Call it the “Curse of the New Mexico Bowl.”
In the past two seasons, first-year coaches at Colorado State and then Wyoming headed to Albuquerque for a few days of practice, activities and bowl logo warm-up jackets. Each time, the Mountain West entry beat Fresno State and came back with a nice trophy and a great attitude for offseason workouts.
And then, oblivion.
A year ago, CSU followed up its 2008 New Mexico Bowl win without a single conference victory.
On Saturday, Wyoming (2-9, 0-7) has to beat CSU to avoid repeating the dubious distinction. This coming after the Cowboys capped coach Dave Christensen’s first year with a wild double-overtime win over Fresno.
CSU’s woes have continued into Steve Fairchild’s third year. While not completely familiar with Wyoming’s current circumstances and roster, Fairchild said: “They put together enough wins to get themselves in a bowl game last year. I don’t know if they were that good, just like I don’t know if we were my first year.”
Christensen has other ideas.
“I think playing in a bowl game, having early success, has absolutely nothing to do with the year we’re having this year. It’s a whole new football team. It’s a whole new dynamic,” Christensen said during this week’s MWC teleconference. “It’s coincidental that (Fairchild) and I both had a bowl game in our first year and struggled in our second year.”
Wyoming and CSU (3-8, 2-5) will finish the season with a combined three league wins. The Border War rivals haven’t had as few league wins since 1970, when they combined for two wins in the Western Athletic Conference.
Coming into this fall, Wyoming was aware of CSU’s post-New Mexico Bowl letdown. Unlike the 2009 Rams, Wyoming had the advantage of a returning quarterback in 2009 conference freshman of the year Austyn Carta-Samuels.
But the death of freshman Ruben Narcisse, a bad case of overscheduling (nonleague foes Boise State and Texas) and a rebuilt running game helps explain Wyoming’s troubles this season.
CSU has no scheduling excuses, picking up its two league wins by hosting UNLV and New Mexico. Season-ending injuries have been kept to a minimum, and freshman quarterback Pete Thomas has exceeded expectations.
The bottom line for this year’s Border War: These teams need each other.
CSU did not want to end the season with the collapse against BYU last week. Likewise, UNLV had shown little spark until a 42-16 win over Wyoming a week ago.
“I’m glad that we have one more game left,” CSU linebacker Mychal Sisson said, “especially so we can give our seniors one last victory.”
Natalie Meisler: 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
Three questions for CSU
1. The season can’t get over soon enough for both teams. Will one or both respond to the spirit of the Border War rivalry? Unlike the past two years, there’s no bowl at stake for either team. CSU’s main incentive is finishing with one more win than a year ago for 4-8. Wyoming looks to climb out of sole possession of the Mountain West cellar and get its only league win of the year.
2. Can CSU contain Wyoming scrambler Austyn Carta-Samuels? As a freshman he scored on a 49-yard run and put the Cowboys in position for the winning field goal. He’s not catching the Rams by surprise this season, but he still represents a big problem for a CSU crew that has had trouble defending dual-threat quarterbacks.
3. Is it too late for CSU to get out of the NCAA statistical cellar for opposing third-down conversions? The Rams rank 120th nationally, allowing teams to convert on 77-of-140 third-down opportunities. In two games, the Rams did not force a punt.
Natalie Meisler, The Denver Post
