Idaho Vandals

Coming off of a 4–8 season, fourth-year head coach Paul Petrino looked to lead the Vandals to bowl eligibility for the first time since 2009.^[12] They started the season 2–3, but bounced back and won 6 of their last 7 to finish the regular season 8–4.^[13] The Vandals were 2–0 in bowl games in school history, with both of their previous bowl games being played in Boise – they defeated Southern Miss in the 1998 Humanitarian Bowl and Bowling Green in the 2009 Humanitarian Bowl.^[14][15]

The game and Idaho's 2016 season took place against the backdrop of upcoming major change to the Vandals football program. On March 1, 2016, the Sun Belt Conference announced that its football membership agreements with Idaho and New Mexico State would not be renewed once they expired after the 2017 season.^[16] Idaho responded by announcing on April 28 that the football program would downgrade from the top-level FBS to FCS effective with the 2018 season and rejoin the Big Sky Conference, already home to the university's other sports.^[17] During the announcement, university president Chuck Staben said, "Our relevance will be complemented by our football program, not defined by it."^[18] Idaho would become the first school ever to voluntarily drop from FBS to FCS.^[19]

Yahoo! Sports columnist Pat Forde, in his preview of the 2016–17 bowl season, alluded to Idaho's future FCS move, saying, "This is Idaho’s biggest game in years – its first bowl game since 2009, and it’s a virtual home game, and it might be the Vandals’ last FBS hurrah with a drop to FCS scheduled for 2018."^[20]

Colorado State Rams

Coming off of a 7–6 season that included a bowl loss to Nevada,^[21] second-year head coach Mike Bobo led the Rams to a second straight 7–5 regular season that included a 2–1 start and a 2–1 finish. This was the sixteenth bowl game appearance in school history, with the Rams having compiled a 6–9 bowl record to date.^[22] Their last bowl win came in the 2013 New Mexico Bowl over Washington State, and they had gone 0–2 in bowl games since.^[22]

First half

With a game time temperature of 20 °F (−7 °C), the game began at 5:05 p.m. MST (7:05 p.m. EST) and was broadcast by ESPN. Idaho kicked off to start the game and Rams returner Jake Schlager opened the game with a 46-yard return. After an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, the Rams started their first drive at their own 40-yard-line. They drove the ball down to the Idaho 21-yard-line, where they failed to convert a 4th & 1. Idaho's first drive started there, but they stalled and were forced to punt after a three-and-out, giving Colorado State possession of the ball on their own 42-yard-line. The Rams' second drive was cut short after two plays when quarterback Nick Stevens's pass was intercepted over the middle by Jayshawn Jordan at the Idaho 41-yard-line. The Vandals, however, were unable to capitalize, and punted back to Colorado State. The punt was downed at the Colorado State 40-yard-line. The teams would trade punts for the remainder of the quarter, which ended scoreless.^[23]

Colorado State started the second quarter with possession of the ball on their own 16-yard-line and drove to their own 48, where they completed a 52-yard touchdown pass for the first points of the game. On Idaho's ensuing drive, they jumpstarted their offense with their first big play of the game, a 36-yard pass down to the Rams' 2-yard-line; they scored on the next play to pull within one point after the extra point was missed. Following a touchback, Colorado State resumed possession at their own 25-yard-line, but were forced to punt after a penalty and two incompletions. Idaho regained possession at their own 38-yard-line, and soon after completed another long pass, this one for 33 yards. They scored on the next play by virtue of a 26-yard rush from running back Isaiah Saunders, his second touchdown of the game. Colorado State returned the ensuing kickoff to the 27-yard-line. After gaining one first down, the Rams punted again and Idaho started their seventh drive on their own 15. This drive featured six first downs (two of which were fourth down conversions) and resulted in Idaho scoring a touchdown and increasing their lead to 13 points. Idaho squibbed the kickoff, giving Colorado State the ball on their own 17-yard-line with 14 seconds remaining. They were able to run one play before the clock expired, with Idaho leading 20–7 at halftime.^[23]

Second half

Idaho received the kickoff to begin the second half and started their drive on their 31-yard-line. Idaho's offense began the half effectively, driving down the field and scoring their fourth touchdown in their last four drives. Despite converting on a third down, Colorado State's first drive of the third quarter ended in a punt, which was downed on the 21-yard-line. Idaho's next drive was capped by yet another touchdown, which increased their lead to 27. The Rams started their second drive of the half on their own 39-yard-line; two incompletions and a sack later, Colorado State punted and Idaho took over on the 9-yard-line. The Vandals would be forced to punt on this drive, but the punt was muffed and Idaho recovered the ball on the CSU 14-yard-line. It took the Vandals just three more plays to score, extending their lead to 34 with a touchdown. The Rams' next possession saw back-to-back deep passes and a subsequent defensive penalty advance the ball to the Idaho 7-yard-line, and two plays later the Rams found the end zone and snapped Idaho's streak of 41 unanswered points. The quarter ended with Idaho leading 41–14.^[23]

Idaho's offense responded quickly, as they scored within the first two minutes of the fourth quarter to extend their lead to 34, though this was countered with a Colorado State touchdown a few plays later. Idaho reestablished their 34-point lead on their next drive, leaving 9 minutes and 27 seconds left in the game. Only 21 seconds later, the Rams scored again; a 60-yard touchdown pass made the score 55–28 with 9:06 left. Colorado State's onside kick was unsuccessful, and Idaho responded with another touchdown: an Isaiah Saunders 12-yard rush to make it 61–28 after the extra point was missed. Colorado State scored another touchdown on their next drive, but again, their onside kick was unsuccessful. The first drive of the fourth quarter not to result in a touchdown came with 3:12 remaining when Idaho went three-and-out and was forced to punt back to Colorado State, who took over on their own 16-yard-line. With 2:42 to play, Nick Stevens threw a long pass which was intercepted at the Idaho 20-yard-line by D.J. Hampton. Idaho went three-and-out and punted back to the Rams, whose next drive started on the 43-yard-line and resulted in a 22-yard touchdown rush by Dalyn Dawkins, making the score 61–42. With just over a minute left in the game, Colorado State recovered their onside kick at their own 46-yard-line and gained 39 yards on the first play of that possession. The second play got them inside the 5-yard-line and, two plays later, they scored their fifth touchdown of the quarter on a 1-yard rush by Izzy Matthews. The two-point conversion was good on a pass from Stevens to Johnson. The Rams' next onside kick was recovered by Idaho, however, dashing any hopes of a comeback. The contest finished with Idaho defeating Colorado State, 61–50.^[23]

Scoring summary

Source:^[23]