Friday night lights? Not for your Colorado State Rams.
Which, depending on how you look at it, is a positive and a negative. College football is meant for Saturdays and fans in the Denver area need that time to drive up to see their green and gold in action.
On the other hand, national exposure and TV money are important, and at least one game in the national spotlight would have been great for the Rams. Boise State will earn $900K for their appearances, with San Diego State, Fresno State, Air Force and San Jose State all taking home $360K. Or, $180K per nationally televised game. All other schools? Only $60K.
That’s a huge discrepancy in television money from the top (Boise) to the bottom (CSU); $840K.
This is how the Mountain West’s national, Friday night TV package looks for 2016:
NEWS: @MountainWest Announces National Friday Football TV Schedule #mwfb https://t.co/JXp3rXo5v3 🏈📺 pic.twitter.com/MJSzAH9guD
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) April 25, 2016
But, there’s still hope. CBS Network, ROOT Sports Rocky Mountain, Campus Insiders and the ESPN networks will broadcast another 34 games nationally this year, and the Rams should find their way on television. The announcement of those games will come in the near future, per the conference.
Colorado State plays some big games this season, including: The Rocky Mountain Showdown (Friday, Sept. 2), at Minnesota (Sept. 24, which could be on the Big Ten Network), vs. Wyoming (Oct. 1), vs. Utah State (Oct. 8), at Boise State (Oct. 15), at Air Force (Nov. 12) and at SDSU (Nov. 26).
The Rams just wrapped up their 15-practice spring session with the Green and Gold Game Saturday. The offense struggled early but found its rhythm late, while all four quarterbacks showed signs of positive play. That means the quarterback competition will continue to be fought, as head coach Mike Bobo said Nick Stevens and Faton Bauta are “Co-No. 1s” coming out of spring.
Under Bobo in his first season, the team started slowly and looked up at a 3-5 record with four games to go. They could’ve folded up shop and gone into the offseason as losers. But, a “come to Jesus” meeting, led by Bobo and the coaching staff, was a wakeup call for the Rams, who rallied to win four straight games and go into the inaugural NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl. Bobo became the first ever Rams head coach to win seven regular season games in his first season in charge.
It leaves the expectations looming large over this 2016 season, which is also a farewell to Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium.
