Rocky Mountain Showdown Special Edition September 19, 2015 Volume 124, No. 28

Rocky Mountain Showdown Special Edition Friday, September 18, 2015 Volume 124, No. 28 • collegian.com

Treyous Jarrells Collectible Poster INSIDE |PAGE 10|

Primetime Plays

The top five moments in Showdown history PAGE 4

No More RMS? Why the Showdown should continue PAGE 11

Pick ‘Em

Collegian Sports staff makes its predictions for Saturday’s game PAGE 14

SteveO Michel made it out of the slums of Orlando, now he looks for a better life for his family PAGES 8 & 9

PHOTO BY KEVIN OLSON COLLEGIAN

Against All Odds Good Luck In denver!

Beat The Buffs!

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RAMS 1-1

Treyous Jarrells running back

121 rushing yards 1 touchdown

Friday, September 18, 2015 • Page 2

vs. all-time game record

BUFFS

22-62 score in CSU’s 2014 win over CU

31-17

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104 recieving yards 2 touchdowns

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“I’ll sing you a song of college days, and tell you where to go. Aggies, where your knowledge is, and Boulder to spend your dough.”

FUM’S SONG

Showdown History: Fum’s song, Peanuts the mascot and more

By Emmett McCarthy @emccarthy22

“Before I’d see him in Boulder, I’d see my son in hell!”

Those are the final words of “Fum’s song”.

Thurman “Fum” McGraw became Colorado State’s first consensus All-American in 1948 and 1949. At 59 years of age, the former athletic director sang his famous cheer in the Rams’ locker room before the 1986 Rocky Mountain Showdown. It helped pump up the team as CSU took Folsom Field by storm and beat the Buffs 23-7 on their own turf.

But the in-state rivalry with the University of Colorado has not always been so kind to the Rams. In anticipation of Saturday’s game, let’s take a look back at some Showdown history.

The Beginning The team’s first played in 1893 when CSU – then known as the Colorado Agricultural College – founded its football program. CU’s season came three years earlier in 1890.

The first meeting was not

much of a contest, as CU blew out the Rams 70-6 in Fort Collins. The game was likely played at an unnamed field just east of College Avenue between Locust and Plum Street.

CU went on to beat CSU in the first eight games between the teams, outscoring the Aggies 335-18. In 1906, CU forfeited the game, resulting in a 0-0 tie.

CSU finally got its first win in the series in 1912 when the Aggies upset the reigning Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champions 21-0 in Fort Collins. CSU would win its first RMAC championship in 1915.

After a 15-14 CSU win in 1958, CU refused to continue playing CSU due in part to the deteriorating Colorado Field it called home, and the impression it gave that CSU was not interested in being a football school.

The rivalry was renewed in 1983 with a 31-3 CU win.

Where we are now CU has a major 62-22-2 edge all-time in the Showdown heading into the 2015’s install-

ment.

Recent years have proven better for the Rams though.

The Showdown was played on a neutral field for the first time in 1998. Since then, every game has been played in Denver other than three meetings in Boulder (2004, 2005, 2009).

The Buffs hold a slight 8-6 edge in games played at a neutral location. CSU won last year’s matchup 31-17, and has know won three of the last six.

A win Saturday would give the team its first back-to-back Showdown wins since 19992000. The Rams’ 41-14 win in 1999 is also infamously known as the time Denver Police pepper sprayed fans and CSU marching band.

The Colorado State… Bulldogs?

Ever heard of Peanuts the Bulldog? Probably not.

In 1935, the Colorado Agricultural College made the change to the Colorado State College of Agriculture and Medicine (Colorado A&M).

However, the school did not adopt a ram as the official mas-

cot until 1959. Prior to that, the school entertained a few unofficial mascots, most notably Peanuts the Bulldog.

The dog was purchased from a professor by student Floyd Cross in 1912, who later went on to become a dean at the school. Known for his encouraging barks on the sideline, Peanuts unofficially represented the team during two RMAC championships and appeared in team photos.

Peanuts was also adopted by Battery A of R.O.T.C. as its mascot and accompanied the men to the east coast as they prepared for deployment to World War I. Peanuts was not allowed to travel overseas with the men, and was returned to Fort Collins in April 1918. However, Peanuts died not long after his return to the school.

According to CSU volunteer historian John Hirn’s website dedicated to preserving the history of Aggies football, Peanuts was poisoned by CU students.

Fum’s song McGraw’s

famous

cheer

used to be sung by fans before the fourth quarter of games at Hughes Stadium along with a video of the former athletic director singing it in the locker room. Former CSU president Larry Penley did away with the song in 2006 after receiving complaints about its offensive suggestions. Here it is, in its entirety: “I’ll sing you a song of college days, and tell you where to go.

Aggies, where your knowledge is, and Boulder to spend your dough.

C.C. for your sissy boys, and Utah for your times, D.U. for your ministers, and drunkards School of Mines.

Don’t send my boy to Wyoming U. a dying mother said.

Don’t send him to old Brigham Young, I’d rather see him dead.

But send him to our Aggies, it’s better than Cornell.

Before I’d see him in Boulder, I’d see my son in hell!”

Emmett McCarthy can be reached by email at sports@ collegian.com.

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Top five CSU moments in Rocky Mountain Showdown history

By Keegan Pope @ByKeeganPope

In its 86-year existence, the Rocky Mountain Showdown between Colorado State and Colorado has seen its fair share of memorable moments. Here’s the Collegian’s top five: 5. In the last game played in Boulder, CSU upset the Buffs 23-17 behind first-year quarterback Grant Stucker.

Colorado State fans rushed Folsom Field. The Rams led 20-3 at halftime, and held off a furious rally by the Cody Hawkins-led Buffs. Maybe the most memorable moment of the night came when Colorado State safety Elijah Blu-Smith crushed CU receiver Scotty McKnight on a crossing route.

Furious CU fans thought BluSmith should have been ejected, but he wasn’t even flagged on the play.

4. One of Colorado State’s biggest wins – and most embarrassing moments – came in 1999 when CSU routed CU 41-14 at Mile High Stadium. However, the win was marred by CSU fans reportedly throwing trash and beer bottles at the CU team as they exited the field. Denver police dispersed the crowd by launching tear gas canisters into the crowd at the north end of the stadium.

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3. Colorado State started Jim McElwain’s tenure with a bang, holding off CU 22-17 at Invesco Field at Mile High. McElwain became the first CSU coach to win his CSU debut since Jerry Wampfler in 1970. The CSU defense, who held the Buffs just 245 yards of offense, stopped the Buffs on fourth-and-2 with just under a minute remaining in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

2. The most recent, and most memorable moment for many CSU fans came in the 2014 Rocky Mountain Showdown when Alabama transfer Dee Hart dragged multiple CU defenders into the end zone during the first quarter of CSU’s 31-17 handling of the Buffs. Hart and fellow back Treyous Jarrells became the first CSU duo to each rush for 100 yards in a game since 1996.

1. Bradlee Van Pelt never hid his disdain for CU. But the former Rams’ quarterback provided one of the lasting images of the rivalry when he escaped for a touchdown run and spiked the ball of CU defensive back Rod Sneed’s facemask as he ran into the end zone. Van Pelt’s helmet spike with 6:20 to play in the fourth quarter gave the Rams’ a 19-14 lead they would never relinquish in their upset of thenNo. 7 CU. Keegan Pope can be reached at kpope@collegian.com.

Dee Hart rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns in CSU’s 31-17 win over CU in the Showdown in 2014.

COLLEGIAN FILE PHOTO

collegian.com

The Rocky Mountain Collegian | Friday, September 18, 2015

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When the Rams are on defense...

Colorado State

Colorado

9- Martavius Foster, LDE, 6-4, 270, Senior

13- Sefo Liufau, LDE, 6-4, 240, Junior

68- Justin Hansen, DT, 6-5, 305, Senior

46- Christian Powell, RB, 6-0, 235, Senior

93- Terry Jackson, DT, 6-1, 295, Senior

18- George Frazier, FB, 6-2, 260, Sophomore

90- Joe Kawulok, RDE, 6-6, 250, Senior

22- Nelson Spruce, WR, 6-1, 205, Senior

15- Kiel Robinson, SLB, 6-2, 225, Sophomore

2- Devin Ross, WR, 5-9, 180, Sophomore

31- Cory James, MLB, 6-0, 245, Senior

5- Shay Fields, WR, 5-11, 175, Sophomore

33- Kevin Davis, WLB, 6-3, 240, Junior

77- Stephane Nembot, RT, 6-7, 320, Senior

5- Tyree Simmons, LCB, 5-11, 185, Junior

79- Johnathon Huckins, RG, 6-4, 315, Sophomore

16- Trent Matthews, SS, 6-3, 210, Senior

74- Alex Kelley, C, 6-2, 315, Junior

26- Kevin Pierre-Louis, FS, 6-1, 215, Senior

68- Gerrad Kough, LG, 6-4, 295, Sophomore

24- Preston Hodges, RCB, 5-11, 200, Junior

71- Sam Kronshage, LT, 6-6, 285, Sophomore

When the Rams are on offense...

Colorado State

Colorado

7- Nick Stevens, QB, 6-3, 205, Sophomore

95- Derek McCartney, LDE, 6-3, 240, Sophomore

1- Dalyn Dawkins, RB, 5-9, 175, Sophomore

57- Justin Solis, DT, 6-2, 325, Senior

82- Rashard Higgins, WR, 6-2, 190, Junior

92- Jordan Carrell, DT, 6-3, 280, Junior

25- Joe Hansley, WR, 5-10, 180, Senior

52- Leo Jackson III, RDE, 6-3, 280, Sophomore

2- Deionte Gaines, WR, 5-8, 180, Sophomore

31- Kenneth Olugbode, SLB, 6-1, 220, Junior

86- Kivon Cartwright, TE, 6-4, 245, Senior

44- Addison Gillam, MLB, 6-3, 225, Junior

71- Sam Carlson, RT, 6-4, 295, Senior

16- Jaleel Awini, WLB, 6-2, 220, Junior

54- Fred Zerblis, RG, 6-3, 295, Junior

4- Chidobe Awuzie, LCB, 6-0, 195, Junior

72- Kevin O’Brien, C, 6-3, 295, Senior

9- Tedric Thompson, SS, 6-0, 205, Junior

77- Jake Bennett, LG, 6-3, 295, Sophomore

25- Ryan Moeller, FS, 6-1, 210, Sophomore

61- Zack Golditch, LT, 6-6, 290, Sophomore

2- Kenneth Crawley, RCB, 6-1, 180, Senior KEEGAN POPE COLLEGIAN

Survive and advance

8 Friday, September 18, 2015 | The Rocky Mountain Collegian

The Rocky Mountain Collegian | Friday, September 18, 2015

9

SteveO Michel looks to make a better life after surviving the slums of Orlando

By Keegan Pope @KeeganPope

SteveO Michel shouldn’t be here.

Not as a graduate student.

Not at Colorado State.

Probably not even out of the city of Orlando.

Maybe not even alive.

Where SteveO comes from, most don’t make it out.

The city of Orlando, Florida, has a crime rate index of 2 – out of 100. SteveO’s hometown is considered safer than 2 percent of cities across the United States.

The violent crime rate in Orlando is triple the national average, and the chances of being a victim of violent crime in Orlando are 1 in 109. The city is defined by statistics, and SteveO Michel could very well have been one of them.

Born into the streets SteveO, who was born Steven Anthony Michel, is one of Elucia Michel’s eight kids, all born of Haitian descent. The nine of them grew up in a two-bedroom apartment in Orlando, with the kids bunking together. He doesn’t remember much about his father, who committed suicide when SteveO was just four years old.

“It was tough growing up without a father figure because he wasn’t there the first time I was riding a bike, or my first time at a football game,” Michel said. “I’ll never be able to experience that again in my life. Never again. My father passed away because of suicide and when I was younger I felt like it was selfish. I knew I would never be able to see him again and it hurt me growing up. I’d see other people playing with their fathers and I was like, ‘Man, I’ll never be able to experience that.’ As I got older, I realized that I didn’t know what he was going through at that time, so I can’t hold that against him. But did it hurt me? It sure did.”

Without a father figure to look up to, SteveO, along with his three brothers and four sisters, relied on Elucia to play both the role of mother and father as they grew up. Throughout his childhood, SteveO stayed with a number of relatives and close family friends who offered him a place to stay to take some of the burden off of his mom. He quickly got in with the wrong crowd and began spending much of his time in the streets of his neighborhood instead of the halls of his school.

Without anyone to check in on his schoolwork, SteveO’s grades continued to plummet. He finished his freshman year with a 1.8 GPA, and was on his way to finding himself where so many others from his neighborhood ended up.

For kids in the Michel family, education was somewhat of an afterthought, and the expectation was simply to make it through high school. College wasn’t even in the picture.

That changed for SteveO during his sophomore year of high school, when a

math teacher approached him during the alternative school hours which SteveO had been assigned to because of his troublesome behavior. Without truly knowing it, Kathryn Kuehn, the math teacher who pulled SteveO aside, changed his life.

“I’m coming from a situation where I’ve got a parent who doesn’t know anything about college, didn’t go to high school and everything kind of got rocky for her in middle school. She doesn’t know how to read and write, she doesn’t know English so school was pretty tough for us. We did it because we had to, and I struggled in school growing up, I’m not going to sit here and lie about. I struggled for the simple fact that my mom couldn’t teach me the things that they tell you to go home and work on. I couldn’t go to my mom and ask her, ‘Hey, how do you this math problem?” I couldn’t do that so I struggled with reading a lot.”’ “…I got in trouble on day in school and I was in the alternative bell schedule, where I’d kind of come to school after school was over for everyone else,” Michel continued. “It was my birthday, and she (Kathryn) came up to me and said, ‘I see something in you and if you want me to help you grow and get better, I’m willing to do it.’ She doesn’t have any kids, and she kind of took me under her wing and I kind of just jumped at it. I remember later on that week, the lights were off at my house and I was just crying. My sister came in and asked me what’s wrong, and I was just like I’m tired of living like this.

I realized that I was part of the problem too, because I was up to no good, doing stuff I didn’t have no business doing. So when I realized I had a chance to chance my family background and do something they’d never done before, I took it by the horns and rolled with it.”

With Kathryn’s help, SteveO began to turn things around in the classroom, quickly realizing that he had a future with football. The only way to pursue that was to make sure his grades were intact, and he graduated high school with 3.3 GPA. During his junior and senior seasons, SteveO helped lead the Jones High School Tigers to a 15-8 record and a berth in the regional semifinals of the Florida Class 2A state playoffs. He garnered all-metro recognition and was named to the Orlando Sun-Sentinel’s Super 60 list. When it came to football recruiting though, Stevens attracted solely local schools, amassing offers from Florida Atlantic, Georgia Southern and Savannah State.

But then-CSU head coach Steve Fairchild saw something in Michel, offering him a scholarship on his official visit. Michel didn’t even have to wait to get home to tell the staff he was going to be a Ram. The fact that college football was even an option almost didn’t seem real to him, though.

“I didn’t know nothing about college,” Michel said. “That wasn’t something growing up that we even talked about. I tell my teammates to this day that I didn’t

know about college until my sophomore year of high school and they laugh at me. And I just tell them, “Man, my mom doesn’t even know how to speak English, so it’s not like she could tell me I needed to go to college. I just realized during my sophomore and junior year that I could really do something with this.”

A whole new world Even though he had seen Fort Collins when he visited, adjusting to life in a place he didn’t know, with people he didn’t know, proved to be an obstacle for Michel. Coming from a neighborhood and high school where nearly 95 percent of the population is African-American to one where the majority of people are primarily white was a major culture shock.

“It was tough, man,” Michel said. “After my freshman year I called my high school coach and told him I was coming home for good. I come from a big family, and I missed them. And then not seeing anybody who looked like me was also tough. I’m in a classroom, and it’s a whole lot of salt, with one little speck of pepper.

It was hard, because I wasn’t used to that.

But I realized in order to get to somewhere I want to go, I had to be uncomfortable.”

SteveO stayed at Colorado State and over the next three seasons he racked up 53 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. But likely his biggest contribution at CSU came on special teams, when he forced a fumble in the waning seconds of the 2013 Gildan New Mexico Bowl against Washington State. Michel injured his shoulder on the play, and he would require offseason surgery the following summer, but it gave CSU the ball back and led to a game-winning field goal by kicker Jared Roberts as time expired.

Michel said it was his favorite moment in his time at CSU on the field, but the real highlights of the last four-plus years in Fort Collins came on his graduation day, and the day his daughter, Peyton, was born. Peyton, who turned 2 in June, and her mother are back home in Florida, but SteveO is able to FaceTime and talk to her on the phone on a regular basis, despite his busy schedule and the two-hour time difference. SteveO’s favorite part of her fatherhood is just having that relationship with Peyton after he wasn’t able to have it with his own dad.

“There’s two things I’m most proud of in my life: graduating college and having my daughter,” Michel said as he smiled.

“Fatherhood is something I was never able to experience with my dad. So for me to be able to give that to her is the best thing in the world. There’s nothing I care about more than being a father to her. It’s the best thing in the world knowing that she looks up to me. Every move I make, she’s right there. Even being able to hear the word, “Dada” is special. I’ve never been able to say “Dad” to someone growing up. Her saying that just makes me feel good, and I can just imagine the joy my

dad had being a father to me.”

His teammates have taken notice of his maturity in raising his daughter, too.

“SteveO might as well have had a daughter for 10 years because he’s always been the same guy,” senior safety and fellow Haitian Kevin Pierre-Louis said.

“He’s a very mature guy for his age, you would think SteveO is like 45 years old with how mature he is, taking care of business and raising a daughter just makes him more mature.”

The best days of my life Despite needing help in the classroom after coming to CSU because of the difficulty of his classes, along with raising a daughter from 3,000 miles away, Michel again found mentors to help him along the way, and he graduated this past May with a degree in social work, as the first person in the Michel family to complete college.

One of those who took an interest was Dr. Malcolm Scott, the main advisor in the social work department for studentathletes. Scott, who has written a number of books and published scholarly articles about the challenges facing AfricanAmericans in the American educational system, took an interest in Michel when he walked into his office out of the blue for an advising appointment. When he first met SteveO, Scott was simply excited to have a football player in the social work program. He soon realized that academically, SteveO had a ways to go to reach his goals of graduating. But the two met multiple times a week during the school year to improve his work, but also to discuss the daily challenges he would face while trying to graduate.

“It’s nothing short of him being exceptional, and probably a bit of a miracle,” Scott said of SteveO’s development as a student. “There was a lot there, in terms of both obstacles, but also potential. Not even just the academic work he had to do, but just navigating this space and being an African-American male in this community. It’s just so challenging for people who have so many different things working against them to succeed. But he did.”

The day he graduated, SteveO said, made everything he’d been through during his childhood, adolescence and adulthood worth it when he walked across the stage.

“When I first grabbed my diploma and sat down, I was kind of like, ‘This is just like high school,’” Michel said. “But once I walked out to see my family, I saw my mom bawling, and I just broke down.

After I was done crying with my mom, so much pressure just came off my shoulders because a lot of people didn’t think I was going to be here. Some of my family members didn’t, and they had a reason to think I wasn’t going to be there because of all the stuff I was doing. But my mom was just proud, and my sisters were there, and my daughter was there to witness that moment. It was just something

I’ll never forget.”

With his final year of eligibility in full swing, Michel is focused on the task at hand: winning a Mountain West championship.

What lies beyond that is unknown to him.

The possibility of playing in the NFL has always been a dream, but he can sleep easy knowing that if football doesn’t pan out, he’ll have an education to fall back on. No matter what it took to get here, through all the trials and tribulations, SteveO Michel says he would do it all again.

PHOTO BY ABBIE PARR COLLEGIAN

“I told my mom and my sisters that everything I’ve been through in my life, I would do all over again because it was worth it,” Michel said.

“There were times where I didn’t see light at the end of the tunnel. But as long as you keep fighting and keep pushing, once you see that light, it just all becomes worth it. I want people to understand that if I can do it, they can do it.”

Keegan Pope can be reached at kpope@collegian.com.

Friday, September 11, 2015 Volume 124, No. 23 • collegian.com

photo by Austin simpson COLLEGIAN

Collectible Poster 3 of 8 Rocky Mountain Showdown

| 3 | Treyous Jarrells | RB | Senior |

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CSU’s in-state seniors know meaning of Rocky Mountain Showdown

By Sam Lounsberry @samlounz

With the news of the CUCSU football rivalry likely coming to an end after 2020, due to the decision of the Buffs’ athletic department, fans might have been given an impression that the Rocky Mountain Showdown isn’t a huge game.

That would be the wrong impression, according to the Rams, at least.

“They think they’re the big brother, so to speak, so it’s a rivalry,” said Kivon Cartwright, a CSU tight-end out of Pueblo South High School.

CSU players, especially ones such as Cartwright who are from Colorado, understand the meaning behind this game, and know that nothing has changed in CSU’s attitude toward its southern neighbor. This year’s Rocky Mountain Showdown will be fueled by the same sense of rivalry the CSU-CU series has held since it began in 1893.

“Being an in-state kid, it is a rivalry. It’s a special game,” Cartwright added.

Once they hit the field Saturday, the Rams will be anything but friendly.

“On the field, when the ball snaps, I have a healthy dislike

for anyone I’m up against,” Cartwright said. “(CU) is just another team, we’re preparing the same, but when the ball snaps, it’s definitely a dislike.”

Senior offensive lineman and Fort Collins product Sam Carlson echoed Cartwright’s sentiment, saying that he wants to beat the Buffs “so, so bad.”

“That’s why we’re putting in all these hours, and watching a lot of film and preparing,” Carlson said. “That’s the biggest thing you can do is be prepared and go in and play with a lot of effort.”

One of Carlson’s most cherished memories on a football field was last season’s Rocky Mountain Showdown. In his first start as a junior, Carlson proudly recalls the goal line stand CSU’s defense made in the second quarter with CU up 7-0 to turn the game around in favor of the Rams. They went on to run for 266 yards on the ground behind Carlson and the rest of the offensive line en route to a 31-17 victory.

“We were able to feed off that and go down and score and keep scoring,” Carlson said. “The momentum shifted and that was one of the coolest experiences.

Especially being at Sports Authority Field; that’s one of the

coolest things you can ever experience.”

Though head coach Mike Bobo is in his first year and is from nowhere near Colorado, he still understands what a rivalry like CU-CSU means to players and fans, and how meaningful it is to be on the winning side of it. As offensive coordinator of Georgia before arriving at CSU, Bobo participated yearly in one of the most heralded rivalries in all of college sports: Georgia vs. Florida football.

From 1990 to 2010, Florida dominated the rivalry, besting the Bulldogs in 18 of 21 meetings. But UG turned it around in the last few years, winning three straight from 2011 to 2013. With CSU coming up with wins in two of its last three Rocky Mountain Showdowns, Bobo has the chance to lead CSU to a new era of dominating these next, and potentially the final five years of the rivalry.

“It’s kind of a new deal for him, obviously he hasn’t been around here, but he’s realized how important the CU-CSU game is to people associated with CSU,” Carlson said. “It’s a game we love to win and it gives us a lot of bragging rights for the year. ...

CSU senior tight end Kivon Cartwright hauls in a pass during last year’s Showdown. PHOTO BY AUSTIN SIMPSON COLLEGIAN

He wants to win, and he can tell it means a lot to us as well.”

For the Rams, and especially their in-state seniors who have watched CU vs. CSU for years, the Rocky Mountain Showdown is something they can’t help but look forward to just a little more than others.

“I really want to go out my

last year with a bang,” said Cartwright, whose career would have ended after last year if not for being granted a medical redshirt this offseason. “I did think last year was the last one, and that was a bang, so I just want to keep it going.”

Sam Lounsberry can be reached at sports@collegian.com.

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Colorado State cornerback Tyree Simmons breaks up a pass against Minnesota. PHOTO BY ABBIE PARR

Revamped defense ready to lead Colorado State team against CU

By Geoff Huebner @HuebnerMedia93

Colorado State’s offense left a lot of questions after Saturday’s loss against Minnesota, but the defense certainly passed their test. Similar to the UM match up, the Buffs bring an offense capable of doing damage, but that does not deter the confidence of the Rams.

“They’re similar to the past two offenses we just faced; they like to use a lot of routes, a lot of route concepts, spacing routes and that’s going to get your eyes moving in different directions,” senior safety Kevin Pierre-Louis said. “I’m used to their offense, I’ve played them for like three years now so I know exactly what to look for.”

CU’s offense, lead by junior quarterback Sefo Liufau, is averaging 34 points per game, and can do damage in the air and on the ground.

The Buffs have 324 passing yards and over 600 rushing yards in two games this season.

Rams head coach Mike Bobo knows his team may very well have to lean on it’s defense once again.

“I’ve been preaching since I got here to those defensive guys that we’re young ... and the majority of our seniors are on defense, we need

them to lead, we need them to set the example, and if we want to get where we want to go they have to play well,” Bobo said.

Through two games this season, the Rams defense has allowed an average of 18 points a game.

“I was very pleased with the defense,” Bobo said of his team's effort against Minnesota. “The effort, the physicality, we were a lot more disciplined defensively in our communication and getting lined up, playing proper technique … playing fast, playing physical, playing with heart, and it was a good thing to see.”

As Bobo mentioned, a lot of the members on defense are veteran players on the team, and by now the Rocky Mountain Showdown means even more to those players. Winning the third Showdown in the past four years would be a great feather in the cap of CSU seniors.

“I want to give the fans something great, they deserve bragging rights in this state,” Pierre-Louis said. “It means a lot to me to go to CSU and to know that we have been referred to as the little brother for a long time and that we have a chance to put an end to it so it means a lot.”

A win Saturday would also give the Rams a win over a Power 5 team

for the fourth consecutive season, which would be the second longest streak of the nation amongst non-Power 5 schools. For Pierre-Louis, the winning formula is a familiar one.

“We need to play just like we’ve been playing,” Pierre-Louis said. “Playing aggressive, physical and fast, if we do that we will be successful.”

Pierre-Louis is a Del Rio, Texas native, but still feels the extra passion and energy going into rivalry week. As for Bobo, a man plenty familiar with rivalry games in the SEC, he too seems to have picked up on the importance of the game.

“Our fan base is passionate about it and I’m sure there is too,” Bobo said. “It should be a good, great game, you’ve got two teams that are 1-1 and are fighting and clawing, I expect a hard fought game between the two teams.”

Geoff Huebner can be reached at sports@ collegian.com.

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The Show(down) must SPORTS go on Stay classy this weekend, Ram fans Friday, September 18, 2015 • Page 13

Sam Lounsberry @samlounz

If the Rocky Mountain Showdown disappears for good after 2020, the Buffs' athletic department will have made a mistake.

CU athletic director Rick George's decision to not renew the contract between two schools whose rivalry began in 1893 would make the Buffs look like the weaker between the two, and would damage the image of its struggling football program even further.

CU had no problem playing CSU until the Buffs got beat in two out of the last three years.

Though they have traditionally thought of themselves as the "big brother" of the two universities, the Buffs' football team has lagged behind the Rams' as of late.

After firing two head coaches – Dan Hawkins and Jon Embree – who together amassed a 17-43 record over five years, CU's athletic department faced a $7.5 million dollar shortfall in 2013, which was largely due to the more than $5 million it paid in severance fees to Hawkins and Embree, according to a Daily Camera article.

Meanwhile, CSU is still enjoying the $5 million it received when Florida hired away Jim McElwain last year and was forced to pay a record-buyout.

Considering all that, CU's perspective on a game with CSU that's failed to sell out Sports Authority Field in recent years (last year was the first time more than 60,000 were at Mile High for the Showdown since 2010, according to the Coloradoan) might make sense from a business standpoint.

But why not move the Showdown back to the schools' respective campuses? Take turns alternating as hosts, and the gate revenue from a capacity-crowd goes to the home team.

Discontinuing the series might make sense from a football perspective for CU, too, if it really believes there is no gain to be had in a bout with the Rams.

This viewpoint makes a little bit of sense seeing that CU really should be handling the Rams by virtue of its Power-5 Conference status as part of the Pac-12.

Many are of the mindset that if the Buffs win, it looks like no big deal because they were supposed to, and if they lose, it's an upset. But no matter the conference, it still feels like a big deal

to both teams when either one wins this game.

Football programs are built by signing the best possible recruits coming out of high school.

The teams that recruit the best tend to be the best. Achieving the status of the superior football program in the state has to help with recruiting, especially when it comes to in-state prospects.

"That's another thing you can sell recruits is that we beat that school," CSU senior offensive lineman Sam Carlson said Tuesday.

Currently, there are 31 players from Colorado on CU's roster and more than 50 on CSU's.

It has to be important to both programs to be able to out-recruit the other.

The Rocky Mountain Showdown provides hard evidence in revealing which program is better. By not renewing a Showdown contract, CU strips itself of the chance to prove its dominance in the state.

CU would be hoping it can recruit in-state players who care more about playing in a conference, such as the Pac-12, more than actually winning games if it decides to discontinue its oldest football rivalry.

I have a hard time imagining there are tons of talented prospects out there who want to play for a program in shambles rather than one that competes in its conference, beats its instate rival in recent years and reaches bowl games.

If the Buffs do get their program turned around to the point of finally being competitive in their conference, then I could see how they would have an advantage recruiting over CSU, even without proving they can beat the Rams because of their Pac-12 membership.

But the Buffs could use the Rocky Mountain Showdown as a tool in recruiting the way Carlson mentioned, which could potentially accelerate their rebuilding process if they could win it.

Plus, I don't see any school out there the Buffs would have more fun playing – and their fans more fun watching – than their oldest rivals, the Rams. If for nothing else, they should renew it for the students and fans.

The Rocky Mountain Showdown isn't the reason CU's program has been hampered lately.

Its the team's abysmal record in the Pac-12 holds it back.

Let the the Rocky Mountain Showdown go on.

Sam Lounsberry can be reached at sports@collegian.com

Haleigh McGill @HaleighMcGill

As the iconic event of the fall semester, the Rocky Mountain Showdown, draws closer upon us, the issues of sportsmanship and respect at the game need to be addressed and discussed.

I personally love the Showdown. It’s always exciting, heated and fun, and students leave the stadium with great memories and stories when the game is over. Unless, of course, your experience was affected or even ruined by displays of poor sportsmanship that resulted in violent altercations, intensely mean arguments and tasteless comments and criticisms.

Neither side is innocent here – CU and CSU students have been both the antagonists and the victims in this unfortunate part of the rivalry.

Alcohol and adrenaline are a great mix for engaging in spectator violence at the game, which has quite a few consequences such as injury and police involvement. I want to point out that the issue of violence isn’t limited to male involvement – I’ve seen a few fights both started and ended by females, and those fights aren’t pretty. I’m also not confining spectator violence to simply fist fights – tearing up an opponent’s sign for their team and other personal property destruction, throwing drinks or food at other game-goers, verbal misconduct and offensive gestures are all included.

I think that there is a fine line between engaging in the rivalry in a positive way and acting like a total jerk, and alcohol consumption at the Showdown makes it more difficult to walk that line.

I’m certainly not suggesting that students shouldn’t drink and tailgate and have the best time of their lives, but heavy consumption of alcohol increases the chances of a good-spirited rivalry quickly getting lost in an angry feud where the bottom line becomes “my school is better than your school, so f#ck you.” By all means, drink and be merry if you are of age, but don’t get careless and don’t be that person who takes it too far.

The chants that are carried on by both student sections are a pretty big part of the Showdown experience. I will say that I like them, as it brings your student

section together in cheering for your team, and it gets you pumped up and feeling pretty stoked. Whether the chants are innocent, such as the tried and true, “I’m proud to be a CSU Ram,” or they use a few choice words against the opposing team, the thing about them is that they are over when the students stop chanting. They are fleeting moments of the game and I personally believe, despite the occasional not-so-clean language, they are all in good fun.

However, the apparel that students choose to wear to the game is much less temporary and forgettable than a silly chant, as it’s visible and present throughout the entirety of the event.

I have seen shirts, both in the past and for the upcoming game, that say things like, “F#CK (CU/ CSU)” and “(CU/CSU) SUCKS.” No offense, but are you asking for a throwdown at the Showdown?

My point is that you are making yourself a target for potential violence and uncalled for, offensive language tailored

just for you, and you are helping the negative side of the rivalry to grow even bigger. Bashing on the other team doesn’t make ours any better, and consider how you will look while wearing that shirt if your team loses.

I get it. We get excited, we get passionate, we get angry, we’re proud and rambunctious and we’re just kids in college having a good time – but those aren’t reasons for the Showdown to get ugly. Show some respect for tradition, for the opponent, for your school, for each other and ultimately for yourself.

Are you going to stay true to your green and gold or gold and black, or are you going to let the rivalry turn you to an ugly shade of brown? (Maybe even a dash of red, as there could be blood.)

Either way, this is an event that brings out your true colors, and I hope you can stand tall and proud with the former instead of taking the low road with the latter.

Haleigh McGill can be reached at letters@collegian.com.

14 Friday, September 18, 2015 | The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Collegian Football Staff Showdown Picks Keegan Pope Football Reporter

Score: 28-17 Rams Prediction: It doesn’t get any bigger than this for college football in Colorado. Though CSU struggled against Minnesota and CU dominated UMass, you have to look at the discrepancy in the level of competition. CU ran for 390 yards against the Minutemen’s abysmal defense, but don’t expect to see that against CSU. The Rams are big, physical and nasty on defense, and they’ll be able to limit CU’s big plays. The Buffs’ secondary is always a question mark, and either Nick Stevens or Coleman Key should be able to have a good day throwing the ball to their weapons. For the first time since 2002, CSU will win three games in four years against its “big brother.”

Score: 27-21 Rams

Emmett McCarthy Sports Editor

Sam Lounsberry Assistant Sports Editor

Prediction: Sure, CSU might have looked offensively challenged at times against Minnesota, but that was one of the best secondaries in college football. I am going out on a limb and saying that the Rams are just a tad bit better than the Hawai'i freakin’ Rainbow Warriors, who Pac-12 punching bag Colorado fell to in week one. This should still be a close game though as the rivalry can bring out the best in both teams. And you never know what could happen with a first-year head coach and an uncertain quarterback situation. That said, it is CSU’s game to lose, no matter what the oddsmakers say.

Score: 35-21 Rams Prediction: After playing, and at times succeeding, against a high caliber secondary in Minnesota, Nick Stevens and Coleman Key will be able to air it out against CU, especially if Rashard Higgins is healthy enough to see some snaps this week. I think the Rams' offense come together this week, and make some big plays for extra touchdowns.

Forcing overtime at the last second against a solid Big-10 team should assure CSU that it can play with anyone, and that Mike Bobo's vision leads to success when properly executed.

Score: 28-14 Rams

Travis Green

CTV Sports Anchor

Geoff Huebner Football Reporter

Prediction: Yes, CSU is coming off of a heartbreaking overtime loss to Minnesota. But what did we learn? The Rams defense is good, so good that they held one of the more overpowering offensive lines in college football to 6 of 19 on third-down attempts. Last week CU ran all over a UMass team that won a whopping three games last season in the Mid-American Conference. The Buffs won’t come anywhere near 400 yards on the ground against Tyson Summers’ tenacious defense. While this is a rivalry game, and anything can happen in rivalry matchups, the Rams should pick up the win and claim Colorado for the second-consecutive year.

Score: 24-16 Rams Prediction: CU isn’t Minnesota, it’s just that simple. Colorado had a cupcake game against UMass last week and if it thinks this week is going to be the same result, you can forget it. Minnesota had massive players all over the field, and CSU was able to match them blowfor-blow until the very end. CU doesn’t match up well with CSU. The defensive line will be all over the field to stop Colorado’s run game on Saturday, you watch. Also look for Martavius Foster and Joe Kawulok to make some big plays in pass rushing situations. It looks like Nick Stevens will get the nod to start again at quarterback, so I’ll look for him to rebound from last week, and show that he is capable of leading this team.

collegian.com

Daily Horoscope Nancy Black

TODAY’S BIRTHDAY

(09/18/15). This is your power year. Take charge for positive change. Start at home, and strengthen your base. Make shared financial decisions after 9/27.

To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) — 6

— Call ahead to avoid running all over town. The next two days are good for travel and studies.

New opportunities present themselves. Choose the low frills option.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) — 7 — Put away provisions for the future. Figure out the money today and tomorrow. Update the budget to take current family circumstances into account.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) — 8 — Listen to your partner as a mystery. Collaborate today and tomorrow to go further. Do the homework. Take care of family.

Discipline is required. Set a new course.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) — 6 — A new project demands attention for the next few days.

Practical efforts bear fruit. False hopes shatter. Get grounded in reality. You’re creative and efficient.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) — 6 — Have fun today and tomorrow.

Play with family and friends.

You’re especially charming, and gaining points with someone.

Create romance.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — 6 — The next two days favor

domestic projects. Work from home, and tackle two birds with one stone. Attention now saves trouble later. Make repairs.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — 8 — You’re especially creative and clever today and tomorrow.

Write, perform and express your message. Have fun with it. Resist the temptation for gloating or sensationalism.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — 8 — Apply muscle to the problem.

Hold onto what you have, as you slowly take new ground. Bring in the money today and tomorrow.

Be a calming influence. Curtail flamboyance.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — 6 — You’re strong and especially creative for the next few days. You’re empowered to pursue a personal dream. This requires adaptation. Your professional path looks optimistic.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — 5 — Meditate on an interesting idea. Rest and recuperate today and tomorrow. All is not as it appears. Consider options carefully, and wait to decide.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — 6 — Keep your head when others are losing it. Consider the consequences. Graciousness with authority serves you well. Keep your objective in mind.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) — 7 — Good planning expands your territory. Keep a professional project on target today and tomorrow. Remind people of their agreements. Completion leads to new status. Pretty up the presentation, and limit socializing until done. Crazy dreams seem possible.

collegian.com

The Rocky Mountain Collegian | Friday, September 18, 2015

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Across 1 *Dejected 5 *Sledding spot 10 *Waterloo 14 Enclosed in 15 Electrical component 16 Seaman’s direction 17 9-Down sensors 18 Midwestern tribe 19 Show appreciation, in a way 20 “You shall hear more __ morning”: “Measure for Measure” 21 Shows a preference 22 Amethyst source 23 Prognosticate 25 Struggling engine sound 27 Me.-to-Fla. highway 28 Freudian subject 30 ‘60s radical gp.

31 *Data transfer 32 Crockett’s Waterloo 34 Annoyed moviegoer’s shout ... or what’s needed to make sense of the answers to starred clues 39 Onetime Silly String maker 40 *Faster way to fly 43 Seafarer 46 Bygone dentifrice

48 “Twelfth Night” servant 49 Deserve credit, perhaps 51 “Yes” 53 Ancient Iranians 54 Thing on a bob 55 “__ guy walks into ... “ 56 Actress Russell 57 Dinnertime attraction 59 __ stick: incense 60 Rare blood type, briefly 61 Memento 62 Fifi’s BFF 63 *1964 Grammy-winning rock ‘n’ roll song 64 *Decrease 65 *Musical starting point Down 1 “Watch out!”

2 Spanish sherry 3 Rush hour timesaver, hopefully 4 QB’s stats 5 Feel one’s way 6 Took it easy 7 “Fate is so cruel!”

8 Peer of Trygve and Kofi 9 Looker?

10 Aspect

RAMMIES LUKE MEACHAM

BREWSTER ROCKIT TIM RICKARD

11 Metes out 12 Bygone pump word 13 Middle Ages colony residents 21 Sugar suffix 22 Marx of lesser repute 24 Provide, as with talent 25 Lifestyle magazine 26 Host noted for a 1960 on-air resignation 29 Was loquacious 33 Classic military text by Carl von Clausewitz 35 Legislative VIPs 36 Touristy viticultural valley 37 Indecisive comment 38 Hardly fascinating 41 Capital of Cyprus 42 Statistical matrix, e.g.

43 Cruise partnership nickname 44 L’Oréal competitor 45 Altered, as a map 47 Mental wherewithal 48 GI grub 50 Wield power 52 Endangered Sumatran 54 Mythical troublemaker 57 Compact Cadillac sedan 58 Dustup 59 Hook relative Yesterday’s solution

SUDOKU Yesterday’s solution

15