It’s bowl season, which means we have a lot of football to watch between Dec. 13 and Jan. 19! Ohio State, Utah, Georgia Southern, Army, Texas A&M — and just about everyone in between — will take part in a total of 47 games that will ultimately conclude with the 2026 CFP National Championship.
NESN has you covered with previews for each and every game — with our next contest serving as one of bowl season’s most iconic games:
2025 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Matchup: Washington State Cougars vs. Utah State Aggies
Date: Monday, Dec. 22, 2025
Kickoff: 2 p.m. ET
Stadium: Albertsons Stadium — Boise, Idaho
TV: ESPN
Game Overview
The Idaho Potato Bowl has become a staple of bowl season, regularly featuring teams from the Mountain West, MAC and Pac-12 as they battle for conference supremacy in their shared backyard on the blue turf in Boise, Idaho.
Northern Illinois defeated Fresno State is an awesome double overtime contest in 2024, the first one-score difference in the game in nearly a decade. The Cougars and Aggies could make it two in a row.
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Team Overviews
Washington State Cougars
Conference: Pac-12
Head Coach: Jesse Bobbit (Interim)
Record: 6–6
Washington State enters bowl season after struggling to navigate their new reality of playing in a two-team conference, splitting their two games with Oregon State and losing to all three ranked opponents: No. 4 Ole Miss, No. 18 Virginia and No. 21 James Madison.
The Cougars will also be without head coach Jimmy Rogers, who jetted after just one season to take the job at Iowa State, while interim coach Jesse Bobbit will join him as soon as this game ends — so how can they win the game?
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Zevi Eckhaus and Kirby Vorhees — the club’s starting quarterback and running back, respectively — can control the clock and have accounted for 913 total rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. Isaac Terrell and Buddha Peleti are the leaders on a strong defensive unit that has allowed just 20.2 points per game (27th of 136).
Utah State Aggies
Conference: Mountain West
Head Coach: Bronco Mendenhall
Record: 6-6
Utah State is fast and efficient on offense, and… not very good on defense.
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Bryson Barnes is one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the entire country, having accounted for 2,687 passing yards, 733 rushing yards, 27 total touchdowns and just four interceptions. Miles Davis (890 all-purpose yards, 11 total touchdowns) and Braden Pegan (926 receiving yards) are his best weapons.
The Aggies just can’t seem to stop anyone, having allowed 28.2 points per game (90th of 136) while only having only one defender to rack up more than 4.0 sacks on the season (John Miller; 7.5).
Players to Watch
Washington State
QB Zevi Eckhaus
RB Kirby Vorhees
WR Josh Meredith
DL Isaac Terrell
DL Buddha Peleti
LB Parker McKenna
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Utah State
QB Bryson Barnes
RB Miles Davis
WR Braden Pegan
WR Bradyn Boyd
LB John Miller
LB Bronson Olevao
CB Noah Avinger
Key Notes
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Kirby Moore, who spent the last two seasons as the offensive coordinator for Missouri, will take over as head coach for Washington State in 2026.
Utah State is making its sixth appearance in the Idaho Potato Bowl, hoping to improve their record after entering 1-4.
Barnes made his first college start against Washington State, and will now make his final college start Washington State.
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Betting Lines
DraftKings Sportsbook: Utah State -1.5 | O/U 49.5
FanDuel Sportsbook: Utah State -1.5 | O/U 49.5
BetMGM Sportsbook: Utah State -1.5 | O/U 49.5
The Pick: Utah State -1.5
Featured image via Sean Thomas/Imagn Images
