FORT COLLINS — While Air Force players leaped into the southwest stands of Sonny Lubick Field on Saturday, Mike Bobo gathered with his team on the turf in the aftermath of an upset defeat, and the gist of a speech Colorado State’s coach presented the Rams was later relayed to a room full of reporters.
Uh-oh. Cue the beep. Bobo didn’t mince words.
“My message to the team is that we got our (butt) kicked today,” he said.
Air Force arrived in Fort Collins as a 10-point underdog, emerged a 45-28 victor, and Bobo’s case of postgame potty-mouth was prompted by the following: Three interceptions by quarterback Nick Stevens, zero tackles for loss, a holding penalty that negated a touchdown and 413 yards allowed on the ground. Air Force played keep-away with 10 drives that combined for 41 minutes and 38 seconds, forcing a typically potent Rams offense to sit and watch the Falcons literally run the game away with 74 carries on 78 plays.
The loss drops CSU (6-3, 4-1) out of first place in the league’s West Division, at least temporarily, as Boise State (5-2, 3-0) awaits the result an 8 p.m. kickoff at Utah State. Air Force (4-4, 3-2) is now a winner of three consecutive games.
“There’s no one thing I can point to and say, ‘this is what brought it fruition for us,’ ” Air Force linebacker Jack Flor said. “We practice hard every day, eventually something’s going to work out; that’s been our mentality.”
Air Force led 28-21 at halftime, spurred on by a pair of costly Stevens interceptions before the break, including one returned for a touchdown and another in the red zone. And then Stevens tossed a third pick, this one in the Falcons’ end zone, with less than two minutes left in the game. Prior to Saturday, Stevens had not thrown an interception in four Mountain West games.
“It was decision-making there a couple times. It was tight coverage,” Stevens said. “I’ve got to take care of the ball and thatap what we need to win games.”
CSU’s offense thrived on big plays. Tailback Dalyn Dawkins took the Rams’ fourth offensive snap 76 yards on the ground for a score, and receiver Michael Gallup’s first reception went 55 to the end zone. The pair combined for 304 of CSU’s 425 total yards. But offensive momentum was short-lived.
Air Force completed scoring drives of 11, 13 and 17 plays that lasted 5:47, 7:09, and 9:59, respectively. Even then, the Rams’ couldn’t chalk up the failure to fatigue. The Falcons’ low-tempo attack allowed for plenty of rest in between plays, as CSU linebacker Evan Colorito explained: “Getting time to catch your wind, it was nice.”
Bobo blamed the lapse on basic fundamentals.
“We had a chance to get some guys on the ground to hopefully get ahead in the chains and they were able to finish runs for an extra 2, an extra 4, an extra 6 yards,” Bobo said. “We did not tackle well.”
One league loss won’t keep CSU out of the Mountain West title hunt, but the past three games showcase a potential slide as the calendar nears November. The Rams gave up 508 passing yards in a two-point win against Nevada, allowed 318 on the ground in a three-point victory at New Mexico and the dam finally broke against the Falcons.
Bobo wanted his team to feel embarrassed. Wanted it to hurt. So the Rams can take that pain as motivation to Laramie at 5 p.m. next Saturday for yet another rivalry game. This time for a Bronze Boot against Wyoming.
Not that it matters to Bobo. He didn’t hold back.
“Every game is a (darn) trophy game,” Bobo said.