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10 18 24 Coloradoan sports reporter Kevin Lytle previews CSU's game at Air Force
But there's only one feeling like knowing your banker personally, like growing up with a bank you can count on, like being sure what you've earned is safe, secure, and local. There's only one feeling like knowing you're supporting your community. You deserve more from a bank. You deserve an institution that stood strong for generations. Bank of Colorado, there's only one member FDIC. Taking on Air Force for the Ram Falcon Trophy, it's going to be happening yet at the Falcon Stadium in the springs tomorrow. Yeah, so far the Rams are one and nothing in conference play after getting a huge win over San Jose State last week. Overall CSU even on the season joining us now on the Kway Common Spirit Health Hotline as CSU Rams beat writer for the Colorado and it's Kevin Lydell. Kevin, thank you so much for joining us again this morning. Okay, three and three right now for the season, biggest takeaways of what you've seen for the current team and the overall season so far. Yeah, I think a couple of things, you know, one, it's been a little bit of an up and down season as I guess that record would suggest, but I think the biggest thing right now is there's a big opportunity for Colorado State. Like you mentioned, the opened Mountain West play with the win and the way the schedule falls for the Rams, there are a lot of opportunities. So I think it's one you look at a long runway here that CSU has to take advantage of. Kevin, I said it's been 12 years since the Rams have beaten the Falcons. Am I right in that? So it's seven straight and then it hasn't been since 2002 that CSU won down at the Academy. So both short term and long term, there's some big things that you need to try and wipe away here. I'm going to be very bold. I said this earlier when we were talking about this in one of our newscasts and I say this as an alum and a former player, this is a must win from Colorado State, prioritizing wins over the rivals and especially when CSU seems to be trending the right direction and Air Force seems to be struggling. Would you agree with that assessment? Yeah, I just finished my like preview and prediction story and I said it close to a must win. So we're on the same page there. Yeah, CSU, Janor Bell, year three, he's 0 and 6 in the rivalry games. If you go back into the Dazio era, it's eight straight rivalry games that CSU has lost. And if you want a really bad number, 20 of the last 21 rivalry games CSU has played. They've lost and that one win was an empty stadium COVID game. So it's been since 2015 that CSU is one of those rivalry trophies with fans in the fans. So I totally agree this is a game, Air Force is the worst Air Force team in quite a while. You have to take advantage and you have to start getting rivalry wins. Kevin, an up and down season for sure, like you mentioned and a tough loss for CSU 2. Talk a little bit about the unfortunate news we had of Tory Horton. You spoke with Coach Norvell and his reaction to this knee injury that he's now out for the season. Yeah, it's a tough one obviously for fans, the team itself and most importantly for Tory Horton, he came back this season too for a lot of reasons. I think some unfinished business he felt like with this program and certainly to help try and increase his FL Draft stock and it just didn't go well. He's battled injury pretty much all season and then yeah, took this hit on the knee and it's going to cause him to miss the season. It's just a bummer. You feel really bad for the kid most importantly and yeah, Jay Norvell said he's one of the favorite players. He's coached in 40 years of coaching. He's a great student leader. He's been a captain for a few years. Like I said, he'll be an NFL draft pick. One of those guys that you need at locker room, it's not just the talent that we all see on the field, but every coach in that building praises him for how hard he works in practice and how focused he is and really every facet of being a college student athlete. So it's really a bummer all the way around and you have to feel for Tori Horton. Kevin, when you talk with your colleagues and when you talk with AD John Weber and maybe engage with President Parsons, do you get a sense that Coach Norvell, maybe not a hot seat, but it's simmering that he has to get it done in year three here, beating rivals, going to a bowl game, especially when we're on the verge of leaving the conference and going to a new iteration of the Pac-12. Is there a greater sense of urgency you see from the university than we've seen in the past from Colorado State? Yeah, I think all of that is absolutely true. I mean, you look at the president and reflect director who hired Jay Norvell are now gone and John Weber and Amy Parsons are in those positions. Like he said, he's used moving to the Pac-12 via Parsons and Weber have been very aggressive in a lot of different moves. So yeah, I think it's pretty obvious that if you look at it, you know, urgency is absolutely at the forefront of the leadership at CSU's mind right now and, you know, for the football program and a football program that hasn't won consistently in quite a long time, that means you need to start stacking wins. So yeah, I think, you know, not that's like a horrible relationship, you know, the axe is swinging over the head right now, but Jay Norvell, I think it's very well aware of all those things and knows that if you don't start getting wins and those rivalry ones that we just talked about are really important, then yeah, you know, job jeopardy comes into play if a program continues to kind of be middling. So it's absolutely a very important back half of the season here for Norvell and CSU. We'll see how it all goes down tomorrow CSU vs Air Force tomorrow at 6 p.m. CSU Rams beat writer for the Colorado and it's Kevin Laitel. There's only one feeling like knowing your banker personally, like growing up with a bank you can count on, like being sure what you've earned is safe, secure, and local. There's only one feeling like knowing you're supporting your community. You deserve more from a bank. You deserve an institution that stood strong for generations. Bank of Colorado, there's only one member FDIC.