Fort Collins – Colorado State’s nine-game losing streak, second longest in the nation, doesn’t merit a blip in the historical scheme of the NCAA record book, nor the Rams’ annals.
And to talk to those in the CSU program, the only streak right now is the two-game skid that started against Colorado on Sept. 1, not the one that stretches nearly a year.
“We know we have it in us,” Rams senior wide receiver Damon Morton said. “We played two real good teams these past two games. Hopefully we can pick it up.
“It’s in the back of everyone’s minds. I think everybody knows. We don’t have to be reminded of it. It’s more a mental thing right now. We’re just trying to get over it.”
In addition to the 31-28 overtime loss to CU, the Rams lost a tight game 34-28 to California, now ranked No. 6. Though losses, those games gave everyone around the program encouragement the Rams are about to finally get back on the winning side.
“We’re a whole different team this year,” offensive co-coordinator Dan Hammerschmidt said. “I know we’re a lot better. I don’t remember 2006. It was a hundred years ago.”
The Rams’ last win was Oct. 7, 2006, against Nevada-Las Vegas. But they are nowhere near the NCAA record of 34 consecutive losses compiled by Northwestern from 1979- 82 – or the 26 that CSU endured from 1960-63.
Still, the Rams’ current streak is second only to Florida International’s 15 straight – and FIU didn’t play football until 2002, 109 years after CSU’s first game. FIU plays at Kansas (3-0) on Saturday, then goes to Middle Tennessee (0-3).
Atlantic Coast Conference patsy Duke was the national leader with 22 consecutive losses until its 20-14 upset of Northwestern last weekend.
CSU running backs coach Mick Delaney was around for the Rams’ 10-game winning streak from 1997-98. As he prepares for Saturday’s game at Houston (1-1), he said the Rams’ focus is this week and this season, not anything that happened last year.
“What happened last season is years ago,” Delaney said. “It’s a matter of eliminating the few things that are keeping us from getting over the hump.”
When CSU was winning Mountain West Conference championships, coach Sonny Lubick used to warn there was “that much” difference between CSU and other teams, holding his thumb and forefinger just a few inches apart.
Other coaches in the MWC used to talk about learning to win like CSU. Now it’s the other way around.
“One of the big keys is if we continue to improve. I’m not saying we could be 2-0, but we might be,” said Lubick, whose team lost its first two games this season by a combined nine points. “As long as guys are playing hard, wins will come when they come.”
CSU is breathing the same brown cloud that has settled over the state north of the Air Force Academy. After losing its final four games last season and finishing 4-8, Air Force has started 3-0. Colorado went through a 10-game losing streak from 2005-06.
Then there’s Northern Colorado, which is suffering the growing pains of the leap from Division II to Division I-AA, much as Florida International is reeling from the I-AA to I-A move. UNC, with 60 freshmen and sophomores on its roster, has lost 11 consecutive games, the third-longest streak in Division I-AA. North Carolina A&T leads that list with 19 consecutive losses.
UNC head coach Scott Downing has been an assistant coach at Wyoming, Purdue and Nebraska. He’s not sure whether it’s more difficult to go from Division II to I-AA or from I-AA to I-A, but “each has its own problems and challenges. It all traces back to what kind of commitment and investment you have out of the people who support the program.”
It has taken UNC six years to go from 36 scholarships to 60 in a 63-scholarship division. But Downing said his team has remained positive.
“To a coach, the gratifying thing is we’re judged on wins and losses. But it’s the process you go through to see a young man progress,” Downing said. “It’s not only about playing, but as a human being, to withstand adversity and overcome it.”
Often scheduling will factor into streaks. CSU entered the season tied for third at seven consecutive losses with North Carolina State and Illinois. The Illini now have a two-game winning streak after beating Western Illinois 21-0 and Syracuse 41-20. North Carolina State left the losing list last weekend thanks to a 38-17 victory over Wofford.
Downing pointed to former Kansas State coach Bill Snyder’s much-ridiculed nonconference schedules for helping turn around the Wildcats.
“We could be sitting 3-0, but would you feel good about it?” CSU senior defensive tackle Blake Smith said. “It would be a false start.”
CSU personnel still around from the program’s last big losing streak of 14 games from 1980-82 can’t compare the situation then with now. Football operations director Tom Ehlers was a sophomore on the 1981 team that was the first in NCAA history to go 0-12.
“We never felt like we had a chance back then,” Ehlers said of flying to games on the same day. “I can’t say we’re the best at any one thing … but we know if we play hard we have a chance now.”
Staff writer Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
