BOISE, Idaho — Two years ago, or the other time Colorado State won the Rocky Mountain Showdown in Jim Elwain’s three-season coaching tenure, fans were reminded of reality the next weekend.
CSU and Colorado both lost at home to FCS teams — the Rams to at powerhouse North Dakota State and the hapless Buffaloes to Sacramento State.
In other words, a week after the McElwain era got underway with an emotional victory, its significance diminished because it was obvious that 2012 was going to be a long year for both programs.
That season ended up costing coach Jon Embree his job at CU after just two years. It also tested McElwain’s determination not to trash his holdover upperclassmen.
So, a week after CSU beat CU 31-17 in Denver in the season opener this year, what did it all mean? Mainly that the Buffaloes still have a long way to go under second-year coach Mike MacIntyre.
Longer to go than we thought just two weeks ago.
After all, CSU physically dominated the Buffs — with an all-new offensive line after holdover tackle Ty Sambrailo was injured in the first quarter — and that’s not supposed to happen. Can CSU win the Rocky Mountain Showdown without it being a fluke? Sure. But it’s supposed to win through finesse, through throwing the ball, not through simple physical domination of its Pac-12 in-state rival.
Here late Saturday night, that rebuilt CSU offensive line was overwhelmed in the Rams’ 37-24 loss at Boise State, a few hours after the Buffaloes had to come from behind to beat dreadful Massachusetts 41-38.
I’m connecting dots here. CU and CSU fans should be hoping that Boise State, under first-year coach Bryan Harsin, will turn out to be more than a Mountain West power again, but also a legitimate threat to be in the top 10 by season’s end. The Broncos’ neutral-field loss to Mississippi came in the first week of the season and can seem less important by December.
In Boise early Sunday morning, McElwain’s response to inquiries about his offensive line’s back-to-earth game was diplomatic. He emphasized that Boise State — despite what for the Broncos program was a so-so 2013 season — still is pretty good. The Rams ran for just 28 yards.
More troubling than the Rams’ offensive imbalance, perhaps, was that Boise State totaled 676 yards.
“I don’t know if it’s a reality check,” CSU quarterback Garrett Grayson said. “We need to go back to the drawing board and kind of look at ourselves in the mirror. I think we came out for that second half ready to go, but that’s something Coach Mac preaches all the time, to have a fast start. … Once we got rolling there in the second half, it was a little too late.
“I still think we have a (heck) of a season ahead of us.”
The unfortunate part of the loss to Boise State is that it came in the conference opener. McElwain’s “Climb” motivational campaign — which included a Mountain Division title as its goal — has lost some steam. The Broncos already hold a one-game lead on the Rams in the division and own the head-to-head tiebreaker. CSU doesn’t even get back into conference play until Oct. 11 at Nevada.
And the Buffs? CU unveils the first wave of improvements in and around Folsom Field on Saturday night in its first home game, the conference opener against Arizona State. So far, the Buffs have played as if the program, too, still is a hardhat zone.
Terry Frei: tfrei@denverpost.com or
