Falcons May Become Colorado’s Sole Football Team to See Bowl ActionTrevor Phipps
Update: Falcons lose to UNLV 31-27
As the college football season winds to an end, the excitement seems to continue.
Unfortunately, during week 10 of college football action, all of the state’s teams lost, changing the possible outlook for bowl games. And this news doesn’t bode well for Colorado pigskin squads.
Air Force is still hanging in tough after suffering their first big loss of the season, and they will still be seeing some sort of a bowl game. Colorado still has a chance to pick up a bowl game, but they need to basically win out the rest of the season.
With the latest loss by the Rams, they are pretty much eliminated from any post-game action. But even though a favorite team could already be eliminated, there are still some college pigskin matches coming up that could be worth watching.
Air Force Remains Strong After Tough First Loss
Falcons’ fans everywhere have been ecstatic this season, watching their team come out and win every week to start the season, and by some hefty margins. In fact, the Falcons put forth their best season start since 1985 when they went 10-0 before losing their first game.
Even though the team is still 8-1, their latest loss against Army could prevent them from going to one of the country’s major bowl games. Air Force will still see some postseason action, but it won’t be as big of a bowl game as they would have played, if they could have kept their undefeated streak alive.
The Falcons were in line to compete in the famous Fiesta Bowl, which takes place on New Year’s Day in Phoenix, Arizona. But once they dropped to 8-1, they moved down considerable in the ranks (at one point they were in the top 20) most likely making the Fiesta Bowl become a match between the Louisville Cardinals and Liberty Flames.
At this point in the season (keep in mind things can still change), the Falcons will be traveling to Los Angeles during the first weekend of bowl games on Dec. 16. If the season ended right now, Air Force would be playing in the LA Bowl against UCLA.
This week the Falcons have another tough match that’s outcome could change the bowl game picture. For their last home game, the Falcons challenge the 7-2 UNLV Rebels.
And actually, the winner of that match could decide who wins the Mountain West Division. I hate to say this, but the Falcons seemed to have been losing momentum lately, and UNLV has been staying strong.
The Falcons probably are going to need to do more than strictly rely on their running game to win this one. The Rebels, on the other hand, have been looking superb all season, and they will be looking for a victory this week to advance them in the rankings.
Game Prediction: Rebels 38, Falcons 34
Colorado Buffs Have a Slim Chance to See a Bowl Game
The Buffs had an amazing start to the season, but then when they played tough teams in the middle of the year, they lost three in a row dwindling their bowl game chances. But really the team only needs a total of six wins and have a .500 record to make them bowl-eligible, so it is still possible.
Despite critics claiming that the Buffs need work on play calling, to make their team, Coach Prime (Deion Sanders) said that they will be staying the course. In fact, Prime has actually put some blame on his offensive line for not protecting his youngest son Shadeur Sanders very well during the last few matches.
Wherever the blame needs to be placed, the truth of the matter is that the team needs to win the rest of their games to have a shot at post season. Whether that happens or not, Coach Prime can (and has been) still claim an overall season rebound victory, as he drastically turned the 1-11 Buffs team around and made them respectful for a change.
This week, the Buffs have a chance to pick up a “W” since they play a team that is not ranked. On Friday night, the Buffs hit the road to take on the 4-5 Washington State Cougars during another late night match that doesn’t start until 8:30 p.m.
Even Washington State is technically tied with the Buffs, I still think this is possibly Coach Prime’s best chance to pick up another win. I think he will continue to adapt and figure out a way to out run the Cougars.
Prediction: Buffaloes 41, Cougars 31
Colorado State Gets Eliminated from Bowl Game Possibilities
At around the halfway point in the season, it was looking like the CSU Rams still had a chance to make it to a bowl game if they kept winning. However, after losing three in a row the team basically eliminated themselves from any post season play.
But the good news is, the team has played better this season than most thought they would. The Rams played a lot of games well. In fact, they almost beat Coach Prime and the Buffs in the Rocky Mountain Showdown during a match earlier in the season that many predicted would be a blowout.
The Rams also almost beat UNLV and Wyoming who are all top Mountain West contenders. And expect the Rams to keep playing well and even winning for the rest of the season even though they won’t be going to a bowl game.
This Saturday the Rams take on the 2-7 Nevada Wolf Pack at home. Nevada is tied with the Rams in their division but I don’t think they will be able to keep up.
Prediction: Rams 27, Wolf Pack 18
