Colorado State – 2009

  • The Rams went bowling last season, but it wasn’t due to stellar play by the defense. Colorado State allowed 393 points in 2008 (38 to the Buffs), an average of 30.2 points per game. The point total allowed has only been surpassed twice in school history (413 points in 1972; 502 points in 1981). While the 2008 Rams went 7-6, the other two Ram teams who gave up as many points settled for a combined record of 1-22.
  • Steve Fairchild set a record for wins (7), by a first year coach at CSU (the record at CU is Rick Neuheisel’s ten wins in 1995). Four other Ram coaches earned five wins in their debut, including Sonny Lubick (5-6 in 1993).
  • Sonny Lubick left the Colorado State program at the end of the 2007 season. His records speak for themselves:
    • overall record at CSU of 108-74
    • six conference titles won or shared
    • nine bowl games (CSU has played in a total of 12 in its history)
    • four seasons with over ten wins (the only four such seasons in CSU history), but …
    • 4-9 record v. Colorado
  • The 2008 CU/CSU game set a first, and it’s not a record either school wanted. The Buffs and the Rams came into the ‘08 campaign off of losing seasons in 2007 – and in 2006. The last time CU played CSU when both teams were coming off of consecutive losing seasons? Try never. Not once in the 80 game series has CU played CSU when both the Buffs and the Rams had suffered through back-to-back losing seasons before the game – until 2008.
  • Colorado State holds the dubious distinction of being the first team in Division 1-A football to go 0-12. The Rams pulled off the feat in 1981 (many teams had gone 0-11, but under NCAA rules at the time, teams could play 12 games when they had Hawaii on the schedule. The extra game, though, just meant another loss for the Rams in ‘81). The average margin of defeat: 28 points.
  • In 1957, Colorado A&M became Colorado State. Up until that time, the Rams had been fairly successful on the field. Head coach Harry Hughes, between 1911 and 1941, racked up 125 wins against 93 losses. Bob Davis, coach from 1947 to 1955, had seven winning seasons in nine years at the helm. Then the bottom fell out. From 1960, until Sonny Lubick came on the scene in 1993, CSU posted only seven winning seasons in 34 campaigns. From a 30-3 win over Drake in October, 1960, to winning the opener of the 1963 season, a 20-0 decision over Pacific, the Rams lost 26 games in a row. Both the 1961 and 1962 seasons ended with 0-10 records, and only twice in each season did the Rams score as many as 10 points in a game.
  • The name of the mascot, Cam the Ram, is more than just a rhyme. “CAM” harkens back to when CSU was known as Colorado Agricultural & Mechanical. The Rocky Mountain bighorn is the Colorado state animal, and the “Rams” replaced the “Aggies” as the nickname after the switch in school name was made.
  • The Wyoming/Colorado State rivalry is the oldest interstate rivalry west of the Mississippi. The “Border War” dates back to 1899. The schools play for the “Bronze Boot”, which was worn by CSU graduate Jeff Romero in the Vietnam war.
  • The only major award winner in school history is Greg Myers, who won the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation’s best defensive back, in 1995. (Two Buffs have won the award – Deon Figures in 1992 and Chris Hudson in 1994).
  • Bowling for Dollars – In 1948, CSU represented the Skyline Conference in the Raisin Bowl in San Francisco, falling to Occidental 21-20. In 1949, CSU went 9-1, but the school decided against accepting a bowl bid, as the trip to the Raisin Bowl (the bowl lasted five years, from 1945-49) lost money. Not such a great decision – the Rams would not be invited to another bowl game for 41 years (the 1990 Freedom Bowl).
  • Famous alumni – football – Mike Bell (all-American, 1978); Greg Myers (all-American, 1995); Steve Bartalo (pain in the Buffs’ butts, 1983-86); linebacker Joey Porter (Pittsburgh, Miami; 1999-2008).
  • Famous alumni – other – Amy Van Dyken (Olympic swimming medalist); John Amos (actor).

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