1997 Holiday Bowl season
An 11-2 Lubick team and a New Year's-tier bowl trip — the program's high-water mark
Program prestige
Zeitgeist statureRegional Program IVProgram outlook
Program outlook
Colorado State earned a Pac-12 invitation to play at the Power-conference level. It then went 2-10 in the Mountain West, fired its head coach mid-October, and walked into the new conference on the worst on-field footing it has had in years. The upgrade arrived at exactly the wrong moment.
Since Jun 14: L 26-56 vs Oregon State; L 27-66 at Texas State; W 56-49 vs San Diego State; L 14-31 at Utah State. 3-5 this season.
Read the full essay — 3 more paragraphs
Sonny Lubick's field is named for a reason. From 1993 to 2007, Lubick willed Fort Collins into a program that mattered — six conference titles across the WAC and Mountain West, an 11-2 team in 1997, Joey Porter becoming a Super Bowl champion, ranked finishes that the program still defines itself by. The Doyt Perry equivalent in Fort Collins: a coach who built the only sustained winning era in program history and whose name on the turf is the reminder that it happened once and can happen again. Canvas Stadium opened in 2017 — a sleek on-campus build at the foot of the Rockies, the first dedicated on-campus venue in decades — as a physical statement that the Rams intended to be taken seriously.
Jay Norvell was fired on October 19, 2025 after a 2-5 start, with Tyson Summers finishing the year as interim. The final record was 2-10, 1-7 in the Mountain West — the program's worst in years and a humiliating curtain call for its final MW season before the Pac-12 move. Jim Mora was hired to lead the reset, a credentialed NFL-pedigree coach charged with making the Pac-12 leap feel earned rather than premature.
The 2026 question in Fort Collins is the starkest possible version of the program's ongoing chip: can the Rams prove the Pac-12 move was based on trajectory rather than optimism? Colorado State hasn't won a conference title since 2002. Mora's first team enters the Pac-12 without a recent winning season to point to. The Rocky Mountain Showdown against Colorado is the annual measuring stick, and right now the Buffaloes have the cameras and the buzz. The Rams need wins before they get the conversation.
On the field
Hard-nosed, trench-first football is the Lubick-era inheritance — defense, toughness, the chip of being overlooked in its own state. Mora's background is NFL defensive structure and professional-level accountability; the expectation is a physical reset, emphasis on run game and line development, a departure from the more pass-first approaches that didn't produce results. Canvas Stadium's mountain setting and capacity give the Rams a legitimate home-field case; the roster needs to justify the venue.
Colorado State has won 46% of its games since 1902 — 53% at home, 39% on the road.
546-622-32 all-time · 123 seasons · 1902–2026
Home
289-232-22
Away
239-369-10
Neutral
18-21
32%
1900s
48%
1910s
69%
1920s
40%
1930s
52%
1940s
50%
1950s
31%
1960s
42%
1970s
32%
1980s
62%
1990s
50%
2000s
44%
2010s
34%
2020s
The CFP era
13 seasons inside the CFP era, no bids yet — the era the program is still trying to break into.
Trajectory · quality-score line · AP rank dotted · CFP bids marked · coach regimes ribboned
Program quality
AP rank (inverted)
CFP appearance
Swipe left for earlier seasons
Colorado State’s 2014–2026 record is 63-86.
Jim Mora
Jim Mora took over from Tyson Summers (interim) for the 2026 season.
Era Jim Mora · 2026–presentPrev: Tyson Summers (interim) (2025)OC: Pryce TracyPrev OC: Matt Mumme (2022–2025)DC: Tyson Summers (left the team Oct. 3) / Kenny McClendon (co)Prev DC: Tyson Summers (2025)
1
year · era
Colorado State and Colorado, meeting by meeting
Colorado leads the series 64-22-2 (since 1902); in the last 10 meetings, Colorado State is 2-8
2024: Colorado won 28-9. After this game, Colorado led 64-22-2.
Last 25 meetings: ▲ Colorado State won, ▼ Colorado won, by how much
Each step is one meeting: up when Colorado State wins, down when Colorado wins, flat for a tie. Counts every game in our records since 1902. Tap the line for any season.
Moments in Colorado State history
- Colorado State 34, Arkansas 27Sep 8, 2018
- Oregon State 39, Colorado State 31Oct 5, 2024
- Colorado 43, Colorado State 35Sep 16, 2023
On this date, Nov 4, 2017: Wyoming 16, Colorado State 13
What this program never forgets
Most weeks vanish. These didn’t.
2017
Canvas Stadium opens
The on-campus stadium finally gives the Rams a real home and a recruiting pitch
Norvell fired mid-2025
A 2-5 start in the final MW season triggers the firing, capping a 2-10 year
Wound
Moment of the year · 2026
Lost 23-41 vs BYU
Week 3 of 2026. The single game that defined the season's arc.
2022–2025
Colorado State has sent 3 players to the NFL Draft since 2022 — none in the first round.
Developing. Pipeline emerging.
3
picks · 0 in round 1
#55
Trey McBride
Tight End · 2022 · 
Arizona Cardinals · #1/119 final season
Arizona Cardinals · #1/119 final season
#158
Mohamed Kamara
Defensive Edge · 2024 · 
Miami Dolphins · #3/418 final season
Miami Dolphins · #3/418 final season
#166
Tory Horton
Wide Receiver · 2025 · 
Seattle Seahawks · #12/497 final season
Seattle Seahawks · #12/497 final season
#77 all-time · 5 first-round picksthe talent factory →
More in this tab
Ladder finish
Season standing · 2026 · 3-5
Season standing · 2026 · 3-5Colorado State is 3-5 — below .500 in FBS.
Below .500 in FBS play. The rebuild bar.
FBS sub-.500
Sub-FBSBuildingBowlRankedContenderPlayoff
Conference
Pac-12 standing · 2026
7th in the Pac-12
Colorado State is 7th of 8 in the Pac-12 at 1-3. The path to the title is steep — the focus is on bowl access and rivalry wins.
| # | Program | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boise State | 4-0 |
| 2 | Oregon State | 3-1 |
| 3 | San Diego State | 3-2 |
| 4 | Fresno State | 2-2 |
| 5 | Texas State | 2-2 |
| 6 | Utah State | 2-2 |
| 7 | Colorado State | 1-3 |
| 8 | Washington State | 0-5 |
Coaching history
Coaching history
- Hired Jim Mora
- Hired Tyson Summers (interim)
- Jay Norvell departs
- Tyson Summers departs (interim)
- Hired Jay Norvell
- Steve Addazio departs
- Hired Steve Addazio
- Mike Bobo departs
Coordinator lineage
Colorado State’s offense and defense, by coordinator
FBS-relative efficiency percentile per season (2014–2026), same population as the Coordinator Mirror board. Dashed vertical lines mark a coordinator change.
Offense2014–2026
2014 · Dave Baldwin (interim)2015–2017 · Will Friend2018–2019 · Dave Johnson2020 · Joey Lynch2021 · Jon Budmayr2022–2025 · Matt Mumme2026 · Pryce Tracy
Defense2014–2026
2014 · Marty English (co) / Al Simmons (co)2015 · Tyson Summers2016–2017 · Marty English2018–2019 · John Jancek2020–2021 · Chuck Heater2022–2024 · Freddie Banks2025 · Tyson Summers2026 · Tyson Summers (left the team Oct. 3) / Kenny McClendon (co)
Elite (≥70th pct)AveragePoor (≤30th pct)
Gameday customs
Rituals
Three gameday rituals — the ones outsiders never quite catch.
Sonny Lubick Era (1993-2007)
since 1993
more
Sonny Lubick's 1993-2007 tenure produced the program's all-time peaks — 1994 10-2 + #16 AP, 1997 11-2 + Holiday Bowl championship + #16 AP. Multiple Mountain West (then WAC) championships + sustained competitive cycles. Lubick's age-66 retirement after 2007 closed the era. The football complex is named for him.
Canvas Stadium 2017 Opening
since 2017
more
Canvas Stadium (built 2017) — Colorado State's first dedicated on-campus stadium since 1968 — replaced decades at Hughes Stadium. The 41,000 capacity + on-campus location + Fort Collins Front Range setting + corporate naming-rights modernity create a venue distinct from larger flagship-state programs.
Rocky Mountain Showdown (vs Colorado)
since 1893
more
Colorado State-Colorado plays the Rocky Mountain Showdown — first played 1893, paused intermittently. The In-State Front Range rivalry crosses MW vs Big 12 conference lines. The Rocky Mountains backdrop + the altitude angle + the CFB-bicycle-trophy create a venue tradition unique to Colorado-region football.
Cultural identity
2024 L
2017 L
2016 L
2015 L
2014 LReddit blowups
r/CFB moments
523
[Postgame Thread] South Dakota State Defeats Colorado State 42-23
All-time top community posts
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