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Las Vegas, NV (SportsNetwork.com) - Former foes from the Mountain West Conference battle in the 23rd annual Las Vegas Bowl, as the 23rd-ranked Utah Utes clash with the Colorado State Rams at Sam Boyd Stadium on Saturday. Utah, which left the MWC in favor of the Pac-12 Conference, finished the regular season with a record of 8-4 which was somewhat disappointing given the fact that the program opened the campaign with six wins in seven tries. Down the stretch the Utes lost three of five, while the two victories against Stanford and Colorado came by a combined seven points. The lackluster finish to the regular season still left the Utes among the nationally ranked and gave the team an opportunity to take the field one more time, which is something head coach Kyle Whittingham is certainly thankful for. Its great to be back playing in the postseason. One of the biggest benefits is the extra practice work for the younger players. Its almost like another spring camp. Having the seniors play in a bowl game is huge. Meanwhile, the Rams took the MWC by storm this season, at one point putting together a nine-game win streak which pushed them into the national rankings as well. Unfortunately, the success was a double-edged sword for Colorado State, as the team finished second in the Mountain Division of the MWC with a record of 6-2, because it also meant that head coach Jim McElwain was a hot commodity on the head coaching market. Turns out McElwain, who was the offensive coordinator at Alabama before taking the job in Fort Collins, was lured away by Florida and has agreed to become the next coach for the floundering Gators. As a result, offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin has stepped up on an interim basis to lead the Rams into battle this weekend. From a postseason perspective, the Rams are aiming to even out their bowl record as they take part in their 14th postseason affair. The teams very first bowl game was a 21-20 loss to Occidental in the 1949 Raisin Bowl, while the most recent was a hard-fought 48-45 triumph over Washington State in the 2013 New Mexico Bowl. Utah, which is 2-1 in this particular bowl, has won 10 of its last 11 bowl outings, with the lone setback coming against Boise State in the 2010 version of the Las Vegas Bowl. Overall, the Utes have a 13-4 bowl mark, dating back to a 26-0 win against New Mexico in the 1939 Sun Bowl. The most recent postseason victory for the program was a 30-27 overtime triumph versus Georgia Tech in the 2011 Sun Bowl. These squads have a long and storied history dating back more than a century, with Utah owning a 55-22-2 advantage. This will be the first neutral-site battle and the first meeting overall since the Utes, ranked ninth in the nation at the time, crushed CSU by a score of 59-6 on Oct. 23, 2010. Coach Whittinghams offense was rather pedestrian this season, placing 84th in the nation with just 374.8 ypg. although that doesnt mean there were not standout performers on that side of the ball. Running back Devontae Booker made a name for himself as he carried the ball 266 times for 1,350 yards and nine touchdowns, while quarterback Travis Wilson registered an efficiency rating of 135.93 thanks to his 60.3 percent completions and his 17 touchdowns, against only four interceptions. Wilson had four different receivers who logged four touchdowns through the air, his favorite target being Kenneth Scott with his 42 grabs for 445 yards. Although he doesnt necessarily fit the profile of an offensive player, punter Tom Hackett was no less a valuable asset for the Utes when the offense stalled, as the All-American and Ray Guy Award winner placed second in the country with a punt average of 47.0 yards per kick and was first with punts inside the 20 (35) and 10 (19) yard lines. Utah leads the nation in total sacks with 52 and is also first in sacks per game with 4.33. Nate Orchard, who won the Ted Hendricks Award as the nations top defensive end, led the country with 1.46 sacks per outing and was second in total sacks with 17.5 to set a single-season record for Utah. The Rams have to be careful not to focus all their energy on stopping Orchard because Hunter Dimick can also disrupt plays in the backfield after posting 14.5 TFL and 10 sacks of his own. Orchard and Dimick will both be targeting CSU quarterback Garrett Grayson, the all-time leading passer in Rams history and the 2014 MWC Offensive Player of the Year. Grayson completed close to 65 percent of his passes for a fantastic 314.9 ypg and a total of 32 touchdowns, against just six interceptions on 386 attempts. Making the job that much easier for Grayson, as he led the eighth-best passing attack in the country, was the play of wide receiver Rashard Higgins. A finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, Higgins led the nation with 149.1 ypg receiving and scored 17 touchdowns. He set a school record for consecutive games with at least 100 yards receiving with seven, en route to being named the first AP All-American at CSU since 1995. Its a great honor for Colorado State football, and especially for Rashard, coach Baldwin said of his selection. Im very proud of him, and proud of what everybody in this entire program has worked to accomplish this season. The offense has claimed most of the headlines at Colorado State this season, but that doesnt mean the defense is completely void of star players. Aaron Davis led the team in tackles with 110, while Cory James stepped up to produce team highs in TFL (8.5) and sacks (6.5). Trent Matthews was not only responsible for 51 tackles, he was tied for the lead in interceptions with three and logged a pair of blocked kicks as well. NMD Canada Online . Case in point: LeBron James vs. Ben McLemore. James was driving to the rim in the first quarter and McLemore decided to try to take the charge, which was quite admirable and predictably futile. Adidas X_Plr Canada . - Diego Fagundez scored his team-leading 13th goal of the season in the 76th minute to lift the Revolution to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Crew on Saturday night that kept New Englands playoff hopes alive. http://www.nmdshoescanada.com/nmd-xr1-cheap-canada.html. Braden Calverts Winnipeg rink rallied to defeat Italy 8-7. After giving up three points in the second end, Calvert came back with a single, then stole two more points in the next two ends to tie it up at the fifth-end break. y-3 Sale Canada . In the Brewers six games this season, no starter has allowed more than three runs. "We see the guy in front of us do a great job and we want to do even better," Gallardo said after the Brewers beat the Red Sox 4-0 on Sunday, his second straight scoreless start. NMD R1 Primeknit Canada . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Defensive Depth TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun is reporting the Toronto Maple Leafs have considerable interest in unrestricted free-agent defenceman Dan Boyle.DENVER -- Randy Foye hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the buzzer, and the Denver Nuggets overcame a 36-point performance by Blake Griffin to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 116-115 on Monday night. Kenneth Faried had a career-high 28 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets, who denied the Clippers their sixth win in seven games. Ty Lawson, who missed the last four games with a shoulder injury, added 27 points and J.J. Hickson had 17 points and 12 rebounds. DeAndre Jordan had 19 points and 12 rebounds. It was his team record 28th consecutive game with at least 10 rebounds. Jamal Crawford added 19 points for the Clippers, who fell to 0-11 on the road when trailing after the third quarter. No more than five points separated the teams in the third quarter with the Nuggets taking an 82-81 lead into the fourth quarter when Quincy Miller stole the ball from Crawford and swept down the court for a layup, beating the buzzer. With 3:37 left, Griffin made two free throws to put the Clippers up 107-101 but the Nuggets scored eight straight points, getting six on free throws, and went in front by two. The Clippers answered, regaining the lead on a fast-break dunk by Griffin 111-109. Two free throws by Lawson re-tied it at 111-all with 1:21 left. Griffin made oone of two from the line and Wilson Chandler made a pair and the Nuggets led 113-112 with 50.dddddddddddd7 seconds remaining. Both the Clippers Crawford and the Nuggets Lawson missed jumpers before Matt Barnes connected on a go-ahead 3-pointer with 6.2 seconds remaining. But after a timeout, the Nuggets worked the ball to Foye who heaved a 3-pointer for the winner. Though the Clippers led by as many as 13 points early on, the teams battled to a 60-all tie at the half. Barnes and Darren Collison finished consecutive fastbreaks with layups to give the Clippers a 55-46 lead with 2:46 left in the second quarter. Chandler answered with a 3-pointer that was offset by a three-point play by Griffin, who then drew a foul, his third, while guarding Foye. Griffin spent the final couple minutes of the second quarter on the bench, during which the Nuggets closed with an 11-2 burst, including a jumper by Lawson with 29.7 seconds remaining that evened the score at the half. NOTES: Jordan has played in 209 consecutive games, longest active streak in the NBA. ... Faried has 55 career double doubles, including 12 this season. ... Jordan has 11 double doubles in his last 15 games. ... Griffin has 23 games with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds this season. ' ' '