CSU Rams looking to end season, Mountain West era on positive note

Before the Colorado State football band enters a new era with a new head coach in a new conference next fall the Rams must conclude a meager of them Friday s championship against Air Force will not only be the Rams final meeting in the Mountain West Conference before they head to the Pac- but it will be the last battle for the Ram-Falcon Trophy for the foreseeable future too It will also be the last match with interim head coach Tyson Summers leading the organization as CSU has hired Jim Mora to be the campaign s th head coach Before Summers turns over the crew he hopes the Rams can end a season full of adversity on a positive note in a high-profile rivalry competition Obviously it s a big match with Air Force a rival in-state opponent Summers declared It is a big battle for both schools I don t know the next time we ll play them is It s been a long history there between the two schools The Rams began to face adversity early in the season when injuries began to mount among players the association expected to be big contributors Defensive lineman Mukendi Wa-Kalonji linebacker JaQues Evans and offensive lineman Tanner Morley were all voted as captains at the beginning of the season and all had their seasons end due to injury Also suffering season-ending injuries were defensive lineman Gabe Jones tight end Jaxxon Warren and defensive back AJ Noland Then there was the quarterback carousel Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi with two years of experience as the squad s quarterback was benched and replaced by Jackson Brousseau before the halfway point of the season Fowler-Nicolosi later left the association altogether Brousseau was hurt against New Mexico on Nov and was replaced by Darius Curry Curry is suspended for the battle against the Falcons for spitting on a Boise State participant during last week s challenge Between Fowler-Nicolosi s benching and Brousseau s injury the group fired head coach Jay Norvell and made Summers the defensive coordinator the interim head coach for the remainder of the season The Rams have yet to win a meeting with Summers leading them Related Articles CSU Rams lose ninth battle of season to Boise State CSU Rams vs Boise State Broncos football How to watch storylines and staff predictions Ralston Valley dominates Columbine in Class A quarterfinals as Mustangs keep punching toward first title encounter CSU defensive back Jace Bellah making preponderance of opportunties CSU Rams vs New Mexico Lobos football How to watch storylines and staff predictions I m very proud of what I ve been able to try to do over the class of the last season but particularly the last four or five or six weeks he noted I say that to say that I ve tried to make every decision that I could based on the young men that are in that locker room and the staff that we have I think having all those situations that are intricate and challenging where maybe you don t trust yourself maybe you don t trust certain things I think having gone through those periods of times has given me the strength and the opportunities to handle this the best way that I could Now the Rams will close several chapters while preparing to begin new ones in the coming weeks First however Summers and his organization hope to end the season still in possession of one rivalry trophy Scouting the Falcons Air Force enters Friday s contest with a - overall record and a - mark in the Mountain West The Falcons have lost their past two games - to UConn on Nov and - to New Mexico last Saturday Offensively the Falcons are led by quarterback Liam Szarka who has rushed for yards and touchdowns while passing for yards and nine touchdowns However he did not play last week against New Mexico Josh Johnson Kemper Hodges and Quin Smith all saw time at quarterback against the Lobos Air Force has three running backs with at least yards led by Owen Allen who has rushed for yards and three touchdows Blake Fletcher leads the Falcons defense with tackles and one tackle for loss Isaac Hubert has five sacks and tackles for loss while Max Mustell has three interceptions Air Force leads the all-time series between the teams - - CSU broke a seven-game losing streak to the Falcons with last year s - triumph at the Academy The Rams have never defeated Air Force at Canvas Stadium as the Falcons have won all four games the teams have played at CSU s current home Injury overview CSU has players listed on the first availability analysis ahead of Friday s encounter Thirteen of those are out for the season are out for the encounter and one is questionable The lone questionable athlete is Brousseau If the quarterback can play the Rams won t have to employ their fourth starting quarterback this season If he can t the majority likely candidate to be the teams fourth starting QB this season is senior transfer Tahj Bullock For comparison of how hard the unit has been hit by injuries Air Force lists players on its availability review with six of them being questionable two out for the challenge and two out for the season