New Mexico Lobos @ Colorado State Rams Football Preview

Saturday’s game between the New Mexico Lobos and the Colorado State Rams certainly isn’t a feature attraction on the college football marquee, but it has a bizarre, train-wreck-style flavor, the kind of backstory which makes you want to look at a grisly event as it unfolds.

One way or the other, there’s going to be a cruel and bitter end to this contest at Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado. When this late-afternoon kickoff comes to a conclusion under the lights, one of these programs will be shrouded in darkness, bearing the brunt of a loss that will cut deep and leave no silver linings behind.

For New Mexico and embattled coach Mike Locksley, the stark reality is simple: “Los Lobos” have won exactly one game during Locksley’s tenure in Albuquerque. Through 19 games, UNM is 1-18. The Lobos are 0-2 against their almost-as-bad neighbors from New Mexico State. There’s very little this program can cling to right now as a source of encouragement.

Saturday, however, the Lobos might have found something. They played poorly – certainly from a technical standpoint, at any rate – but despite coughing up two turnovers and committing 10 penalties while converting just one third down, UNM lost to a decent San Diego State club by a modest 30-20 score. Aside from a 16-14 defeat suffered against the aforementioned New Mexico State Aggies, the 10-point loss to SDSU marked the smallest margin of defeat for the Lobos in 2010. The game truly represented New Mexico’s best and most resilient performance of the season. That’s a reflection of how poor the Lobos are as a team, but it also shows that a roster of players is getting sick and tired of losing. This team is fighting harder instead of giving up the ghost, and that’s a good sign for UNM amidst its on-field miseries.

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Now comes a contest against a Colorado State team that is 1-3 in the Mountain West and 2-6 overall. If New Mexico is going to win a game this year, a Nov. 6 home date against Wyoming offers the very best chance, but this game represents Locksley’s second-best opportunity to remove the bagel from the win column. New Mexico closes with Air Force, BYU and TCU, so the Lobos would be well-advised to do something against Colorado State. The effort level displayed against San Diego State needs to carry over to this contest against the Rams. If it doesn’t, UNM will be in a bad place when it tries to upend Wyoming the following week, and you’ll be able to smell the aroma of a bagel – hold the cream cheese – for Mr. Locksley’s lineup.

As for Colorado State, this game is significant because of one thing and one thing only: New Mexico’s only win under Locksley came last year against – yep, you guessed it – coach Steve Fairchild’s Rams. The Lobos dug out a 29-27 win on Nov. 21 of 2009, humiliating CSU on a day when the Rams – then 3-7 – had hoped to end a seven-game losing skid. Colorado State ended 2009 on a nine-game slide, as a 3-0 start turned into a 3-9 overall record. This year, the Rams want revenge. If they don’t get it, it’s going to be a very miserable November and an even more unbearable offseason for the Rams.

If New Mexico loses, its chances of going 0-12 will increase. If Colorado State loses, its players will find it hard to look in the mirror on Sunday morning. This is a desperate duel that is free of championship implications, but is also loaded with subplots that would excite an Anna Karenina fan.

Let the train-wrecky vibe flow in Fort Collins.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer