Fort Collins – Colorado State and TCU started the season well enough, notching victories over in-state rivals from the Big 12.
Then TCU corrected a midseason detour, CSU didn’t. And heading into Saturday’s game at Hughes Stadium, the Horned Frogs (8-2, 4-2 Mountain West Conference) are on a five-game winning tear while the Rams (4-6, 1-5) are frozen in a five-game free-fall.
All that’s left for TCU are the Rams and Air Force at home Dec. 2 as the Horned Frogs try to move up from third place in the Mountain West standings and polish the résumé for the whims of the Poinsettia Bowl and Armed Forces Bowl selection committees.
“Whether you win eight games or you win 10 games, you probably go to the same bowls if you don’t have a chance to win the championship,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said this week. “The motivation part of it is you have a chance to regroup and win 10 ballgames. … These last two games show what kind of team do you want for the younger players coming back next year.
“How you end the season and what kind of record you have also springboards you in as far as what your ranking is going to be in the preseason.”
There’s no need to convince San Diego State first-year coach Chuck Long that Patterson’s motivation is working after the Aztecs were steamrolled 52-0.
“It didn’t look good,” Long said of his crew. “They threw a lot more than we thought they would. We thought they’d run and we’d been struggling to stop the run. The game just got away from us.”
Until Saturday, TCU lived on its defensive quickness with an offense just good enough to outscore anyone. Then quarterback Jeff Ballard broke out for five touchdown passes.
“There’s never been a question of TCU’s talent,” CSU defensive end Jesse Nading said. “It will be a nice challenge for us.”
For all of CSU’s woes during the conference season, the Rams have avoided a blowout. League champion BYU scored its fewest points in league play against CSU in a 24-3 win.
Normally the Rams go into the final week or two fighting for a bowl berth. After a bitterly disappointing slide following a 4-1 start, it’s all about finishing .500.
“There is something to be playing for a bowl berth, there’s more motivation, more incentive. But I don’t think it would add that much,” CSU coach Sonny Lubick said Wednesday.
He recalled the Rams were flat for three quarters in last year’s finale with a bowl in the balance before pulling it out at UNLV.
“The more we get better this year the more it will help us for next year,” said Nading, a junior, who will return with a large senior class for 2007. “We want to finish the season on a positive note. That’s why we’re working on getting better, not just for next year but our seniors.”
Footnotes
The Rams will practice this morning, then have a team dinner for all those not going home. … With many of the freshmen and walk-on scout-team players gone, CSU’s second-team secondary had a workout playing on the offensive scout team and on defense. TCU had more of a normal routine this week with school in session until Tuesday.
Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
