Mark Knudson

The Coloradoan

The year was 1990. Earl Bruce was prowling and grumbling along the sidelines for CSU. The former head coach at Iowa State and Ohio State wouldn’t have a long tenure at CSU, coaching just four seasons, but that included a 9-4 mark in his second year and a second-place finish in the Western Athletic Conference.

The Rams capped Bruce’s best season in Fort Collins by holding off Oregon 32-31 in the Freedom Bowl in Anaheim. By barely stopping a Duck’s two-point conversion in the final minute, they secured the school’s first-ever bowl win. With the "Big A" rocking, UO receiver Michael McClellan actually caught the pass from Ducks quarterback, and Colorado native Bill Musgrave -- with his feet in the end zone, but falling forward -- landed out of bounds and the ball never crossed the goal line.

In 1990, Fisher DeBerry was in his fifth season as the coach of Air Force. On their way to a 7-5 mark and a disappointing sixth place finish in the WAC, the Falcons did win the Commander and Chief’s Trophy and earned a bid to the Liberty Bowl in Memphis. As often happens when Air Force meets a heavyweight, the game produced one of those memorable upsets, with the undersized Falcons stuffing Robert Smith and Ohio State to secure a 23-11 victory.

Legendary coach Paul Roach was running the show in Laramie for Wyoming that year. Those Pokes bolted out of the gate with nine straight wins and a No. 19 national ranking at the end of October. Bruce’s CSU squad ended the unbeaten run with a 17-8 win at Hughes Stadium. Despite dropping their last three, the nine-win regular season earned Wyoming a bid to the Copper Bowl in Tucson, Arizona, where they were edged by Cal, 17-15.

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And in Boulder, Bill McCartney’s team rallied around fallen teammate Sal Aunese and won a share of the school’s only national title.

The Buffs opened with a dramatic 31-31 tie with Tennessee in Anaheim (the same stadium Colorado State University would end the season in) before beating Stanford but falling at Illinois 23-22. After that slow start, CU picked up momentum by beating nationally-ranked Texas and Washington — both on the road — before posting wins over Oklahoma and Nebraska. Along the way there was that annoying little “Fifth Down” thing, but no matter. The Buffs' run earned them the Big Eight championship for the second straight year and another date with Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl.

Was there actually a clip on Raghib "Rocket" Ismail’s 91-yard punt return that would have won the game for the Fighting Irish? Doesn’t matter now. History shows CU got the 10-9 victory and a shared national title with unbeaten Georgia Tech.

So what’s so unusual about these four schools and their bowl games at the end of the 1990 season?

That was the last time all four made it to a bowl in the same season. More than a quarter of a century later, there’s a good chance now that it could finally happen again, that all four could be playing in bowl games at the end of this season.

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CSU needs two wins in its final four games, which sounds daunting, but that includes winnable games against Fresno State, Air Force and New Mexico before the finale with league co-favorite San Diego State. It’s certainly possible.

Air Force got off to a hot start and set itself up well for another Commander-in-Chief's Trophy and a bowl game. At 4-3, the Falcons need to win twice more. They still play CSU and Army, plus struggling Fresno State and San Jose State.

Wyoming let one get away at Eastern Michigan but at 4-2 entering the weekend, they’re also in a great spot. The Cowboys still have to face Utah State, UNLV and New Mexico. Again, winning two of those is pretty likely.

And as for the Buffs, it’s been a long draught to be sure. Nine years to be exact. CU’s last bowl game was in 2007 against Nick Saban’s first Alabama squad. But CU has five wins already and even those of us who predicted a six-win season sold them short. CU has a shot at winning the Pac 12 South. Really, it could happen. This team most certainly will go bowling.

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So you’re seeing it here first — bowl projections. We have all four Front Range schools going bowling together for the first time in 26 years. How would these post-season match-ups suit you?

Colorado State vs. BYU in the Poinsettia Bowl, December 21st in San Diego. Beautiful.

in the December 21st in San Diego. Beautiful. Wyoming vs. Toledo in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, December 22nd in Boise. Burr.

in the December 22nd in Boise. Burr. Air Force vs. Texas in the Armed Forces Bowl , December 23rd in Ft. Worth. Wishbone, please.

in the , December 23rd in Ft. Worth. Wishbone, please. Colorado vs. Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl, December 27th in San Diego. Awesome.

It could happen and might even make our region into a college football hotbed again.