Air Force May Snag Spot as Colorado’s Sole Post-Season Bowl Team
Trevor Phipps
For college football fans in Colorado, this weekend will become a sad occasion.
This Saturday marks the last day for regular-season college football games, pending any bowl announcements. And these don’t look real promising.
For most Saturday pigskin nuts, that means watching your favorite Colorado-based team any more in 2023 is not going to happen. This reality will hold true for CSU Rams and CU Buffaloes fans, as neither team quite had what it took to be bowl-worthy this year.
Air Force will get another chance at a bowl game this season, but it may not be as big of a game as they once would have qualified for, when they were once rated as one of the top 20 teams in the nation. After two sudden losses to teams the Falcons should have beat, Air Force’s secured first place standing in the Mountain West has been stripped away.
Therefore, those Colorado college football fans who are looking towards a holiday season packed with bowl games better pick an out-of-state team to cheer on.
Air Force Looks to Rebound This Saturday
Just when many thought that Air Force could have their first undefeated season in over two decades, something happened to their offensive ground game, and one-time stellar defense. During two matches where they were favored to win by two scores, the Falcons failed miserably.
Many fans were shocked when Air Force dropped their big game against Army played at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver. And then the next week, they lost to a rather poor-looking Hawaii team.
Boise State has been hit or miss this year as they were sitting at a .500 record after 10 games played. However, at the time this article was written, the Broncos had a 4-2 conference record and were close to stripping the number one spot away from Air Force in the Mountain West Division.
The Broncos are a tough team and especially with the way Air Force has played lately, I think they will win.
Prediction: Broncos 34, Falcons 28
Colorado Ends Season Against the Tough Utah Utes
Let’s face it, luck has just not been on the side of Coach Prime and his Buffaloes lately. The team lost four games in a row, plus Prime and his two sons have all been given parking citations by the Colorado University Police in Boulder.
But as everyone keeps saying, they have improved substantially from last season. Their improvements hopefully will carry on to the future making them a dangerous team next year and beyond.
And I think that it is safe to say that the Buffs’ slump will continue this week. On Saturday, the Buffs head west to challenge the Utah Utes.
At press time, the Utes were ranked number 16 in the country, and they are hungry to stay victorious. And being a home game, I don’t think Coach Prime and his boys stand a chance.
Prediction: Utes 37, Buffaloes 24
Colorado State Finishes Season Playing for Pride
The CSU Rams ended up producing about as much as fans expected after a bowl game became impossible. But, the team has already won more games than they did last season which proves some level of improvement.
The Rams had some big wins including an outstanding game ending Hail Mary finish against Boise State (whom they had never beat) that was the talk of the country after it happened. Fans were also pleasantly shocked when the team almost beat the Buffs during the famous Rocky Mountain Showdown.
Even when the Rams have lost lately, the score has been close. But at this point in the season, the team is just basically looking to upset their opponents and ruin their enemies’ bowl game chances.
The Rams end their season this week traveling to the islands of Hawaii. The Rams take on the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors this Saturday starting at 9 p.m.
Hawaii had a big claim to fame when they upset the Falcons, but I think they got really lucky. Let’s face it, Hawaii this year has just not looked great.
I think the Rams will bring much needed momentum to the game and be able to overpower the Rainbow Warriors.
Prediction: Rams 38, Rainbow Warriors 17
Colorado School of Mines Football Team Proves to be State’s Best
After finishing their season 11-0 the Colorado School of Mines Orediggers proved to be the state’s best pigskin group even though it is only a division II team. With their latest 82-0 victory over Fort Lewis, the Orediggers secured their fifth consecutive Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) football championship.
With their number one rank, the Orediggers took last weekend off, but they will play in the second round of the NCAA Division II football championship. This Saturday, the team will take on whoever won the battle between Augustana (SD) and Minnesota State.
Their quarterback John Matocha led the team to two undefeated seasons in a row. Even though he is playing Division II ball, he could become a potential NFL prospect due to his success.
