ALBUQUERQUE N.M. (KRQE) – The teams were as usual greeted by a mariachi band on Wednesday morning, as Colorado State and Marshall landed in Albuquerque ahead of their Saturday New Mexico Bowl matchup. Both teams are 7-5 coming into this game, and currently, the CSU Rams are favored to take this game.

The Rams could be seen as having a slight advantage on the Thundering Herd as they are more familiar with New Mexico. They are a part of the Mountain West and even beat the Lobos in DreamStyle Stadium this season, but the Rams also have experience in the NM Bowl. Colorado State won the 2013 New Mexico Bowl, and a lot of the seniors on this year’s team were a part of that team that won.

“We have been to this stadium and we have been in that locker room, we are staying in the same hotel. You know that could help at the end of the day, but we are going to play 60 minutes of football, whatever it takes to beat them and there is going to be 11 on the field at a time,” said CSU Head Football Coach Mike Bobo.

Altitude could also play as an advantage for the Rams, as Marshall is used to playing in sea level conditions. “I don’t worry about that. I don’t think there is any, the Denver Broncos have that high elevation, and I’m not sure about their record this year. I don’t worry about it, let’s go out and play,”  Marshall Head Football Coach Doc Holiday said.

CSU and Marshall will kick off this year’s New Mexico Bowl on Saturday with a 2:30 p.m. start time.