How did college football in Colorado get in such a sorry state?
There’s a reason the Buffaloes, Rams and Falcons are buckling those chin straps on tight.
It hurts.
Around here, football has become almost as painful to watch as the game can be to play.
While we dearly thank Sonny Lubick for all the happy memories at Colorado State, if the 70-year-old coach grows any more nostalgic for the glory days he might as well start coaching from a rocking chair.
New Air Force coach Troy Calhoun vows the Falcons must stop taking the field as if they were walking on eggshells and start playing like their hair is on fire.
Although Dan Hawkins seems to have found a solid quarterback under his own roof, an inspection of the thin talent elsewhere on the Colorado depth chart makes you wonder if the coach should have planned a bigger family.
How to describe the current state of college football in Colorado, from Hughes Stadium to Folsom Field to the Air Force Academy grounds?
Stink. Stank. Stunk.
In a proud football state, this is as bad as it has been in at least a quarter century.
Alums spoiled on success watched in disbelief during 2006, as CU, CSU and Air Force combined to lose 26 of 36 games.
It was the first time since 1981 that all three programs suffered through losing seasons in the same year.
The Buffs got flat bowled over with 10 defeats, while the Rams and Falcons couldn’t stand up for falling down, with both Mountain West Conference schools begging for mercy.
For 24 straight football seasons, our state had sent at least one team to a bowl game. That long run of success ended last year with a chest-deflating thud.
And it might not get much better for the Falcons, Rams or Buffs this season, who could be bad to a degree never before witnessed around these parts.
An entire generation of college football fans was raised on the belief that the surest signs of autumn in Colorado were Aspen leaves turning gold and falling goalposts from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs, as we celebrated big victories.
Sure was fun while it lasted.
But not nearly enough folks appreciated what we had until it was gone.
While the Broncos forever incite reactions ranging from mania and frenzy, too often college football success in Colorado has been met with a collective yawn.
Any fan who wonders why national prominence is so hard to sustain for state colleges should consider this: The Rams, Falcons and Buffs opened the stadium gates for 19 home dates a year ago. Despite too many empty seats, the three teams combined to attracted in excess of 700,000 paying customers.
Which sounds fine, until you realize that in seven home games, the Michigan Wolverines alone outdrew the total attendance of all three major programs in Colorado by nearly 50,000 fans.
Where have all the big-time players gone?
The pipeline that took Joey Porter and Clark Haggans from the Colorado State campus to NFL stardom has dried up.
After being disappointed by Colorado prep phenoms Marcus Houston and Craig Ochs, the Buffs gave up the pursuit of five-star talent for too long.
Linebacker Anthony Schlegel needed to leave Air Force to find Big Ten glory at Ohio State.
Until coaches can sell more talented players on the beauty of Colorado, the college football forecast could remain mostly cloudy.
Forget a return to dominance. Hush any talk of bowl trips for now. In the short term, Lubick, Hawkins and Calhoun must make a tough climb to mediocrity.
Since Air Force began playing varsity football in 1956, folks in this state have never been forced to endure two consecutive years in which all three local colleges finished with losing records.
Better buckle those chin straps.
I’m afraid this could be a record-setting season for pain.
Staff writer Mark Kiszla can be reached at 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com.
