Colorado State still trying to salvage frustrating year

Steve Guiremand

Thursday, Nov. 20, 2003 | 9:56 a.m.

It was the hot topic at the Mountain West Conference football media day last summer.

Could the Colorado State Rams, with 13 senior starters returning including 2002 MWC offensive player of the year Bradlee Van Pelt at quarterback and the addition of highly touted University of Colorado transfer Marcus Houston at tailback, make a run at a BCS bowl berth and maybe even go a perfect 12-0 in the process?

One Denver columnist even boldly predicted that the Rams would be playing for the national championship in the Sugar Bowl against Miami.

Instead, Sonny Lubick's injury-riddled squad, which seemed like a lock to win its fourth MWC title in five years, enters Saturday's conference finale against UNLV (5-5, 1-4) at Sam Boyd Stadium trying to keep from attaining a not-so-dubious distinction.

The Rams (6-5, 3-3) need a win against the Rebels to avoid becoming just the second team in Lubick's 11-year tenure in Fort Collins to finish without a winning record and in the process keep their hopes for a lower tier bowl berth alive.

Lubick's 1993 squad finished 5-6. The Rams have put together nine consecutive winning seasons since then and established themselves as one of the marquee programs in the Mountain West Conference.

"If we were to end up 7-5, knowing what I know, and knowing what you guys don't know, it would be a little disappointing," Lubick admitted to Denver media last week. "It will probably be a season that could have been better. Every season could have been better. Even the years we went 10-2 -- who would ever think Colorado State would win 10 ballgames? -- then you go back after a a month and say, 'Hell, we should have won that other game,' but we forgot about the three we could have lost in the meantime.

"This year there were some expectations. That's what you live with this day and age. They want more this year, they want more next year. The players and coaches, we strive for that."

"It's really hard to leave the field and look at the scoreboard and see another loss and think, 'How could it be that we have all this talent and we're losing?' " Van Pelt admitted.

So what exactly went wrong?

A number of theories abound and all have a little bit of merit.

CSU has been especially hard hit at linebacker and running back. The loss of Pauley was particularly a bitter one because it came on an illegal chop block against Utah.

"I'd like to be able to make some excuses, but everyone has had (injuries)," Lubick said.

Two fumbles have been critical in keeping CSU from making a serious run at another MWC title.

The first and the biggest came in the 28-21 loss to Utah. With the game tied, 21-21, and the Rams already well within range for a game-winning field goal attempt with 1:33 to go, Houston fumbled into the air and former Cimarron star Arnold Parker snatched it and ran 80 yards up the right sideline for the game-winning touchdown.

The Rams had six turnovers against Utah, including four lost fumbles, but still were in position to win it until Houston's last gaffe.

CSU also looked like it was going to pull out a road win at New Mexico but lost, 37-34, when Van Pelt mishandled a snap in shotgun formation that led to a game-winning 33-yard field goal by Wes Zunker as time expired.

"It's definitely been bad bounces," senior cornerback and kick return star Dexter Wynn said. "We've had the opportunity to win football games and misfortune has put us on the losing end."

Van Pelt, who once again has put up MVP like numbers despite playing with badly bruised ribs the last month, believes the Rams may have been too complacent this season.

"When we're playing good, people are playing with emotion, and, when we're struggling, people are just out there going through the motions," he said. "Maybe some people took for granted the wins -- that if we just show up, we're going to win.

"That's what's really different about this year. It's really hard, because I don't feel like we've played as a team."

Despite the disappointing record, expect the Rams to give a full team effort this week against a UNLV team that left them stunned and dazed with a 36-33 upset win last year at Hughes Stadium.

"That loss to UNLV really hung on us a little while, even going into this season, I think," Van Pelt told the Fort Collins Coloradoan this week. "They came out against us, and all they could do to save their season was to spoil ours -- and they did that. ... We were so close to achieving so many great things last year, and somewhere along the line we forgot to get ready for UNLV."

Such won't be the case Saturday afternoon at Sam Boyd Stadium as CSU tries to spoil UNLV's bowl hopes.