Football Weekly Release (11-9-98)

Briefly... Colorado State concludes the 1998 season Saturday with a 2 p.m. (CST)/1 p.m. (MST) game at SMU. It marks the first meeting ever of the two teams. The game will be played at the Cotton Bowl. Colorado State takes a 7-4/4-3 WAC record into the game, while SMU is 4-6/4-3. Colorado State fell behind 24-6 at home a week ago to rival Wyoming before storming back into the contest and threatening to rally for the win. Wyoming used a fourth-quarter field goal to seal the win, 27-19, before the fifth largest crowd in Rams' school and stadium history, 34,320 at Hughes Stadium in a game televised live nationally by ESPN2. Several inches of snow fell on the stadium Friday night.

Rams On T.V... Saturday's game will be shown live by KUSA-TV, Channel 9 (NBC) in Denver as part of a joint venture with Fox Sports-Rocky Mountain. Wayne Hagin, play-by-play voice of the Colorado Rockies Baseball Club, handles the play-by-play duties. Irv Brown is the color analyst and Todd Romero, sports anchor at Channel 9, is the sideline reporter.

Rams-Mustangs Series... Saturday's game is the first meeting ever between Colorado State and SMU.

Lone Star Trek... The Rams make their third appearance in the Lone Star state this week. Colorado State went on the road to defeat UTEP in El Paso, then lost two weeks ago at Rice. The Rams close their 1998 season against SMU at the Cotton Bowl.

Newell Wins Scholarship... Burger King Corp. last week named Colorado State OC Mike Newell a Division IA College Football Scholar Athlete of the Week. In honor of his athletic and academic achievements, Burger King has donated $10,000 to the school's general scholarship fund in Newell's name. Since the program's inception three years ago, Burger King has donated $3.3 million dollars in scholarships to 174 colleges and universities nationwide. The corporation has named one winner each week during the 1998 season. For of the weekly winners, one from each college football division, will be finalists for the 1998 Burger King Scholar Athlete of the Year, which carries with it a $25,000 scholarship for the school. The award honors the nation's top scholar-athlete, and BKC will set up a $100,000 scholarship endowment at the school of the winner. The winner will be announced during the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN, Dec. 10.

Franz Semi-Finalist For Groza Award... K Derek Franz of Colorado State is one of 20 semi-finalists for the Lou Groza Award as the nation's top kicker. The winner will be announced at the 1998 Lou Groza Collegiate Placekicker Banquet and Auction on Dec. 8 in West Palm Beach, Fla. Franz, a senior from Fort Collins, has hit 17-21 field goal attempts in 1998 and ranks second nationally with 1.88 made per game.

Successful Class... Colorado State's 17-member senior class has established a new school record for most victories by a class, 43, from 1998. Last year's senior class was a part of 41 victories.

Rams All-Time... Colorado State is 400-452-33 since the inception of intercollegiate competition at the school in 1893. Colorado State has an all-time record of 85-73-2 at Hughes Stadium since the facility opened in 1968.

Crowd Fifth Largest... Colorado State and Wyoming last week played before 34,320 fans at Hughes Stadium, the fifth largest crowd in school history. Eight of the 10 largest crowds ever have come during the past six seasons.

Hughes Stadium Attendance... Colorado State has now set a new single-season record for per-game average attendance. Last week's crowd of 34,320 pushed the season attendance to 125,169 for four home dates, a 31,292 per-game average, setting the new record. The former per-game record was 31,224 set in 1994 during a six-game home season. The top four season average attendance figures have taken place during Sonny Lubick's tenure.

At Home... The Rams are 22-9 at home during Sonny Lubick's five-year tenure including a 3-1 record in 1998.

On The Road... Colorado State has victories this season at Michigan State, Nevada, UTEP, and New Mexico State. The Rams are 24-11 in road games, 2-3 in neutral site games during Sonny Lubick's tenure. Earlier this season the Rams played in-state rival Colorado at Mile High Stadium in Denver, a neutral site, with Colorado State serving as the home team in the contest.

All-Time At Hughes Stadium... The 1998 season is the 31st year of competition at Hughes Stadium by the Rams. The facility opened in 1968. Since that time, the Rams are 87-73-2 (.545) at home and have drawn more than 3.3 million fans.

The Sack Pack... Junior Clark Haggans has now tied Mike Bell for second on the school's career quarterback sacks list with 25, including one during last week's game with Wyoming. Teammate Joey Porter remains tied for fourth on the list with 20 quarterback sacks. He is among the national leaders in total sacks.

Taylor, Kvamme Among Leaders... LB Willie Taylor is third on the school's career tackles list with a total of 399. Taylor, a senior from Missouri City, Tex., needs sixtackles to break former DB Ron Cortell's career record at Colorado State, 404, with one game remaining on the slate in 1998. Teammate Nate Kvamme has 368 and is fourth all-time.

Porter Second In Season Sacks... Senior DE Joey Porter has already notched 13 quarterback sacks in 1998, the second highest season total in school history, with one game remaining on the schedule. Porter, a senior in just his second full season playing defensive end, needs three sacks in the final game to break Brady Smith's all-time record. Teammate Clark Haggans has 10 on the season. which ties for the fifth best single-season figure ever.

Terry On Pick List... FS Myron Terry, a senior from Los Angeles, Calif., has four pass interceptions this season to lead the team, and 12 for his career, tying Jim King for the seventh position all-time at Colorado State.

Franz Second... K Derek Franz, a semifinalst for the Lou Groza Award as the nation's top kicker, has hit 17-22 (.772) field goals on the season, within reach of a new school record for field goal percentage. He is also just two field goals shy of tying Steve DeLine's single-season record, 19, set in 1986.

Franz Among NCAA Leaders... K Derek Franz enters play this week ranked ninth nationally in field goals per game, 1.89, in statistics released by the NCAA. He has had at least one field goal in every game but three this season.

Tandem Ties Record... Clark Haggans and Joey Porter have formed one of the most formidable defensive tandems in school history. Currently, they have combined for 44 quarterback sacks in their respective careers, tying the record for most sacks by two players in school history.

Cesario Named Finalist... Colorado State's all-star OG Anthony Cesario picked up another honor as the season passed its midway point. Cesario is one of 12 finalists for the 1998 Rotary Lombardi Award, presented annually to the nation's top college lineman. The award will be presented on Tuesday, Dec. 8, in Houston at the 29th Annual Rotary Lombardi Award. Four finalists for the award will be announced on Nov. 7.

Rams' Success... Over the past five-plus seasons, Colorado State has won more conference games than any other WAC team - 35. The Rams, during Sonny Lubick's tenure, are second in the league in total victories over that span and rank among the national leaders with 48 wins (see list).

Washington Is Second... FB Damon Washington will conclude his illustrious Colorado State career second on the school's all-time rushing list. He has a current total of 3,360 yards, second most ever behind Steve Bartalo's school record. Washington has 14 career 100-yard rushing games, second most in school history. His rushing total is ninth on the WAC's career list.

Quarterback Sacks... Colorado State's defense has a total of 31 quarterback sacks to date, already among the top totals in school history.

Taylor Ties Record... LB Willie Taylor has started all 11 games to date, running his streak to the 47 career starts and 47 consecutive career starts, tying the school's all-time records for most career starts and most consecutive starts, held by former OG John Laurita, 47.

Horinek Third in NCAA Punting... P Deone Horinek is third nationally in punting average, 45.38 per attempt. That figure is currently second on the school's season list behind Mike Deutsch's record, 46.1, set in 1976.

Eslinger Passing... QB Ryan Eslinger had the second 300-yard passing game of his career against Wyoming, when he competed 27-45 passes for 304 yards a a touchdown. Eslinger has thrown for 2,213 yards in 1998, 20 yards shy of the top 10 season passing yardage figures.

Not Since... Colorado State has not lost three in a row since early in the 1993 campaign, Sonny Lubick's first season in Fort Collins.

November Record... Colorado State's record during the month of November during Lubick's tenure is a sparkling 14-2 (.875). The only two losses have come at the hands of Wyoming, in 1996 and last weekend.

In Six Seasons... Colorado State ranks among the national leaders in victories over the past five-plus seasons (the time since Sonny Lubick arrived in Fort Collins). Since Lubick's arrival in Fort Collins, the Rams have won 48 games, the 16th among all Division IA teams. Marshall leads all NCAA Division IA teams with 69 victories since the start of the 1993 season.

Extending The Streak... With seven wins thus far in 1998, Colorado State is assured of a winning campaign, the fifth in a row by the Rams and coach Sonny Lubick. The Rams have now won at least six games in five consecutive seasons. That is the longest such streak in school history. Additionally, with another more WAC win the Rams can extend their record to six seasons of winning at least five league games.

Franz Eighth... K Derek Franz leads Colorado State in scoring with a current total of 77 points. With one game remaining this season, Franz is five points shy of tying Steve DeLine's season record for scoring by a kicker, 82 points in 1986. Former K Mike Brown has the second highest total, 81 in 1989.

Receiving Corps... When 1998 began, coach Sonny Lubick boasted that the receiving corps was a talented group. He's been proven correct, especially over the pat four games. During that span, the foursome has combined for 76 catches, 1,045 yards and six touchdowns.

Last Loss With 400... Colorado State stormed back into last week's contest with Wyoming behind a threatening offense and stingy defense. Though losing, the Rams finished with 420 yards, 63 more than the victorious Cowboys. It marked the first time since 1994 that Colorado State has lost a game despite gaining more than 400 total yards. The most recent time that took place came during the 1994 season (a span of 53 games) when the Rams gained 460 yards compared to Utah's 295, but lost 45-31 at Hughes Stadium. Both teams entered the game undefeated, with 7-0 records. The Rams were ranked 10th nationally - the highest a Colorado State team has ever climbed in the polls. The Rams were victimized by five turnovers (four interceptions, one fumble) in the game played before 39,107, the largest crowd in school history. Colorado State has a 29-3 record during Sonny Lubick's tenure in Fort Collins in games the Rams gain more than 400 yards total offense.

48 Victories... Sonny Lubick has guided the Rams to 48 victories in five-plus seasons in Fort Collins. Prior to his arrival, it had taken previous Rams teams 11 seasons - beginning with the 1982 season and running through the conclusion of the 1992 season - to win 47 games.

All-Time Leader... Coach Sonny Lubick has 48 coaching victories at Colorado State. All-time, the school has won 400 total games since the inception of intercollegiate competition in 1893. Lubick's 48 wins represent 12 percent of the school's all-time total.

Rams on RamLine.com... Internet users can contact RamLine.com for instructions on following audio coverage of Colorado State's 1998 football team, home or away.

Remembering Donte... Colorado State players wear a helmet decal bearing the initials "D.E."in 1998 in memory of Donte Ellsworth. He would have been a freshman in 1998. The native of Fountain, Colo., just south of Colorado Springs, died last summer of a heart ailment just weeks before he would have reported to preseason drills and joined the rest of Colorado State's incoming players.

Season Totals... Colorado State's 7-3 record to date marks the fifth time in Sonny Lubick's tenure and the 14th time in school history that the Rams have won at seven or more games in a season.

Three times under Lubick and nine times in Colorado State history, the Rams have won eight or more games in a season.

Six times in school history and twice during Lubick's tenure the Rams have won nine or more games in a season.

Lubick has guided Colorado State's program to its only two seasons of 10 or more wins (10-2, 1994; 11-2, 1997), and the school's only 11-win campaign (11-2, 1997).

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