FORT COLLINS — The Bronze Boot isn’t big enough to hold all the tears certain to fall with the seemingly inevitable announcement of coach Sonny Lubick’s departure.
However transient the celebration, Colorado State players had to rejoice today after their first full-game effort of the season in a 36-28 victory over Wyoming. There were six lead changes befitting one of the hardest fought Border Wars in years.
“Winning the Boot, there’s no greater feeling,” said CSU quarterback Caleb Hanie in his career finale.
But the joy after the season finale was short-lived. In his postgame speech, players said the 70-year-old coach told them he “might not be” their coach next season. After the game, Wyoming coach Joe Glenn said Lubick told him he had resigned.
Glenn told reporters: “He just said ‘You know I resigned.’ ”
CSU finished 3-9 and 2-7 in the Mountain West, which tie with Wyoming for seventh among nine Mountain West teams.
Unlike losses to Colorado, Houston, San Diego State and New Mexico, the last lead change belonged to the Rams.
CSU recovered from Wynel Seldon’s 2-yard run that game Wyoming a 28-27 lead in time for Michael Myers to run in from the 18 with 10:11 left. Senior defensive end Jesse Nading insured Wyoming was not going to retake the lead when he recovered a Karsten Sween fumble at midfield. CSU reserve linebacker John Clark sacked Sween for a 10-yard loss and forced the fumble.
The Rams drove just enough for a 39-yard Jason Smith field goal to ice it with 2:14 left.
“There were so many ‘what ifs’ over the course of this season,” Nading said. “I can’t say it was one thing. There was never a question of talent. Maybe if we had the breaks early like this game we would have one more. I know our season happened for a reason.”
This one resembled more of a Border Brawl than the typical mere Border War.
“They were talking smack from the minute they walked in,” said Caleb Hanie, who finished his career with 245 yards passing and two touchdowns. “This was the most intense Border War I’ve ever been in.”
These were two teams who didn’t like each other, and tempers flared early and often. Hanie came up swing after he was sacked at the end of the first quarter. On the next play, he was drilled by Mike Juergens on third-and-8 while unloading a screen pass to Gartrell Johnson.
But the running back took it down the left sideline and went airborne into the end zone for a 31-yard reception and a 10-7 lead.
Hanie said he swung because defensive end John Fletcher kept holding his jersey after the play was blown dead.
Wyoming’s Chris Johnson said “We talked trash, they talked trash. It was a trash-talking game.”
A gathering of only 18,827 turned out in the sub-30 degree chill. CSU wide receiver Luke Roberts, who had two of the best catches of his career said “We hung it all out there. It was just like the CU game.”
CSU, which lost second-half leads in two of the first three games, took a 27-14 lead in the third quarter only to watch Wyoming’s Devin Moore return the ensuing kickoff 98 yards on a fake reverse.
Then Hanie threw his first interception in 81 attempts (dating to Nov. 3) when linebacker Ward Dobbs picked off the first pass of the next drive.
The teams started exchanging punts until Seldon capped a three-play, 42-yard drive running in from the 2 with 12:36 left.
The Rams lost Gartrell Johnson to an ankle injury and middle linebacker Jeff Horinek, the team’s leading tackler, left with a knee injury.
Natalie Meisler: 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
