Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Losness-USA TODAY Sports /
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Check out the highlights, final score and more from Thursday evening’s Potato Bowl between Idaho and Colorado State.

Despite being overwhelming underdogs in Thursday’s Potato Bowl, Idaho came away as a big winner. The Vandals found themselves down 7-0 early in the second quarter, but they followed that up by scoring 20 straight points to head into halftime.

You might be wondering why the Vandals were such big underdogs even though they were playing at home essentially and it was because of the strength of schedule for each team. Colorado State was the favorite based on a tougher schedule and decent performances against top-tier teams.

Junior quarterback Matt Linehan was the reason for the wide margin of victory as well as some field position battle wins and turnovers as well. Idaho’s defense held its own against a potent Rams offense.

After heading into the locker room with a 20-7 lead, the Vandals scored the first three touchdowns of the second half to take a 41-7 lead and it was all but over before the end of the third quarter. The Vandals went from 13-point underdogs to winning one of the highest-scoring games of the year by double-digits.

Colorado State made the game slightly more interesting in the fourth quarter, scoring a couple of touchdowns to make the score a little more respectable, but Nick Stevens and Dalyn Dawkins had disappointing finishes to their season.

This one ended up being almost all Idaho.

Highlights

Three Stars

1. Matt Linehan put together yet another solid game, his second in a row, and the junior quarterback led Idaho to victory. He passed for 381 yards and four touchdowns.

2. Idaho running back Isaiah Saunders had his second 100-yard game of the year. He rushed for 147 yards and three touchdowns on 33 carries.

3. Olabisi Johnson was the top receiver between both teams and the Colorado State sophomore had his best career game. He finished with seven catches for 265 yards and two touchdowns.

Next: 10 games that would make college football exponentially better

Next Season

Colorado State opens the 2017 season against the Colorado Buffaloes in Denver. That could be a program-maker for the Rams. Idaho will have a much more favorable matchup against Sacramento State at home to open the year.

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