With Jim McElwain off to Florida and a 6-0 start to the season, fans of the Colorado State Rams might have looked at their 2-4 record under first-year head coach Mike Bobo on Oct. 10 and wondered if the success they’d enjoyed in the previous two seasons was all the work of their departed coach and not the sign of a program on the rise.
Colorado State was, after all, also without Garrett Grayson, the record-setting quarterback that led the Rams to eight and 10 wins and bowl berths in each of those past two seasons.
But a win over eventual conference foe and eventual Mountain Division champion Air Force on Nov. 17 kick-started a six-game run for the Rams that has them bowl eligible once again and put Bobo into elite company among CSU coaches.
Beginning with that victory over the Falcons, the Rams have won five of their past six games and will enter bowl season on a four-game winning streak after a 34-31 comeback win at Fresno State to cap the season.
Fresno State jumped out to a 24-7 lead, but sandwiched around halftime, CSU scored two special-teams touchdowns in a span of 55 seconds. In fact, the Rams’ first three scores all came on special teams. Senior wide receiver Joe Hansley had two punt-return touchdowns, while sophomore defensive back Kevin Nutt, Jr. had a 96-yard kickoff return to start the second half.
After cutting the deficit to one score early in the third quarter, the Rams took their first lead since 7-0 late in the frame on a 39-yard run from freshman running back Izzy Matthews.
Fresno State again regained the lead, 31-27, before CSU scored one final time, a 24-yard pass from Nick Stevens to Hansley, capping the senior’s career night. Hansley had three total touchdowns and 182 all-purpose yards including a career-high 140 rushing yards.
The win made Bobo the first Colorado State coach in school history to win seven regular-season games in his first year. But Bobo didn’t want any praise or recognition after the game. He saved that for his players and staff.
“It shows a lot of resiliency in this football team, the ability to bounce back,” Bobo said postgame. “We’ve been talking about that all year. It’s a process and you have to stay the course, you have to keep doing what we do and believe in each other. Sometimes kids look at that as coach-speak, but I think this adds value to that and is something to build on, that if we do stay the course, if we do keep believing no matter what the circumstances are, we can overcome. We were 2-4 and won five out of the last six, and have a chance to win six out of seven, and I don’t even think we’re near the potential we can be. But we’re finding a way to win, and that’s a credit to those guys in the locker room, that’s a credit to those coaches for staying together, [and to their] believing in each other…”
Back on Oct. 10, there might not have been much belief outside of the Rams’ locker room that a turnaround like this was possible. Now, CSU is awaiting its third bowl invitation in as many years. It marks the first time since 1999-2003 that CSU has played in three consecutive bowl games.
