Is this heaven? No, it's Idaho, which is the same thing for these Aggies

The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl's web page features something no other bowl can claim: rows of potato fields sectioned off by yardage markings. The logo includes a football made to look like a baked potato with all the trimmings.

Who needs sugar or orange juice when you can have sour cream and chives?

It has been said Utah State's return to bowl-worthiness is the feel-good story of the year. That's because the last time this happened was in 1997, the year it lost to Cincinnati in the Humanitarian Bowl, predecessor to the Potato Bowl.

After that, darkness. Of 120 Division I football teams, USU was always among the 50 or so that didn't play in the postseason. It has appeared in just six bowl games in its history. The Aggies only show up in the postseason once in a Big Blue moon.

Still, with five straight regular-season wins, aren't they just a little too hot for Boise?

"Oh. No. Oh, gosh, we're thrilled to be there," quarterback Adam Kennedy said. "Our school has gone through a little bit of a drought and so we're excited as players and we know the community is as well."

So they have that going for them: Genuine, gee-whiz wonderment.

"It definitely doesn't matter which bowl we got. This city (Logan) has not seen a bowl game in quite a while," linebacker Bobby Wagner said. "So when it comes to December 17th, we'll play our hearts out."

It's true that Boise isn't exactly the fun center of the world. No Everglades speedboat tours, no beach time, no touring an aircraft carrier, no French Quarter and no Tournament of Roses. What's on tap for the Aggies this week? There was bowling on Tuesday and something called "winter sports day" on Wednesday, followed by more bowling. Today there's an awards dinner and on Friday a community outreach breakfast and a snowmobile demo.

There's also a kickoff concert tonight, featuring Andy Grammer (you know ... the Andy Grammer). Unlike the Olympics, there's not a Fergie or Bon Jovi in the vicinity.

In the swag department, each player gets a winter coat, gloves, beanie and backpack. That's a lot of winter stuff, which is good. The bowl proudly bills itself as the longest-running open air cold weather bowl in America. Temperatures on game day are supposed to be 37 for a high, 22 for a low.

Possible Potato Bowl theme: If it gets too cold, we'll make French fries.