SAN DIEGO -- A stark contrast in styles defines the matchup in the Holiday Bowl, pitting No. 21 Washington State against No. 18 Michigan State Thursday at SDCCU Stadium.
For the Pac-12 Conference representative Cougars (9-3), this marks a redo of sorts from a year ago. Washington State brought its prolific passing attack and up-tempo style of play into the 2016 edition of the Holiday Bowl, squaring off against a defense-oriented Big Ten Conference foe, Minnesota.
Defense carried the end result, with the Golden Gophers clawing out a 17-12 win, holding the Cougars to 303 yards of offense.