Rams face uphill battle after another blowout loss to rival

FORT COLLINS – What was supposed to be a turning point for Colorado State turned into a disaster Saturday night. For the first time in four years, the Bronze Boot heads back to Laramie.

“We did what teams that aren’t very good do,” said head coach Mike Bobo. “We turned the ball over, didn’t tackle and didn’t execute. That’s how you get beat 38-17.”

If all you did was look at the stats from the game, you might get a headache trying to figure out how this one turned one-sided so quickly. CSU went up 14-3 early in the second quarter when Detrich Clark ran 35 yards for a touchdown.

It looked as though the Rams may actually take control of the game. But after Clark’s highlight play, Wyoming outscored CSU 35-3 the remainder of the game.

This type of loss drums up memories of the debacle against Colorado just one month ago. But for Robert Ruiz, the defeats are completely separate. And he doesn’t think the team reverted back to those week one mistakes.

“I mean every loss hurts,” said Ruiz. “Especially going through the whole week, learning about how important this game was to the people in this town. I just feel like for whatever reason, enough guys did not do what they were coached all week and it made a serious impact on the outcome of the game.”

What makes this loss even more difficult to swallow was that 33,500 fans packed into Hughes for what was expected to be a great football game. It was the largest crowd since 2004.

By about midway through the fourth quarter, Wyoming fans had taken over the CSU student sections. They had even more reason to cheer about when the Cowboys sprinted to the southwest corner of the field as the the clock wound down to grab the Bronze Boot.

“Seeing them come over like that, just pisses you off,” said offensive lineman Fred Zerblis.

Now comes the real mountain to climb, though. Next Saturday, the Rams host Utah State, one of the perennial leaders atop the Mountain West. CSU then goes on the road for four of their final six games.

Three of those road games come against Air Force, Boise State and San Diego State.

Yes, it’s only been five games. But at 2-3, CSU needs to turn things around in a hurry if a bowl game is still the goal this season.

Nolan Peralta, who caught a touchdown in the game, said this team is far from being done.

“We have seven more games left and as a leader, I’ll be darned if I let this affect us and continue to keep us down because this is my last year as a senior and a CSU Ram,” said Peralta. “I’m not going to let this team go out and just kind of finish the year off. We’re going to go out and compete and play to the best of our abilities because we love football. We’re not going to just take a backseat and feel sorry for ourselves.”

Ruiz echoed Peralta in his optimism.

“If anything, I feel like we have to go be more aggressive because we know every game in conference is for the championship,” said Ruiz. “You know, a lot can happen. It is still in the beginning of the season as far as conference play. Plenty can happen around the teams in the Mountain West, and we can still contend for that. Be more aggressive and execute properly.”