FORT COLLINS — A victory Saturday afternoon by Colorado State (6-6, 4-3 Mountain West) over Air Force (2-9, 0-7) at Hughes Stadium would:
• Snap a seven-game winning streak in the Front Range series by Air Force.
• Give CSU its first winning regular season since 2005.
• Provide a fond memory for 15 seniors at CSU who are saying farewell in their final home game.
• Most important, make CSU bowl eligible for the first time in five seasons.
That’s a lot for the Rams to absorb.
“Coaches tell us to not go into this game thinking we have to win, even though we do,” said CSU senior cornerback Shaq Bell. “We have to go in with the mind-set that it’s just another game, even though it’s an important game. We have to think about winning each play and not what the game means.”
Second-year CSU coach Jim McElwain said he still wakes up in a cold sweat while thinking — or apparently dreaming — about how poorly his team played last season during a 42-21 loss at Air Force. The Falcons rolled up 516 total yards, including 459 on the ground. They passed only five times.
McElwain called CSU’s effort “lackluster” and “unemotional,” which “hurts you to see as a coach.” The Falcons averaged 6.9 yards per rush. “Air Force kept moving the chains and we hung our heads,” recalled CSU linebacker Shaquil Barrett, now a senior. “They overpowered us.”
This time, though, Air Force is winless in conference play and CSU is a 16½- point favorite. Also, there is no denying which team has the most motivation.
“Going to a bowl game is a big part of college ball, and nobody on this team has been to one,” Barrett said. “We just have to do our job and not tense up.”
CSU quarterback Garrett Grayson, a junior, said the team’s seniors deserve a bowl game. “It’s just how hard they work,” he said. “I’ll go in at night to watch some game film, and a guy like (offensive tackle) Jared Biard has been in there for 1½ hours already.”
Tom Kensler: tkensler@denverpost.com or
Air force rules
Air force is a huge underdog saturday but if recent history is any guide, the falcons play their best against csu, having won the past seven meetings. a look:
Year – Site – Score
2012 AFA 42-21
2011 Fort Collins 45-21
2010 AFA 49-27
2009 Fort Collins 34-16
2008 AFA 38-17
2007 Fort Collins 45-21
2006 Air Force 24-21
Source: CSU
