Monday Morning QB: A Season Low on Highs

Maybe we shouldn't have gone into the season with expectations that rivaled Utah's, but few - if any - expected a downward slide that resulted in the first losing season for Sonny Lubick in more than a decade. The Rams are missing out on a bowl bid - but courtesy of the Utes, they'll collect some nice post-season money. It's not much of a consolation prize, but it will have to do. Before we close the book on a disappointing 4-7 campaign, let's look back on the highs and lows of 2004...

HIGH POINT: This one is easy. Winning back the Bronze Boot with a convincing 30-7 win over Bowl-bound Wyoming on a Friday night in October was hands down the highlight of the season. It made a lot of us wonder why we did not see these Rams play at that level more often. The big win over UNLV in the home finale is second...but after that, the pickins are slim.

LOW POINT: So many to chose from. The beat down at Utah. Getting routed at Southern Cal. Getting run over in the home opener against Minnesota. Caving in at Air Force. Still, so much of what happened after the opening game loss at Colorado was set up by the goal line failure in that game's final minute, that it's tough to look at any other time as being a lower point.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: No one stand out, making this one very tough. Wide Reciever David Anderson began the season like an All-America, but teams began to key on him, and young QB Caleb Hanie could not get the ball to him with any regularity. Tight end Joel Dreessen bounced back from a series of injuries to show his NFL abilities.

MOMENT OF THE YEAR: A tie for this one. The final-play loss to Colorado in the season opener set the tone for a very disappointing season. The sack that broke the leg of QB Justin Holland against San Diego State ended the Rams shot at salvaging a bowl bid.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: The no frills end to the career of Marcus Houston. The mercurial running back was not the savior for CSU any more than he was for CU. A man of tremendous physical and mental gifts, Houston will most certainly make a mark on the world in some fashion...it just won't be on the football field.

He was given the chance of a lifetime in the season opener against CU. On the same Folsom Field surface that he began his promising collegiate career on, Houston got his number called with the clock ticking down, and the Rams a mere yard from beating the Buffs. Rather than hurdling himself toward the end zone, Houston tip toed up to the line and went down easily, taking the Rams season with him.

Houston was a complete non-factor after that, even as the Rams running game struggled. To his credit, he remained a team player, and had a couple of nice moments during garbage time late in the season.

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Losing Justin Holland was a huge blow to the Rams offense...on the stat sheet. But Freshman QB Caleb Hanie brought something new to the huddle that Holland, for all his passing wizzardry never could - a running threat. As a true freshman, Hanie was predictably unpredictable, and inconsistent. Had Holland stayed in the line-up, more consistency would have allowed CSU to win a couple more games at least. But when Hanie had things going - which he did pretty often - he showed the kind of play-making ability that Bradlee Van Pelt brought to the CSU offense.

If healthy, Holland will regain his job next fall. But the future of the position is plenty bright because Hanie will just keep getting better. Second and third place go to Kory Sperry and Travis Garcia, respectively. Dressen will be missed, but Sperry will make people forget a bit faster. Garcia is a hard nosed former walk on who will be a playmaker in the secondary next season.