Strike 2: Perhaps all is not lost on the local college football front.
Both the Colorado State Rams and the Colorado Buffaloes pulled off unexpected wins over favored opponents over the weekend, salvaging – at least for now – their postseason bowl game hopes. It’s aint over ‘till it’s over, right?
CSU had a reverse Murphy’s Law kind of night against Fresno State on Friday, getting/forcing all the breaks they could hope for in a 48-21 drubbing of the previously 5-1 Bulldogs. Great runs, terrific throws, fortuitous bounces and a mistake-laden and penalty-plagued opponent provided the previously hopeless Rams with some momentum and the opportunity to not only salvage the season, but perhaps the job of their head coach?
With two wins (and yes, the “win” over UNC does still count) and six games left, the Rams need to come out on top four more times to get bowl eligible for the second consecutive season. Even that may not be enough to save Jay Norvell’s job, but at least there wouldn’t be an interim HC in the Fort. With home games against Hawaii, UNLV (currently unbeaten and looking to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff) and defenseless Air Force still ahead, as well as road trips to Wyoming, New Mexico and Boise State, it’s not impossible. The Rams could actually be favored or be very slight underdogs in four of those six contests.
So you’re sayin’ there’s a chance.
As for the Buffs, they did what they typically do once a season and pulled off an improbable upset of a favored (and in this case nationally ranked) foe at Folsom Field. This time the victim was old Big Eight/Big 12 rival Iowa State, who came in ranked No. 22 and left town minus some of their helmets and shaking their heads at what just happened. How many games has Iowa State ever lost where the opposition fans storm the field (and swipe a few souvenir lids) and bring down the goalposts?
It’s taken a while, but head coach Deion Sanders preseason pledge that CU was going to become a power running team may be coming to fruition. And the new and enhanced running attack has allowed beleaguered senior QB Kaidon Salter some time to improve as a passer. After a three-interception game at TCU, Salter rebounded with a two-TD, zero-INT performance against ISU, outplaying his more highly touted counterpart, Rocco Becht.
Now Colorado sits at 3-4, and while thoughts of competing for the Big 12 title are moot, going back to a bowl game might not be. The Buffs have a rough slate ahead, starting in two weeks with a tilt at powerful Utah before a closing stretch that includes both the Arizona schools (both 4-2) as well as a long road trip to West Virginia and a short one to Kansas State. They aren’t likely to be favored in any of those remaining tilts. Chances of winning three of those five seems remote, but so did beating Iowa State. Just ask the fans who stormed the field.
It would mean a lot in very different ways for the Rams and Buffs to go bowling again. For CSU, it would give pause to the “Fire Jay Norvell” crowd and perhaps make athletic director John Weber think over what are undoubtedly his current plans to bring in a new coaching staff on board to usher the Rams into the new Pac 12 next season.
For Sanders and the CU program, overcoming all of the head coach’s health issues and making it back to a bowl game in the first post-Shedeur & Travis season would be a feather in their black cowboy hats. Only Deion’s doctors know how much longer he’s going to remain at the helm in Boulder, but there can’t be any doubts about his competitiveness and his desire to go out a winner – whenever that day arrives.
Whatever happens from here on out, at least the past weekend’s results makes the rest of the season for both teams matter a little bit more.
