FORT COLLINS, Colo.—The collapse sent Colorado State into a violent tailspin—one in which the Rams are still looking to recover.
Colorado State was up by 18 points on Air Force at halftime last season, only to watch the Falcons roar back for a 24-21 win.
It was the start of a 12-game losing skid for the Rams. They’ve now gone more than a year without a victory, the last one a 28-7 win over UNLV on Oct. 7, 2006.
The Rams have a chance Saturday to end the streak against the team that started it. But Colorado State coach Sonny Lubick won’t put any extra emphasis on beating Air Force (4-2, 3-1 Mountain West Conference).
He hasn’t played the “revenge” card for his team.
“It never gets you anywhere,” the always jovial Lubick said Monday. “Payback might, so there’s another word for it. In all the years I’ve been here, I don’t think I’d ever say, ‘Let’s beat (Colorado) because they beat us by one point last year.’ If that’s all it took, that would be great. I don’t think any coaches use that.”
The losing streak isn’t weighing on Lubick—at least on the outer surface. He’s showing no signs of stress or anxiety as the Rams (0-5, 0-2 MWC) continue to drop close games.
Colorado State lost an overtime heartbreaker to Colorado in the opener, and then fell to San Diego State last week, 24-20, on a late touchdown. The Rams also gave second-ranked California a scare before falling 34-28.
“I really like the way our kids are playing,” Lubick said. “I think we’re playing so darn hard. We’ve come up short. Are we doing things right all the time? Well, no team does things right all the time.”
The Rams biggest shortcoming this season was supposed to be their biggest strength—rushing the football.
Yet even with Kyle Bell back from a knee injury, the Rams are 82nd out of 119 teams in rushing offense. They’re averaging just 3.1 yards a carry.
“You’d like to break a 20-yarder every once in a while,” Lubick said. “But everybody would like to do that.”
Lubick realizes there are detractors out there, wondering if the end of his coaching career is drawing near. But he doesn’t care.
He’s simply enjoying the moment.
“I’ve been here 14 years, and 12 or 13 of them have been better than anyone, or I, could have ever dreamed about,” Lubick said. “I get all kinds of good e-mails about the quality, class—good program, good players. I know that doesn’t mean anything in the long scheme of things, but if we keep doing that, and keep playing, we’re going to get something out of it. We all want to win, no question. The hard part is that we’re not.”
Don’t disparage Lubick in front of Air Force first-year coach Troy Calhoun. He can’t say enough about what Lubick, former Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry and ex-BYU coach LaVell Edwards have meant to the game.
“We’ve had some great football coaches in these leagues over the years,” Calhoun said. “These are guys that are great football coaches, great men—guys that are classy, but tough competitors.”
Calhoun recalled being a Falcons assistant coach against the Lubick-guided Rams in 1993 when Colorado State beat Air Force, 8-5.
He said Lubick’s teams haven’t changed a bit over the years.
“I watch his teams play and they are as scrappy right now as they were in 1993,” said Calhoun, whose team hasn’t won in Fort Collins since 1997. “That’s what I see on tape.”
Air Force receiver Chad Hall doesn’t think CSU’s winless record is reflective of the Rams’ explosiveness. He’s wary of them.
“They’ve played tough teams and they’ve hung with them,” said Hall, who leads the Falcons in rushing and receiving yards. “We’ve watched films on their defense and they have a great defense. This is an important game. They’re going to come after us no matter what.”
For the first time, Lubick won’t have a familiar face in DeBerry staring at him from the other sideline.
But that doesn’t mean the longtime adversaries and good friends don’t keep in touch.
“We talked on the phone two weeks ago to see how we (were) doing,” Lubick said. “I don’t know if he’ll be in town or not.”
Lubick grinned.
“But I said he could call some plays,” he said.
