Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years: 79. Colorado State
The Best Rams Team West of the Mississippi
The best Rams team west of the Mississippi.
Colorado State’s been consistently solid in the Mountain West with a few great years under Sonny Lubick and Jim McElwain mixed in. Lubick was so successful that Colorado State’s since named their field after him: Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium. Under his tutelage, CSU won 6 conference titles (3 WAC, 3 Mountain West) from 1994-2002. Before Lubick arrived, CSU hadn’t won a conference title in 40 years, and only 1 in the last 60. They owe this ranking to Lubick, and I think fans would admit the same.
Best Seasons and Highlights
+------+----------------+------+--------------+--------+
| rank | team | year | resume score | record |
+------+----------------+------+--------------+--------+
| 15 | Colorado State | 1997 | 22.264 | 11-2 |
| 12 | Colorado State | 1994 | 21.327 | 10-2 |
| 20 | Colorado State | 2000 | 16.288 | 10-2 |
| 31 | Colorado State | 2002 | 11.984 | 10-4 |
| 33 | Colorado State | 2014 | 10.201 | 10-3 |
| 36 | Colorado State | 1995 | 5.313 | 8-4 |
| 33 | Colorado State | 1999 | 4.733 | 8-4 |
| 39 | Colorado State | 1990 | 2.203 | 9-4 |
| 37 | Colorado State | 1998 | 1.545 | 8-4 |
| 52 | Colorado State | 2001 | -3.476 | 7-5 |
| 58 | Colorado State | 2016 | -5.288 | 7-6 |
| 47 | Colorado State | 1996 | -6.17 | 7-5 |
| 57 | Colorado State | 2003 | -6.569 | 7-6 |
| 51 | Colorado State | 1989 | -8.225 | 5-5-1 |
| 53 | Colorado State | 1986 | -8.536 | 6-5 |
| 74 | Colorado State | 2013 | -12.283 | 8-6 |
| 79 | Colorado State | 2017 | -14.321 | 7-6 |
| 76 | Colorado State | 2005 | -16.626 | 6-6 |
| 65 | Colorado State | 1993 | -17.348 | 5-6 |
| 75 | Colorado State | 2008 | -17.804 | 7-7 |
| 79 | Colorado State | 2015 | -17.81 | 7-6 |
| 66 | Colorado State | 1985 | -19.493 | 5-7 |
| 98 | Colorado State | 2020 | -24.733 | 1-3 |
| 86 | Colorado State | 1992 | -26.68 | 5-7 |
| 86 | Colorado State | 2004 | -28.454 | 4-7 |
| 82 | Colorado State | 1983 | -30.22 | 5-7 |
| 109 | Colorado State | 2019 | -34.012 | 4-8 |
| 102 | Colorado State | 2006 | -36.913 | 4-8 |
| 89 | Colorado State | 1984 | -37.145 | 3-8 |
| 101 | Colorado State | 2012 | -37.216 | 4-8 |
| 104 | Colorado State | 2009 | -37.476 | 3-9 |
| 102 | Colorado State | 2007 | -37.664 | 3-9 |
| 110 | Colorado State | 2021 | -39.87 | 3-9 |
| 90 | Colorado State | 1991 | -40.286 | 3-8 |
| 106 | Colorado State | 2011 | -43.112 | 3-9 |
| 121 | Colorado State | 2022 | -44.898 | 3-9 |
| 114 | Colorado State | 2018 | -45.892 | 3-9 |
| 108 | Colorado State | 2010 | -46.767 | 3-9 |
| 100 | Colorado State | 1987 | -53.363 | 1-11 |
| 98 | Colorado State | 1988 | -54.237 | 1-10 |
+------+----------------+------+--------------+--------+
Overall Score: 10531 (79th)224-253-1 record
6 conference titles
6-10 bowl record
4 consensus All-Americans
40 NFL players drafted
Colorado State has a worse winning percentage than some teams lower on the list like Louisiana Tech, but has had higher highs with five 10 win seasons. Adept at producing quality skill position players lately, CSU’s 4 consensus All-Americans have been WR Rashard Higgins (2014), WR Michael Gallup (2017), TE Trey McBride (2021), and DB Greg Myers (1995). During the Lubick years CSU was a consistent top non-Power 6 team, appearing in the Top 25 at any point in the season for 7 straight years from 1997-2003. 1994 and 2014 as well. Notable NFL players have included LB Joey Porter, LB Shaquil Barrett, WR Michael Gallup, and TE Joel Dreessen.
Top 5 Seasons
Worst Season: 1988 (1-10 overall, 1-7 WAC)
It was a bad time to be a Colorado State fan. Colorado University, just a 1 hour drive from CSU, would win the national title 2 years later in 1990. Colorado State themselves floundered to a combined 2-21 record from 1987-88, with not much hope for the future. A 1-10 record featured 5 one-possession losses, and a last place finish in the WAC. A late season Toilet Bowl matchup between 1-9 New Mexico and 1-8 Colorado State decided who was placed in the basement, with New Mexico narrowly avoiding the distinction with a 24-23 win. CSU’s lone win was over San Diego State, who finished 3-8. QB Scooter Molander (great name) threw 9 TD to 22 INT, leading the country in picks. RB Scott Whitehouse (less cool name but still solid) led the team in rushing yards and receptions, totalling 1081 yards from scrimmage. And my personal favorite, backup RB Todd Yert, added 651 from scrimmage. Yert would actually go on to be a key contributor over the next 3 years, totalling 36 rushing TDs in his career.
5. 2014 (10-3 overall, 6-2 Mountain West)
Before Jim McElwain had his highs and lows at Florida, he was the up-and-coming coach at Colorado State. CSU was already coming off its best season in over a decade at 8-6 in 2013, and many thought they could take it a step further in 2014. CSU avenged last season’s loss to Colorado in the opener, winning 31-17 thanks to 100 yard rushing performances from RBs Dee Hart and Trevous Jarrells. They weren’t quite good enough to take down Boise State yet, the class of the WAC, and fell to 1-1. After that, things were great—they beat Boston College and future CSU coach Steve Addazio 24-21, a 10-4 Utah State team 16-13, and rival Wyoming 45-31. By the end of the year, #22 Colorado State was 10-1 playing 8-3 Air Force, and All-American WR Rashard Higgins did all he could (193 yards and 2 TD) but AF walked off on a 27-24 FG. CSU got blown out in the bowl to #23 Utah as well, once a former Mountain West rival who had since moved on to a stronger conference.
QB Garrett Grayson won Mountain West Offensive POTY, throwing for 4006 yards 32 TD 7 INT and ranking 2nd in the country in YPA. WR Rashard Higgins was a consensus All-American and a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, catching 96 passes for 1750 yards and 17 TD. Jim McElwain won MWC Coach of the Year, and was scooped up by Florida before the bowl game.
4. 2002 (10-4 overall, 6-1 Mountain West)
By this point in time, Sonny Lubick had established Colorado State as a non-AQ conference power, winning 5 conference titles in the prior 8 seasons. This was the last of them, and the 4th best team of his. Led by QB Bradlee Van Pelt, who was originally recruited by Nick Saban to play at Michigan State, the Rams’ season could not have started any better. He out-dueled Matt Schaub and Virginia on opening day, winning 35-29. After that was one of the biggest wins in school history, beating #7 Colorado 19-14. Van Pelt spiked the ball into a Colorado defender’s helmet after a 23 yard TD run to take the lead with 6 minutes remaining. CUBuffs.com called it “one of the most classless displays of sportsmanship the rivalry has ever seen.” Colorado State flirted with the top 25 most of the year, getting up to #16 by the end of the year to play UNLV. CSU lost both that game and the bowl game to TCU, but still clinched the Mountain West title. Wins included top 25 finishers Virginia and Colorado, along with 8-5 Air Force and 7-6 Louisville.
Van Pelt won his 1st of 2 Mountain West Offensive POTY awards, throwing for 2000+ yards while rushing for 819 and 11 TD. RB Cecil Sapp, who missed the entire 2001 season with a foot injury, was an absolute workhorse, leading the NCAA in rushing attempts, carrying the ball 347 times for 1601 yards and 17 TD. Lubick’s final season would be in 2007.
3. 2000 (10-2 overall, 6-1 Mountain West)
Colorado State moved from the WAC to the Mountain West in 1999, and won the conference title in their first year. Going into 2000, they aimed to repeat. They continued to make Colorado’s life hell, beating the #23 Buffaloes for the second straight year in the opener. After a letdown loss to Arizona State, CSU began its quest for a 2nd straight MWC title, beating eventual 3rd place UNLV 20-19, 5th place New Mexico 17-14, and finally BYU 45-21, clinching at least a share of the Mountain West title. That set up 8-1 Colorado State vs 6-3 Air Force for a chance to win the title outright. Air Force took an early lead and CSU only barely couldn’t come back, falling 40-44 in the snow. The Rams still clinched an outright conference title the following week with a 37-13 beating of a poor Wyoming team. With a win over #22 Louisville in the bowl, Colorado State finished #14 in the AP Poll, the highest in school history. QB Matt Newton won MWC Offensive POTY, while LB Rick Crowell won Defensive POTY.
2. 1994 (10-2 overall, 7-1 WAC)
When Sonny Lubick took over in 1993, it can’t be understated how much of a graveyard the Colorado State program was. Before a bowl appearance in 1990, they played in just 1 bowl in their entire history, which dates back to 1902. Armed with 29 year old Urban Meyer as assistant coach, the 1994 team was the best in school history up to that point, and might still be. And nobody saw it coming.
Colorado State started by beating one of the classes of the WAC in Air Force, 34-21. A few weeks later it was #22 BYU’s turn, beating the Cougars 28-21. All of a sudden the Rams were serious contenders in the WAC. Down for so long, the unthinkable happened. #23 Colorado State travelled to #6 Arizona, one of the favorites for the national title. A few hours after the opening kickoff, the Rams stood with their heads held high, victors in Tucson 21-16. The win propelled CSU to #13, and the Rams hosted #18 Utah 2 weeks later. Utah won in a let down game, but CSU won their last 3 games to finish 10-1 and win their first ever WAC title and first conference title under Lubick. A 14-24 loss in the bowl to #20 Michigan showed they could definitely hang with the big boys, and the Arizona win wasn’t a fluke. Colorado State finished #16 in the nation with a 10-2 record, and were 12th in my rankings. Lubick earned Sports Illustrated National Coach of the Year.
1. 1997 (11-2 overall, 7-1 WAC)
As good as the 1994 team was, they only beat opponents by an average of 11 points a game, while the 1997 team outscored opponents by over 20 a game. After a disappointing 2-2 start with losses to Colorado and 0-24 to Air Force, CSU was flawless the rest of the way. A 9-2 regular season record featured an average score of 43-11 in the final 7 game win streak. 9-2 New Mexico and 9-2 Colorado State seemed like an even matchup on paper but it wasn’t close, with the Rams winning 41-13. A 35-24 win over #19 Missouri in the Holiday Bowl made up for losing the Holiday Bowl twice in 1994 and ‘95. Colorado State finished 17th in the AP Poll, and according to my algorithm, this is their best team.
The team set a school record for points (442) and TDs (59) in a season, ranking 7th in the nation in PPG (36.7). The defense forced 43 turnovers in 13 games, with future NFL starters LB Joey Porter, LB Clark Haggans, and DB Jason Craft, and was also top 10 in the country giving up just 15.6 PPG. QB Moses Moreno won the WAC Offensive POTY with 2257 pass yards 20 TD 9 INT, and was a 7th round draft pick by the Chicago Bears after the season. RBs Damon Washington and Kevin McDougal both ran for 1000+ yards, combining for 2223 yards and 21 TD on 6.7 YPC.
5th Quarter
What do you think about Colorado State? Do you think they should be a primary target of Pac 12 expansion? Why or why not? What game/player/play is most memorable to you? Can the Rams ever recreate the consistent success of Sonny Lubick or was it a flash in the pan?
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