Miami and Colorado State will compete in the first Arizona Bowl sponsored by Snoop Dogg.
Game notes
- Time and date: Saturday, December 28 at 4:30 p.m. ET
- Network: The CW Network
- Location: Arizona Stadium — Tucson, AZ
- Spread: Miami (OH) (-2.5)
- Over/under: 40.5
- All-time series: Miami (OH) leads, 2-0
- Last meeting: Miami (OH) 31, Colorado State 10 — October 2, 1965
- Current streak: Miami (OH), 2 (2003-10)
- Miami (OH) last bowl: 2023 Cure Bowl, 13-9 loss to Appalachian State
- Colorado State last bowl: 2017 New Mexico Bowl, 30-27 loss to Marshall
- 2023 Arizona Bowl matchup: Wyoming 16, Toledo 15
Setting the scene
Welcome to the first-ever Snooper Bowl.
For the first time ever, the Arizona Bowl is sponsored by the world renowned rapper Snoop Dogg, promoting his Gin & Juice brand as part of the game.
This year’s participants are ready to drop it like it’s hot. This matchup features the Miami RedHawks (8-5, 7-1 MAC) and the Colorado State Rams (8-4, 6-1 Mountain West) who posted nearly identical records in terms of overall and in conference play. Miami is 1-4 in its last five bowls and aims for its first bowl victory since 2021 under head coach Chuck Martin. Meanwhile, Colorado State is appearing in its first bowl in seven years and eyes its first postseason win since 2013.
It will be the third meeting between the RedHawks and Rams, and the RedHawks are 2-0 in the series history.
Miami (OH) RedHawks outlook
Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Miami overcame a 1-4 start and rattled off seven consecutive wins to qualify for the MAC Championship Game. The RedHawks were unable to become the first MAC team to repeat as champions since 2011 and 2012 Northern Illinois, falling in lopsided 38-3 fashion to Ohio.
Now Miami receives an opportunity to rebound from the devastating defeat and secure consecutive 9-win seasons for the first time since 1974 and 1975.
Saturday marks the final appearance of a program legend. Brett Gabbert has held the starting quarterback reins for six years in Oxford, OH, and he’s exactly 200 yards away from passing Ben Roethlisberger for second on the school’s all-time passing yards leaderboard. Gabbert won MVP honors in his last bowl game in 2021, and he looks to cap off a storied career at Miami with a victory in Tucson.
The quarterback will be without several key targets as both of Miami’s 800-yard receivers — Javon Tracy and Reggie Virgil — transferred out of the program. That leaves Cade McDonald (49 receptions, 606 yards) as the overwhelming No. 1 option, and it requires other targets like Andre Johnson and Kamryn Perry to step up. Running back Kevin Davis and tight end Jack Coldiron are the non-wide receiver options which Gabbert typically frequents, and they’ll hope to sustain the RedHawks’ aerial excellence in the absence of their two leading receivers.
But the determinant whether Miami wins or loses is the production of running back Keyon Mozee. When Mozee posts 90 or more rushing yards, Miami is 8-0. When he posts 40 or fewer, the RedHawks are 0-5. So establishing a strong ground presence with 1,000-yard senior tailback is of utmost importance against Colorado State.
Defensively, the RedHawks are potent against the run, limiting opponents under 4.0 yards per carry. Another program legend is playing his final game as a RedHawk, and that’s 2023 MAC Defensive Player of the Year Matt Salopek. The tackling machine recorded 110+ stops and 8+ tackles for loss for his third consecutive year, and he thrives in coverage as well with three interceptions on the year.
Backfield invasion is a common occurrence for this defense. Salopek is just one of four RedHawks with eight tackles for loss on the season, sharing the designation with defensive ends Brian Ugwu and Corey Suttle as well as inside linebacker Ty Wise. With all of these effective pieces, Miami is 16th nationally in scoring defense at 18.9 points allowed per game, but the RedHawks have one glaring absence at cornerback.
Shutdown corner Raion Strader is out of the lineup, so Miami’s 23rd passing defense takes a significant hit. Still, the secondary is deep at safety with Eli Blakey and Silas Walters among the experts in zone coverage.
Colorado State Rams outlook
Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post
Colorado State returns to bowl season after a 6-year hiatus. The Rams must trek back even further in history to find their last bowl win, which transpired in 2013 at the New Mexico Bowl. They’ve dropped all four postseason appearances since, but Jay Norvell hopes to set a new standard in Fort Collins, CO.
The Rams can clinch their first 9-win campaign since 2014 with a win in Tucson. Like Miami, Colorado State struggled early in the season, stumbling to a 2-3 start with losses to Texas, Colorado, and Oregon State. But the Rams rattled off five wins in a row and nearly qualified for the Mountain West Championship Game in a stellar second half of the season.
Colorado State’s offense is led by redshirt sophomore quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, who is approaching 2,500 passing yards for the second-straight season. Fowler-Nicolosi ended the year on a high note, firing for 300 yards in each of his last two starts.
The quarterback was forced to operate without star wide receiver Tory Horton for most of the year, and his receiving corps takes another hit with deep threat Caleb Goodie’s transfer to Cincinnati. Fowler-Nicolosi will look to Jamari Person and Armani Winfield (first and second on the team in receptions) to guide the aerial offense, while also incorporating red zone threat tight end Vince Brown II (second on team in touchdown receptions).
Still, the stronger portion of the Rams’ offense this year was the run game led by the duo of Avery Morrow and Justin Marshall. Morrow is 44 yards away from hitting the millennium mark and averages a tremendous 5.8 yards per carry as the premier back. Marshall supports with 662 rushing yards on the season and four touchdowns for the nation’s 55th-ranked rushing attack.
Defensively, Colorado State wasn’t the most consistent team. It played in low-scoring affairs and shootouts alike, and finished near the national median with 24.3 points allowed per game. The Rams didn’t generate the strongest pass rush this season as defensive end Gabe Kirschke was the lone defender to register more than two sacks with 5.5.
Stopping the run was the stronger component of Colorado State’s defense all year. Second Team All-Mountain West linebackers Buom Jock and Chase Wilson combine for 191 tackles, and they’ll look to limit Miami’s rushing attack at the line of scrimmage. The coverage unit yielded 239 passing yards per game (101st in FBS), but Elias Larry and Dominic Morris still caused enough havoc with 19 collective pass breakups and two interceptions.
Prediction
Both teams trot out veteran quarterbacks and do a decent to great job stopping the run, so the Arizona Bowl has potential to be a quarterback-driven game. Brett Gabbert and Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi are both working with shorthanded receiving corps, but Saturday afternoon in Tucson provides the opportunity for new faces to step up and make an impact on the season.
Miami’s offense has been a bit erratic, as the RedHawks struggled to score at times throughout the season including in the MAC title game. The portal entries of Javon Tracy and Reggie Virgil are massive hits to the unit, as is the departure of star offensive tackle Will Jados. Brett Gabbert, Keyon Mozee, and Co. should still see some production, but this game will wind up on the lower-scoring side.
Colorado State counters with a capable running back tandem on offense and a commanding linebacking corps on defense. The Rams continue their strong finish to the year and win an Arizona Bowl which remains close for the first three quarters.
Prediction: Colorado State 27, Miami (OH) 17