Kiz: Let’s start with three cheers for Colorado State for a decision that should have been made 20 years ago, getting out of Hughes Stadium. The worst dump in major-college football is being given back to the goats. The Rams will replace Hughes Stadium with a 42,000-seat, on-campus facility, scheduled to open in 2017. But will CSU ever be able to fill it? Not on a consistent basis, unless the Rams can produce 10-victory seasons on a consistent basis.
Hooch: Well, they didn’t fill much smaller Hughes Stadium this year when they were a 10-victory team, I can tell you that. I remember sitting in the press box for senior day, looking at empty pockets at Hughes, and thinking — what more do they want? If fans weren’t coming for this, when would they come? Maybe if the concession stands at the new place are run by Big City Burrito?
Kiz: Coach Jim McElwain so badly wanted a shot to win in the big time that he paid a $2 million penalty to get out of lovely Fort Collins. It’s going to cost the Rams more than 100 times that amount to chase their own big-time football dream. Although Texas Christian or Baylor can have a shot at the national championship with a 45,000-seat stadium, it will take far more than a $225 million facility to make CSU a major player in the national polls.
Hooch: To paraphrase “Field of Dreams,” if you build it, they might come. There aren’t guarantees when you’re a Mountain West school, but you need to keep up with the Joneses in college football just to stay relevant in recruiting. A college coach once told me: “The five most important things to coaching are recruiting, recruiting, recruiting, recruiting and scheduling.” Win, recruit, sustain winning.
Kiz: The college football playoffs will expand from four to eight teams faster than you can say “Moola!” An eight-team tournament would give the Mountain West access to a playoff bid. But CSU would be lucky to be ranked in the top 10 for even one week as long as the Rams are stuck in the Mountain West. The goal has to be admission to the Big 12 Conference and better access to football talent in Texas. Unless the Rams break into the Big 12, they will never crack the top 10.
Hooch: That’s why this new coaching hire is vital. The new coach must keep CSU rolling so the Rams can be viewed as a top 25-type program entering the 2017 new-stadium season.
