CSU Rams Gameday: Football vs. Air Force, Nov. 30

Nov. 29, 2013

COLORADO STATE (6-6, 4-3 MW) vs. AIR FORCE (2-9, 0-7 MW)

LINKS:  Roster | Media Guide | Schedule | Gameday Central Page

Gameday Fan Guide (Tickets, Parking, Tailgating, Ram Town, Directions, Restaurants & Lodging)

KICKOFF:             12 p.m. MT

TV:                         ESPN3.com —Paul Loeffler (play-by-play) and Peter Vaas (analyst).

RADIO:                  CSU Flagship: KJAC 105.5 FM  |  Air Force Flagship: KVOR 740 AM/104.3 The Fan FM

                                CSU Rams Radio Network: KREL-AM 1580 ESPN (Colorado Springs), KSIR-AM 1010 (Fort Morgan), KRFD-FM 94.5 (Sterling), and KNZZ-AM 1100 (Grand Junction)

LIVE STATS:         Gametracker

TWITTER:             @CSUFootball CSURams 1TTD |  @CoachMcElwain  |  @mountainwest  #MWFB

Weekly Notes (PDF):  Colorado State  |  Air Force   |  Mountain West

COLORADO STATE FOOTBALL HEADLINES:
Nov. 25: (VIDEO) Jim McElwain weekly press conference with LS Tanner Hedstrom and LB Shaquil Barrett
Nov. 27: Offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin a nominee for 2013 Broyles Award

Colorado State (6-6, 4-3) and Air Force (2-9, 0-7) meet on Saturday as the Rams look to bring the Ram-Falcon Trophy to Fort Collins for the first time since 2005. Saturday represents the final game at Hughes Stadium for 15 seniors and kickoff is set for 12 p.m. MT. Fans can watch the Rams try to secure their first winning regular-season since 2005 on ESPN3.com.

The Rams have six wins this season, their most this late in the regular season since 2005. The Rams need one more victory to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2008 when CSU defeated Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl. Air Force holds a 31-19-1 advantage in the series, which dates back to 1957.

NOTES IN 140 | #CSURamsNotes | #MWFB | #1TTD

#TEAM

CSU looks for its second-consecutive victory on Senior Day at Hughes Stadium after defeating UNM 24-20 in 2012
A victory Saturday would give the Rams their first winning regular season record since ‘05 and place them in a bowl for first time since ‘08
Since playing at Alabama (9/21), CSU is 5-3 and has avg. 498.1 total yds. & avg. 231.6 rushing yards, both top-20 in the nation in that span
Through 12 games the Rams are averaging 200.1 rushing yards, their most since 2002 (205.7)
CSU is on pace for the second-highest avg. yards/game in program history with 447.2. In 1996, CSU set the bar with an average of 458.9 yards/game
The Rams have recorded 500-plus yards of total offense in six games this season, the most games with at least 500 yards in a single season
On Nov. 16 at New Mexico, the Rams racked up 649 yards of total offense, the third-most total offensive yards in a single game in CSU history
CSU is averaging 33.4 points per game in 2013. The last time the Rams averaged 30-plus points per game was in 1997 (36.6)
The Rams have improved their scoring output by 58%, from 21.2 in 2012 to 33.4 this season
Under @CoachMcElwain the Rams are 8-2 when leading at halftime and 9-1 with the lead after 3 quarters
The Rams ran 109 offensive plays vs. @BroncoSportFB on Nov. 2, a program record and second-most in #MWFB history
CSU won three-consecutive road games (@ WYO, @ UH, @ UNM) in MW play for the first time since 2002 when the Rams rattled off five conference road wins
Through 12 games CSU has scored 401 points which ranks as the third-best scoring output in a single season, trailing the Rams of ‘02 (418) & ‘97 (477)
The Rams hung 50-plus points on UTEP (59), UW (52) and UNM (66) this year. This is the first CSU team to score 50 on three opponents in a single season
66 points at New Mexico is tied for third-most in program history and the second-most vs. a conference opponent all-time
Prior to 59-point outburst vs. UTEP the Rams hadn’t scored 50-plus points since Oct. 8, 2003 at BYU, a span of 3,666 days.

#OFFENSE

OC Weston Richburg, cand. for @rimingtontrophy has graded above 90% in every game with 42 knockdowns, incl. 7 vs. Boise St.
OL Ty Sambrailo, a junior from Watsonville, Calif., has graded above 89% in every game and has recorded 30 knockdown blocks
SR RB Chris Nwoke ranks 10th all-time in CSU history with 2,406 rushing yards.
SO RB Kapri Bibbs has rushed for 1,493 yards, the most in #MWFB and fifth-most among all FBS running backs
With 1,493 rushing yards, Bibbs has the second-most single-season rushing yards at CSU & needs only 109 yards to secure the top spot
In a 2 game span (vs. Nev, at UNM), Bibbs ran the ball 68 times for 603 yds. (8.9 avg.) and scored 10 touchdowns
Bibbs is second nationally in rushing TDs (25) and total TDs (25). The 25 rushing TDs are the most by a CSU rusher in a single season
In only 12 games, Bibbs ranks fifth on the career rushing touchdown list at Colorado State with 25
Bibbs set a school record rushing for 312 yards on 30 carries vs. Nevada on Nov. 9; It was previously held by Tony Alford in 1989 (28-310)
Bibbs set a school record and tied a @mountainwest record scoring six rushing touchdowns at New Mexico on Nov. 16
Bibbs owns two of CSU’s three highest single-game rushing performances (312 vs. Nevada; 291 at New Mexico)
Bibbs broke off an 85-yd TD run vs. Nevada, the 3rd-longest scoring run in program history and longest play since ‘03 (BVP to Anderson - 86)
Bibbs became only the fourth player to score at least 3 TDs in five consecutive games, joining Barry Sanders, Paul Hewitt & Montee Ball
Bibbs now owns the school single-season points record, scoring 150 points through 12 games
With 150 points this season, Bibbs is outscoring 6 FBS teams (Miami (OH), FIU, UMASS, Purdue, Southern Miss & South Florida)
CSU’s offensive line starters have a combined 154 starts, which ranks tied for 11th in #NCAA according to @philsteele042
JR TE Kivon Cartwright became the first CSU player to score multiple receiving TDs in back-to-back games (UTEP & SJSU) since Paul Turner in 1995
SR TE Crockett Gillmore leads all MW TEs with 466 receiving yards, which also ranks 7th nationally among all FBS TEs
Against Boise State, JR QB Garrett Grayson threw for a career-high 397 yards, the 10th most in program history.
Grayson has now thrown 27 touchdowns in his career, a number that ranks ninth-most all-time at Colorado State.
Grayson’s 2,932 passing yards this season ranks as the fifth-most at CSU in a single season
Grayson has thrown for 4,420 yards in his career, 10th-most all-time in CSU history
With Bradlee Van Pelt in attendance, Grayson broke BVP’s single-game total offense record accumulating 445 total yards (397 pass, 48 rush) vs. BSU
Grayson threw 3 TDs in three straight games (UTEP, SJSU, WYO), a feat that a Rams QB hasn’t accomplished since Terry Nugent in 1982
FR WR Rashard Higgins had 10 receptions vs. BSU (11/2), setting a career high and tying a CSU freshman record
Higgins needs 3 more receptions to enter CSU’s single-season top-10. This would be the most single-season receptions by a freshman in program history
WR Charles Lovett has a catch in 19 straight games in which he has played. Lovett’s last game without a catch was Nov. 19, 2011 at TCU

#DEFENSE

Shaquil Barrett’s 20.5 TFL leads MWFB and is tied for 2nd most in the NCAA while his average of 1.7 per game is tied for 4th in the country
Barrett’s sack total of 12.0 is third-most in the country and ranks as the 3rd-most in a single season at Colorado State
Barrett’s 20.5 TFL ranks as the 3rd-best single season effort in program history
In his career Barrett has registered 18 sacks, the 7th-most in CSU history
Barrett’s 13-tackle, 3-sack, 2-FF performance vs. UTEP earned him Bronko Nagurski Defensive POW honors, only the 2nd Ram to earn this award
Confirmed through research dating back to 1970, Barrett is the first Ram to block two kicks in one game
S Trent Matthews has picked off four passes this season, tying for the most by a Ram since 2009 and tied for fourth-most in #NCAA
LB Max Morgan racked up 20 tackles at Utah State, the most by a CSU defender since Karl Ballard (20) vs. BYU on Oct. 15, 2005
Morgan’s 20 tackles at Utah State ties for 4th-most in a single game this season among all FBS defenders
After allowing opponents to convert 48 percent of their third-down tries last season, the #CSURams have reduced the rate to 37 percent this year
CSU’s defense held Utah State to only 43 passing yards, the fewest passing yards allowed since Oct. 31, 2003 vs. AFA (29)
CSU’s defense held @AlabamaFTBL to 66 yards rushing, the lowest total by the Crimson Tide since Oct. 9, 2010 (36)

#SPECIAL TEAMS

The Rams are averaging 14.7 yards per punt return compared with a 9.5 average in 2012
Opponents avg. just 9.6 yards/punt return after averaging 12.0 a year ago, and 21.0 yards/kickoff return compared to 23.5 last year.
.@LouGrozaAward candidate Jared Roberts averages 1.3 FGs/game, 2nd in #MWFB and 32nd nationally
At New Mexico Roberts connected on a 52-yard FG, a career long and the longest by a CSU kicker since Jason Smith’s 52-yarder in 2008
Roberts’ 86.2 field goal percentage makes him the most accurate kicker in CSU history with a minimum of 25 attempts (25-of-29)
LB Shaquil Barrett earned MW Special Teams Player of the Week after blocking two Cal Poly field goals (9/14)

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