What to know about the CSU fall football season

Kevin Lytle | The Coloradoan

Kelly Lyell, kellylyell@coloradoan.com

This felt like the end.

The arrows now point to Mike Bobo being shown the exit, ending his time as Colorado State University's football coach.

There was no official word after Friday's 31-24 loss to Boise State at Canvas Stadium.

A report from FootballScoop published right after the game said moving on from Bobo was expected at CSU “barring an unexpected change.”

Athletic director Joe Parker declined to comment after the game.

"I hope to be back," Bobo said postgame.

"It’s like I told them in there, ‘despite the noise outside, we’re really, really close to being really, really good.’ But it’s a bottom line business. I know that. I think we all know that and we didn’t get it done enough this year."

Bobo and Boise State coach Bryan Harsin shared a long embrace after the game. Maybe this is reading too much into that exchange but it felt like more than a “good game” hug.

As he always does, Parker stood in the back of Bobo’s press conference as the coach talked about a loss for the 17th time in the last two seasons.

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"I can’t tell you what Joe’s thinking," Bobo said. "We have meetings and he’s supportive and gives us everything we need to be successful. I do not have a scheduled meeting with him."

The Rams followed last season's 3-9 record with a 4-8 finish in 2019 as Bobo’s $1.8 million yearly salary ranks second in the Mountain West.

He would be owed a $5.5 million buyout if fired before Dec. 31. That figure would drop to $3 million on Jan. 1, but it can’t wait that long due to recruiting. Any change should be announced sooner rather than later.

It's not fair to fans, players, recruits or even the coaches to be kept waiting.

Friday’s loss was a solid encapsulation of what has happened too often in the last five seasons as Bobo fell to 28-35 at CSU.

Like every other game in 2019, the Rams were in this one all the way through. CSU had the ball at Boise State’s 36 down seven points late in the fourth quarter. A sack of Patrick O’Brien put the Rams in a 4th and long situation and Bobo chose to punt with two minutes left.

The Rams never got the ball back.

CSU constantly plays close games but never makes the plays needed to win and, especially the last three weeks, Bobo’s coaching decisions have hurt the Rams.

There are too many unforgivable issues on Bobo’s résumé for this to continue. An announced crowd of 12,324 fans braved the cold. It was by far the smallest crowd in three seasons at CSU’s beautiful on-campus stadium.

Bobo’s 28 wins are almost all empty calories. The Rams have gone 2-13 against rivals Air Force, Colorado and Wyoming and have lost 12 in a row against those teams. CSU hasn’t beaten Boise State and went 0-3 in bowls under Bobo.

Players postgame said they don’t know what the future holds and reiterated what Bobo said about the Rams being close to being a very dangerous team.

They might be right, but it might not be Bobo leading any possible resurgance.

It’s time to move on.