When Colorado State escaped Albuquerque, N.M., earlier this season with a 27-24 victory against the Lobos, one prevailing thought surrounded CSU’s program: This Rams’ football team is different.
Because a sixth win arrived in October and not November, like it had in head coach ’s two previous seasons, and talk of a Mountain West title hadn’t felt so authentic since 2002 — when a conference championship trophy last resided in Fort Collins.
And even if the Rams fell short, it would take only two wins over their next five games (including a bowl) to mark improvement on consecutive 7-6 seasons. That seemed a certainty considering the NCAA-leading connection between quarterback and receiver , plus a suddenly resurgent defense.
But a new reality has quickly set in after three losses in their past three games.
A season filled with so much hope is now back to the baseline after Boise State forever tainted CSU’s “State Pride” uniforms late Saturday night by erasing a 25-point deficit to
CSU enters Senior Day against San Jose State on Saturday at 6-5 (4-3 Mountain West) and a win against the lowly Spartans (1-10, 0-6) is all but assured. So just as has happened in the past two seasons, an elusive eighth win will come down to a bowl result. And CSU has done nothing this fall to prove it can beat a winning program.
The combined opponent record in CSU’s six victories (Oregon State, Abilene Christian, Hawaii, Utah State, Nevada and New Mexico) is 16-44 — a mediocre .360 winning percentage. Utah State is the lone team among that group in bowl contention at 5-5. Itap not much of a resume to inspire confidence for CSU fans.
Their collective frustration is easily understood.
A seven-win season with CSU’s schedule is a lot like a C+ on a grade-school math test. Sure, you passed. But don’t expect mom to hang it on the refrigerator. A football translation? Through nearly three full seasons in Fort Collins, Bobo is still searching for that signature victory displayed proudly for the green-and-gold faithful to admire. CSU is 0-6 in rivalry games over the past two seasons, and is now 0-7 all-time against Boise State.
The refrigerator is bare.
For years, Boise State has carried the mantel in the Mountain West with at least eight wins in all seven years of league membership. The last time it failed to reach the mark was 1998 in the Big West. So how does a football program make the leap from above average to great, or, from CSU to Boise State? Bobo addressed that very question in the week leading up to another painful defeat.
“You’ve got to learn how to win,” he said.