FORT COLLINS — The loss is still there. It is still felt, and if there is a sliver of the day where it escapes the mind, a reminder is forthcoming.
“We’re up 14 with 2 or 3 minutes left, we should never lose that game,” said safety Jamal Hicks, referring to the 59-52 overtime loss at home to Boise State in 2017. “We’ve got to get those Ws for sure.”
Hicks wasn’t even on the field, out with an injury. It hurts like he was. It was the game the Rams led by 25 points in the first half, and with 3:02 on the clock, had a two-touchdown advantage over a program it had never beaten.
Making it worse, it came a week after CSU allowed Wyoming to drive down the field late in the fourth quarter to win the Border War. In two weeks, the Rams grip on the chance to win the Mountain Division.
Before head coach Mike Bobo talked in Las Vegas about the need to finish games, senior running back Izzy Matthews had gone to social media to declare, in short, that he would enter the season with his intention to be the baddest dude on the field.
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