FORT COLLINS — Coach Mike Bobo is bad for football business at Colorado State.

“It’s very, very frustrating,” Bobo said. He was referencing the disappointment of losing 38-21 to Air Force. But Bobo might as well been talking about the sad state of a CSU football program that has lost its way.

What will get Bobo fired? Not 11 straight losses to rivals Colorado, Wyoming and Air Force, although that won’t put him on a tenure track. Those thousands of empty seats in CSU’s expensive new stadium are why Bobo must go.

The crowd count Saturday night was generously announced at 24,914. But truth be told, the vibe felt more like the bad, old days before Sonny Lubick made everyone proud to be a Colorado State Ram.

In its third season, what Canvas Stadium really needs is a tarp. Put a trip to the hardware store on the honey-do list. We need a big tarp to hide the big embarrassment of all those empty seats.

At the urging of longtime CSU administrator Tony Frank, the Rams spent $220 million on a 41,000-seat stadium built as a temple to hubris and extravagance.

How much interest is there in Rams football in this fair state? Frankly, my dear Tony, we don’t give a …

In its third season, attendance has plummeted so far the next expenditure for the stadium should be a tarp to cover an upper deck that has become a lonely white elephant.

We were told if the Rams built it, they would come. But in the third year at Canvas Stadium, attendance is off a whopping 25 percent from its debut in 2017. This beautiful but lightly used facility would more aptly be called Tony’s Folly.

Hey, a lot of us aging Baby Boomers think we need to purchase something cool and flashy to make us feel young. But a stadium? Wouldn’t it have been cheaper for Frank to buy a red Corvette?

And here’s the statistic that makes me wonder if Bobo will ever inspire CSU alums in Denver to reach for their car keys and drive up the highway to watch football: The Rams are averaging 24,296 fans per game this season. That’s 3,000 fewer paying customers per date than the 27,600 average during the final season at Hughes Stadium, condemned as too old and inconvenient for a program that dreams the Big 12 or some other Power Five conference will offer a membership invitation.

Dream on.

The Rams jumped out to a 14-0 lead before the first quarter was 12 minutes old, with a 63-yard scoop and score of a fumble by linebacker Mohamed Kamara offering hope CSU might engineer an upset and win for the fourth straight time to get back to .500 this season.

Yes, it was a closer game than the final score indicated. But we should be well past the point of moral victories in the Bobo regime.

“It feels like a loss,” he said. “A tough loss.”

The Falcons scored four touchdowns in the final quarter to stake a claim as state champs, after sweeping CU and CSU on the road.

“You can use the language that you’re the best team in the state of Colorado,” said Air Force quarterback Donald Hammond III, adding it’s language he will indeed use in the presence of Buffs and Rams when he crosses paths with them during the months ahead.

Fort Collins loves craft beer. Crummy football? Not so much.

Bobo’s job is not only to win games but also justify the construction of a $220 million facility the Rams didn’t need but thought would be cool to have.

Against rivals CU, Wyoming and Air Force, Bobo’s record is now 2-12.

Can you sell a football stadium on eBay?