Bowl time for BSU, soon for Cougs

We’re down to the final two picks in our inaugural season of Gridiron Guesses.

Boise State plays Oregon on Saturday in the Las Vegas Bowl, and Washington State faces Michigan State in the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 28 in San Diego.

Two weeks ago, yours truly and Jason Elliott — who has since shed his hunter-orange pullover, went 1-1 in our picks. We picked the Vandals, down to their third quarterback, to fall in their season finale. And we almost slipped up on Boise State in the Mountain West title game, before the Broncos rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Fresno State at home.

For the season, yours truly is 78-34 (69.6 percent) and Jason, the ultimate glue guy on the Press sports team, is 74-40 (64.9 percent).

LAS VEGAS BOWL

Boise State (10-3) vs. Oregon (7-5)

Saturday, 12:30 p.m.

NELKE: Until a few days ago, this was shaping up as the Bryan Harsin Bowl — as the Boise State coach was mentioned as one of the candidates for the Oregon job. Now the Ducks have their man, and Oregon is even a touchdown favorite over the Broncos — though part of that might be because BSU is not as explosive offensively as it has been in the past. But Boise’s defense is still tough, and Oregon — which for a few seasons of late was the cream of the Pac-12 — was handled by Washington State, Stanford, Washington and UCLA.

Boise State, 24-17

ELLIOTT: Oregon went to bat for its new coach after the previous one jumped ship to Florida State. You’d think they’d come out fired up and ready to prove that was a good thing.

Oregon, 35-20

HOLIDAY BOWL

Washington State (9-3) vs. Michigan State (9-3)

Dec. 28, 6 p.m.

NELKE: Not only are the Cougars trying to bounce back from getting steamrolled in the Apple Cup, they also had to deal with the possibility of losing their head coach. The Cougs return to San Diego, site of a miserable performance in last year’s Holiday Bowl loss to what was left of Minnesota after numerous suspensions. WSU is a good team, but seems to throw in a stinker game every now and then. Michigan State has had its ups and downs this year, but its ups include wins over Michigan and Penn State. How motivated is Sparty?

Michigan State, 27-22

ELLIOTT: Will Washington State quarterback Luke Falk have anyone to throw the ball to by the time this game is played?

Washington State, 17-14