Monday Morning QB: Fresno State and BYU

Now THAT'S more like it. That's the CSU Ram football team all of us - including the Rams coaching staff - thought they'd see all year. Up until these surprisingly easy wins over Fresno State and BYU, we'd only gotten glimpses of these Rams. All too brief glimpses.

It all came together against a decent Bulldog team that now has three road losses this season - at top ranked Oklahoma, at Tennessee, and at Colorado State. Nice (top 25) company.

As for the Cougs, those of us who where in school and sat through the drubbings administered by Gifford Neilson, Marc Wilson, Jim McMahon and the rest (not the mention Steve Young, Robbie Bosco, Ty Detmer, et all) have not one ounce of sympathy for BYU. I agree with the Bradlee. We could not run up the score high enough on BYU to ever make the payback complete!

(Is it too late to bring The Other Miami back to Fort Collins for a rematch? Oh well, just a thought.)

It may be too late to undo the mistakes that led to three early CSU losses, but it's not too late to get rolling and prepared for the push for another MWC crown. The inexplicable home loss to Utah has put CSU in a constant must-win situation (as far as the league title is concerned) from here on out. And it won't be easy. First, they must overcome and slow down high-flying Air Force, before taking on improved Wyoming and New Mexico, then vastly improved San Diego State and UNLV.

They will have to play much like they did against Fresno and BBYU against all of these teams, because as Sonny Lubick has been telling us since the summer, all of these team are capable of beating CSU. (For example, they could each beat Little Miami...)

Maybe that's the key. Maybe it has to be hard, maybe the task needs to be daunting for this team to rally and respond. Maybe CSU is a team that's collectively uneasy wearing the crown. Maybe they need to be the underdog, the longshot, in order to play their best. They wouldn't be the first team to be that way.

Maybe the "Rams Against the World" mantra is already working for Lubick and his team. Sonny has always had a knack for making the 'whole' of his team greater than the sum of it's parts. He's done wonders with far less talent than he has now by capturing and playing on this mind set. Maybe the key to this whole thing is that CSU remain cemented in the role of underdog.

Whatever it takes, a constant reminder of a 4-3 record, or a rehashing of the most recent losses to AFA, or just the mere mention of the name Roethlis.., Roethens...ahh,...whatever, these Rams have to be taken to their collective 'not-so-happy place' before they take the field. When it's "Rams Against the World," I like our chances.