FORT COLLINS — Given that there are 41 college football bowl games — and that at last check it requires two teams to play in each — perhaps getting a berth in one of them isn’t worthy of raucous celebrations and fireworks.
Yet it still would be a significant accomplishment for Colorado State, especially because the Rams suffered a couple of overtime losses to “power five” conference opponents Minnesota and Colorado during a 3-5 start under first-year coach Mike Bobo.
They’re also hoping to avoid a loss of momentum in the program in the wake of the 10-3 season in 2014 under Jim McElwain that was followed by major player attrition — both in terms of numbers and talent.
The Rams (5-5, 3-3 Mountain West) have two chances to get the sixth win that would make them bowl eligible: Saturday at New Mexico and Nov. 28 at Fresno State.
“That obviously would mean a lot to me,” right offensive tackle Sam Carlson, a senior from Wellington, said of a bowl berth at the Rams’ Monday news conference. “And I can speak for the rest of the senior class. It would mean a lot to us. That’s kind of the trend we’ve had over the last couple of years, and that’s the mentality and the legacy we want to leave here, that Colorado State is a team that goes to bowls every year and we’re on the way up.”
Linebacker Deonte Clyburn has taken on a more prominent role and played well during the Rams’ 3-1 run in the past month, with 20 tackles and 20 assists in the four games.
“After the rough start to the season, people really started hanging their heads and stuff like that,” said Clyburn, a junior from Louisville, Ky. “With this coaching staff, we stuck to the plan, trusted the coaches and believed in Coach Bobo.”
What would a bowl berth mean to Bobo’s program?
“You strive to win every game and if you win ‘X’ number of games, you get a chance to play in another game and compete again,” Bobo said. “I think it’s a great honor for the seniors. I think it’s a great honor for your team.”
The Rams’ game Saturday suddenly looks much tougher than it did on the schedule a couple of weeks ago. In their fourth season under Bob Davie, the Lobos (6-4, 4-2) knocked off Boise State on Saturday in Boise and are assured of winning the Mountain Division title with victories over CSU and Air Force, both in Albuquerque.
Bobo and Davie talked several times when Davie, a former Notre Dame coach, was a game and studio analyst for ESPN and ABC and was doing preparation for Georgia games.
Terry Frei: tfrei@denverpost.com or @TFrei
