FORT COLLINS, Colo.—When Sonny Lubick announced on Oct. 16 he was contemplating retirement, his players didn’t give up on the season.
Instead, Colorado State used it as a springboard and picked up the team’s first victory in more than a year.
Lubick, in his 20th season directing the Rams, couldn’t have been happier with the team’s 48-23 win over UNLV, which snapped a 13-game losing streak dating to last year.
Now, without pressure that comes from being a winless team, the Rams are trying to string together back-to-back victories for the first time since the fourth game of last season.
To do it, they’ll have to beat Utah, winners of four straight, on Saturday.
Still, it’s not just a sense of relief that abounds in Fort Collins. There’s a little bit of confidence, too.
“I guess the phrase goes that we’ve got the monkey off of our backs,” Lubick said.
And the efforts are coming from rather unusual places.
Running back Gartrell Johnson ran for 162 yards and two touchdowns against UNLV. He began the season as the team’s fullback, not as a star runner. But those numbers against the Rebels were good enough for him to garner Mountain West Conference Player of the Week honors.
“That is a great deserving reward for him,” Lubick said. “He didn’t get a lot of playing time earlier in the season or his career, yet he came to practice with a vengeance and with a smile on his face, playing hard.”
But Lubick quickly notes it will take a similar effort to beat Utah.
“Utah, on paper, and I have to careful saying this, might be one of the top teams in the conference,” Lubick said.
That statement doesn’t appear to be a case of a coach talking up the opposing team for no reason, either.
The Utes have been hot. Utah has been sparked since quarterback Brian Johnson returned from injury. The team is 4-1 when he starts.
Utah running back Darrell Mack is no slouch either, Lubick said. Mack leads the MWC in rushing and has four straight 100-yard games.
Is it a coincidence those games have been wins?
“They look like a lot of teams do now,” Lubick said. “They’re getting hot.”
The Rams may be getting hot themselves.
For the first time all season, something went Colorado State’s way in the UNLV victory, Lubick said.
Colorado State didn’t appear to be as bad as its record suggested. The Rams lost the season-opener to rival Colorado in overtime. A fourth quarter, 14-point rally against California fell just short. And San Diego State had to get a touchdown in the final two minutes to beat the Rams earlier in October.
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham is wary of his team overlooking the Rams.
“Colorado State is the best 1-6 program in the country,” Whittingham said. “They are a quality team and you can see that on tape. They’ve played good teams in Colorado, Houston, and California, and they were all close games that could’ve gone either way.”
Whittingham said he knows the Rams will play hard for Lubick. They always have, he said. There’s no reason for it to change just because he’s undecided about his future.
“They played well in the win and I’m sure they’re starting to get their confidence back,” Whittingham said. “So this Saturday is going to be a different challenge and a new opportunity for us.”
Certainly the Utes still have a bitterness from what happened last time they traveled to Colorado State.
The Rams stopped the Utes four consecutive times near the goal line as time ran down in the fourth quarter and Colorado State held on for a 21-17 win.
It’s that memory that makes Lubick think the Rams can start a new streak, a winning streak.
“I remember I had a helpless feeling as time ticked down,” Lubick said. “But then we won the game. I felt lucky. That’s football. Win and everyone is happy. What’s special is to see the boys playing the way they are.”
