Mike Bobo: “It's really important to win the bowl game”

In two days, head coach Mike Bobo leads the Colorado State Rams to their 15^th bowl game in school history, and Bobo’s first in charge of the green and gold.

For Bobo and the Rams, it’s been a roller coaster of a season. At the mid-way point, CSU was down in the dumps at 2-4 and could’ve quit on their coach. They did anything but that, rallying around him because – as SteveO Michel said – they love Bobo.

The win over Air Force was big just before the break, but the “come to Jesus” meeting was the turning point of Colorado State’s season. After the loss to San Diego State, Bobo called out his players and reset expectations; the Rams won four straight games to finish the season 7-5.

Bobo became the first coach in school history to win seven games in his first year in charge, and now they have the opportunity to win eight games with a victory in the inaugural NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl, which kicks off Tuesday, Dec. 29 at 5:30 p.m. MT.

“Anytime you play a game you want to win the ballgame,” Bobo said on Dec. 17 after practice. “It used to be, when I was a player…coaches used it (bowl games) as a spring practice. If you win it or not, you go into the next year. Now, there’s so much media attention. It’s almost like it propels you into next year. It’s really important to win the bowl game and keep everybody excited about Colorado State.”

A win on Tuesday afternoon in Tucson, Arizona would mean a second bowl victory in the Rams current three straight postseason game run. They won in incredible come-from-behind fashion against Washington State in the New Mexico Bowl in 2013 and then lost to Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl last year. Certainly, a win in the first ever Arizona Bowl will help continue that momentum which has included a mid-year signing period chock full of talented players coming to Fort Collins.

Players like Georgia quarterback transfer Faton Bauta, 3-star defensive lineman Anthony Smith as well as multiple talented defensive backs.

Of course, while the Rams have won four straight games, there will be a 31-day layoff between their final regular season contest and the bowl game. It could create some sloppy play, which is why Bobo has been working his team through a ton of practices leading up to kickoff.

“Bowl games, sometimes they’re not very sharp because of the long layoffs,” Bobo explained. “It’s a bit like a first game of the year.

“We’ll prepare,” he said. “I think we’ll be prepared for the bowl game. That’s why we went the four (practices) before this week, to stay sharp. Because I was a little worried about this team never playing past Dec. 19. They’re used to going home. We’ve got to get it in their mind we’re playing a game. And we’ve got to get ready. I’m a firm believer it’s the team that is ready to play and wants to play and is into the game usually wins the game.”

But, what makes bowl games so much fun are the extra special, trick plays which CSU’s head coach said he’s expecting to see from Nevada.

“And then you’ve got to be ready for the unexpected in bowl games because coaches have more time to add wrinkles, to add things off of concepts,” he said. “Our defense is going to have to do a good job of having their eyes in the right spot. Because they’re going to have a good breakdown on us, we’re going to have a good breakdown. You’re going to rep all those things and have a good idea of Nevada’s base package and they’re going to have a good idea of our base package.

“The wrinkles off of the base package is sometimes where the big plays happen,” he continued. “And then you’ve got to be ready for more special plays in games like this. The coaches have free time, so you gotta invent some more things to run.”

While Bobo wouldn’t admit to drawing up “wrinkles” in his game plan, don’t be surprised to see something special out of his offense on Tuesday evening.

Another detail which will factor into the game: CSU’s defensive coordinator Tyson Summers has departed to be Georgia Southern’s head coach and Nevada’s offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich accepted Hawaii’s head coaching job; so anything could happen when the Wolf Pack have the ball. It creates unknowns on either side of the ball, adding to the excitement.

The Arizona Bowl kicks off on Tuesday, Dec. 29 at 5:30 p.m. MT and can be seen on FOX 31. We’ll be there covering the event live from Tucson via twitter and with multiple pieces following the game.

3 days until the @AZBowlGame. Here's the first 30 seconds of our hype video & the hashtags you'll need on gameday. pic.twitter.com/fJfjhXVTVp

— Colorado State Football (@CSUFootball) December 26, 2015