It wasn’t even one of the worst-kept secrets in recent Colorado State football history.
That’s only because it never really was a secret at all.
As expected, junior Nick Stevens was the Rams’ starting quarterback in the Rocky Mountain Showdown against Colorado on Friday.
The gamesmanship involved in CSU not disclosing the choice — Rams coach Mike Bobo justified it as giving CU defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt a little extra video work in researching transfer senior Faton Bauta and freshman Collin Hill — turned out to be irrelevant.
Falling behind 14-0 in the first 7:22 and 21-0 after one quarter, CSU never was in this one, ultimately falling 44-7. While CSU couldn’t move the ball, CU’s Sefo Liufau tore apart the Rams’ inexperienced secondary, throwing for 248 yards in the first half alone and finishing with 318 yards. What was especially striking when CU ran the ball was that CSU senior linebacker Kevin Davis, from Fountain, seemed to be making every tackle, and he ended up with 19.
The loss left the Rams with an 0-2 record in the rivalry under Mike Bobo.
“I didn’t have this team ready to play,” the former Georgia quarterback and offensive coordinator said. He added, “It’s embarrassing. We totally embarrassed our name. There’s only one thing we have to do. We have to go back to work. We can talk about a lot of things, what-ifs, but the bottom line is we got our tails whipped tonight.”
Bobo’s predecessors, Jim McElwain and Steve Fairchild, both split their first two matchups with CU. If it’s any consolation for Bobo, the iconic Sonny Lubick at one point was 0-4 against the Buffs — albeit when CU was nationally ranked each time — before breaking through in the rivalry with a 41-14 CSU romp in the infamous “tear gas” game in Mile High Stadium in 1999.
Stevens had thrown for 282 yards in the Rams’ 27-24 overtime loss to the Buffs in 2015, when the Showdown was CSU’s third game of the season, and he went on to be the Mountain West’s second-team all-league quarterback. This time, he came into the season-opening Showdown after Bobo challenged him in spring ball with Bauta transferring in from Georgia as a graduate student, and Hill graduating from high school early and coming in from Moore, S.C. Bobo had been through a similar experience as a holdover starter at Georgia and kept his job, and Stevens also remained the starter at CSU — at least for the opener.
This was only one of the Rams’ many problems Friday, but Stevens looked anything but confident. He was 0-for-4 in the first quarter when sustained offensive possessions and production might have set a different tone. With Bauta taking a turn for one series, the Rams ultimately started out with five conventional three-and-outs and a sixth three-play possession that ended with a lost fumble.
“It was just a poor job of execution and a poor job of play calling,” said Bobo, who calls the plays. “They took the momentum, seized it and took control of the game in that first quarter. . . I thought we had some things that were there and we had some execution problems. We had some poor throws on some third downs, critical position downs where we had some guys open.”
Eventually, Stevens finished 6-for-20 for 31 yards, while Bauta came on to go 6-for-9 for 32 yards and a touchdown. He also raised eyebrows with his emphatic first-down gesture after his 24-yard run in the third quarter — which came when the Rams were down 37-0.
“CU came out playing fast and I think they gained momentum early,” Stevens said. “We were never able to get it back or slow them down. I know it took us quite a few drives to even get a first down on offense and it just went downhill from there. That definitely wasn’t our best showing, this wasn’t the team that you’ll see the rest of the season.”
Did this shake his confidence at all?
“No, I don’t think so,” he said. “I just made some stupid decisions.”
Said Bobo: “I thought Nick had been practicing extremely well. I thought he rose to the challenge of the competition and he won the job. But we got in a hole and I thought he might have pressed a little bit and did some uncharacteristic things he hadn’t done.”
Asked whether the night reopened the quarterback position for competition, Bobo said, “We have to reassess the quarterback situation. . . We weren’t executing anywhere, not just the quarterback position. We’ve got to be able throw the ball more than we did tonight, at a higher percentage. We have to be able to stretch the defense, and we weren’t able to do that. We’ll reassess it and we’ll figure out who gives us the best chance to win next week.”
It was a night to forget for CSU. With nonconference games coming up against Texas-San Antonio, Northern Colorado and Minnesota, the issue is: Could the Rams really be as bad as they looked against CU?
“I’m terribly disappointed and embarrassed by the showing of our football team tonight,” Bobo said. “But we do have a long season, and we will get better. There’s no doubt in my mind.”
Said Stevens: “We just have to look at it as one game and not our season. Coach is emphasizing that. We don’t think the season is over because we lost one game. I think we’re going to be able to come back and rally.”
