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

Before the Colorado State football gang enters a new era with a new head coach in a new conference next fall the Rams must conclude a sparse of them Friday s tournament against Air Force will not only be the Rams final competition 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 contest with interim head coach Tyson Summers leading the unit as CSU has hired Jim Mora to be the undertaking s th head coach Before Summers turns over the unit he hopes the Rams can end a season full of adversity on a positive note in a high-profile rivalry contest Obviously it s a big encounter with Air Force a rival in-state opponent Summers disclosed It is a big encounter 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 organization s quarterback was benched and replaced by Jackson Brousseau before the halfway point of the season Fowler-Nicolosi later left the unit utterly Brousseau was hurt against New Mexico on Nov and was replaced by Darius Curry Curry is suspended for the championship against the Falcons for spitting on a Boise State member during last week s contest Between Fowler-Nicolosi s benching and Brousseau s injury the club 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 challenge with Summers leading them Related Articles CSU Rams lose ninth match 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 tournament CSU defensive back Jace Bellah making majority 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 discipline of the last season but particularly the last four or five or six weeks he announced 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 demanding 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 band 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 - domination 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 summary CSU has players listed on the first availability account ahead of Friday s competition Thirteen of those are out for the season are out for the meeting and one is questionable The lone questionable contestant 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 bulk likely candidate to be the teams fourth starting QB this season is senior transfer Tahj Bullock For comparison of how hard the club has been hit by injuries Air Force lists players on its availability overview with six of them being questionable two out for the meeting and two out for the season