On T.V... This week's game will be shown live by KUSA-TV, Channel 9 in Denver. It is the first of five live local telecasts this season. Four of the games will be shown on KUSA, and a fifth on Fox Sports-Rocky Mountain. Wayne Hagin, the play-by-play voice for the Colorado Rockies baseball team, will cover the action along with analyst Irv Brown and sideline reporter Kevin Corke.

Rams-Tulsa Series... Saturday's game is the seventh meeting of the teams. Tulsa leads the series, 4-2. The teams have split two WAC games, Tulsa winning 20-14 in 1996 in Tulsa, the Rams winning 44-8 a season ago in Fort Collins. Colorado State has won two of three games played in Fort Collins.

The Blizzard... Fans will not soon forget last year's meeting of the teams. A major blizzard socked Colorado's Front Range on Oct. 25, and forced postponement of the game for 24 hours. About 18"of snow along with chilling winds whipped the area. When the teams finally did play, the Rams forced six turnovers en route to a 44-8 win.

Homecoming... Saturday's game climaxes weeklong Homecoming activities on the Colorado State campus. This year's theme is "There's No Place Like Home."Included among the festivities is a Homecoming Parade beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday morning in Old Town. Six Hall of Fame inductees will serve as Grand Marshalls.

Homecoming Results... Colorado State is 30-28-2 in 60 previous homecoming games dating back to1937. Colorado State is 4-1 in homecoming dates during Sonny Lubick's tenure in Fort Collins.

Hall of Fame... Six individuals will be inducted into the school's Sports Hall of Fame during the annual Former Athletes Association Banquet Friday night, Oct. 9 at the University Park Holiday Inn. Leading the list of inductees is current Rams' football coach Sonny Lubick. The other inductees include Steve Cyphers, Linden King, Fred Paoli, Tammy Taylor Bearly, and John Mosley. Bo Cowell will receive a special citation. Cyphers, Paoli, and King were all-conference football players in the mid-1970's. Bearly is one of the top softball pitchers in school history. Mosley was the first African-American athlete in school history and went on to earn All-American honors in football and wrestling from 1939-42. The banquet begins at 7 p.m. Call Chris Kiser, 491-4666 for more information.

Hughes Stadium Attendance... The Rams drew 27,632 for last week's home opener against UNLV. Colorado State drew an average of 29,795 fans for five home dates a season ago, the fourth highest single-season attendance in school history. The top four season average attendance figures have taken place during Sonny Lubick's tenure. Additionally, seven of the top 10 single-game attendance records have taken place during the past five seasons.

Full House... Colorado State trainer Fred Oglesby and his staff have had plenty of company in 1998. Nine players are currently listed on the team's injury report for this week's game, and that does not count two players lost for the season due to injuries suffered in August during preseason workouts. Of the nine players listed, all except one (John Howell) had started at least two games in 1998. Five of the players listed are defensive starters for the Rams.

At Home... The Rams are 20-8 at home during Sonny Lubick's five-year tenure. Colorado State is 1-0 at Hughes Stadium this season. The Rams served as the home team of a neutral site game with Colorado on Sept. 5 at Mile High Stadium in Denver.

On The Road... Colorado State won for the third time on the road this season with the 20-17 win at UTEP a week ago. Colorado State has victories this season at Michigan State, Nevada, and UTEP. The Rams are 23-10 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.

Haggans Now Third, Porter 11th... DE Clark Haggans has moved into a third-place tie on the school's career list with 20 quarterback sacks. The junior recorded his 20th in last week's win at UTEP, and is now eight shy of tying Brady Smith's all-time record, 28. Teammate Joey Porter has 14 career sacks and has moved into ninth on the school's all-time list. Six of the 11 players listed (including a tie for the 10th position) have played for Sonny Lubick during his six-year tenure at Colorado State. Taylor Now Third... LB Willie Taylor is third on the school's career tackles list with a total of 354. Taylor, a senior from Missouri City, Tex., had five tackles in last week's game before suffering a hip pointer injury. Teammate Nate Kvamme has 335 and has moved into the fifth position all-time. Taylor and Kvamme have more combined tackles, 689, than any linebacking tandem in school history.

Porter On The Rampage... DE Joey Porter is putting together a remarkable performance in only his second season playing along the line. He ranks among the team leaders in tackles, sacks, and tackles for yard lost. At Air Force, Porter made 11 tackles (nine unassisted, the top figure of his career and first time he had ever been in double figures in tackles. Porter leads the team on the year with seven sacks to date.

Ground Forces... FB Kevin McDougal had the eighth 100-yard rushing game of his career when he gained 155 yards on 25 carries and scored twice in the victory over UTEP last weekend. He gained 117 yards the previous week against UNLV, notching back-to-back 100-yard games for the first time in his career. McDougal, despite nursing a sore shoulder injured in the opening game of the year, leads the Rams with 431 yards rushing. However, McDougal pulled his right hamstring following a 55-yard burst late in the game that set up the winning field goal and is out indefinitely.

Trolley Ride... Reserve FB Jaime Blake made his presence felt in the absence of Damon Washington, who has missed the past two games with an injury. Blake rushed 14 times for 103 yards including a 34-yard gainer in the win at UTEP. It is the first time since the 1995 season that the senior from San Diego, Calif., nicknamed "The Trolley", has eclipsed the century mark. Blake figures to see plenty moreaction in light of the newest casualty, McDougal, as well as Washington's continued injury battles.

Big Foot... P Deone Horinek leads the WAC and is fourth nationally with a 46.6 punting average. Horinek is the first Ram since Mike Deutsch (second) in 1976 to be ranked among the top 10 punters nationally.

Sack Pack... Clark Haggans and Joey Porter have formed one of the most formidable defensive tandems in school history. Currently, they have cominbed for 35 quarterback sacks in their respective careers, the third highest total by a pair of players in school history.

Third Doubles... FS Myron Terry three times this season has been in double figurs in tackles, including last week's game at UTEP. Terry finished that game with 12 tackles, the third timethis season he has had that same exact total. Terry has 52 tackles total in 1998.

In A Rush... Colorado State rushed for a season-high 288 yards in last week's win over UTEP, including 155 by FB Kevin McDougal and 103 by FB Jaimie Blake. Under Sonny Lubick's Colorado State is 31-2 when the Rams rush for 200 or more yards in a game. Additionally, the Rams are 2-0 in 1998 and 16-2 during Lubick's reign when a back gains 100 or more yards rushing in a game.

Offensive Firepower... Colorado State has flexed its offensive muscles the past two games in wins over UNLV and UTEP. In the game last week at UTEP, the Rams gained a season-high 459 yards, 288 rushing. The previous week Colorado State had 432 yards in defeating UNLV, formerly the season high. Colorado State is averaging 445.5 total yards in the past two games.

Turnover Ratio... Colorado State has generated 11 turnovers in the past three games, and the Rams are a +2 on the season in giveaway-takeaway.

Rams' Success... Over the past six seasons, Colorado State has won more conference games than any other WAC team - 33. The Rams, during Sonny Lubick's tenure, lead the league in total victories over that span.

Washington Now Third... FB Damon Washington, one of the most prolific running backs in school history, is third on the school's career rushing list, with a current total of 3,028 yards. Washington has had back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons and is bidding to become the first player in school history to crack the 1,000-yard mark three years in a row. The only other player in school history with three 1,000-yard seasons (not in succession, however) is Steve Bartalo.

Taylor Challenges Record... LB Willie Taylor is third on the school's career tackles list, is also challenging Colorado State's records for most career and most consecutive starting appearances Taylor has started six games to date, running his streak to the 42 career starts and 42 consecutive career starts overall. Former OG John Laurita holds both records, 47. Taylor could break the record by starting the remaining eight games of 1998. Taylor's streak is now in jeopardy after he suffered a hip pointer injury in the win at UTEP. Taylor's streak began in 1995 when he joined the starting lineup as a redshirt freshman. He has started every game in which has ever played at Colorado State.

Franz Kicks Winner... Fort Collins native Derek Franz, the team's two-year starter as placekicker, hit two of three field goals in last week's game including the game-winner from 39 yards out with 1:02 to play in the 20-17 victory over UTEP. Franz has hit 7-10 field goals this season and ranks second in the league and 18th nationally with 1.4 field goals made per game.

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 45 games, the 15th most among all Division IA teams. Nebraska and Marshall are tied for the most victories, 65.

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.

Rams All-Time... Colorado State is 397-450-33 since the inception of intercollegiate competition at the school in 1893. Colorado State has an all-time record of 83-72-2 at Hughes Stadium since the facility opened in 1968.