Think Memphis, but with mountains. The best of the rest.

“What does Boise State have that Colorado State doesn’t have?” Rick Neuheisel asks.

Blue turf?

“The state of Colorado can yield as many players as the state of Idaho, if not more,” the former CU football coach and CBS Sports analyst continues.

“Your position to recruit the West Coast is the same as Idaho is. You’re actually better-positioned to recruit Texas. You can absolutely have your way in the Group of Five.”

Think Navy minus the seawall. Cincinnati, minus the chili.

“My goodness, Hawaii won the (West) division, I mean come on,” former Washington State and Iowa State coach and Wyoming quarterback Jim Walden laughs. “There’s nothing that tells me, when I look at the west — you’re talking Fresno State, San Jose State, UNLV, New Mexico. CSU can dominate those types of people.”

Mike Bobo’s replacement? Good job. Sleeper job. In the right pair of mitts, the Rams have the goods — state, stadium, town, fan base — to be to the Mountain West football landscape what Xavier is in men’s basketball: A destination gig, not a coaching graveyard.

“If they are serious about (becoming) Boise State, if you will,” Neuheisel says, “there’s no doubt in my mind that they could get that accomplished.”

According to the Knight Commission’s database, among Mountain West Conference programs, CSU’s $15.4 million in football operating expenses for 2017 was 39% higher than the league average of $11.05 million — and the second-highest figure in the league to Boise’s $17.4. Throw in a Canvas Stadium that’s begging to be filled and the investment in facilities, and the coaching cognoscenti see the same thing in Fort Collins that a lot of Rams fans do:

A football program that’s spent too darn long punching below its weight.

“And I would argue that should you be quick about it,” Neuheisel counters, “that if you get yourselves a couple of years to be a 10-win team, as the Cincinnatis, Memphises, App States and Boises are today, then you can be considered (for expansion) if these television (networks) go to the Power 5 (schools) and say, ‘You know what, I think we’re going to expand.’”

Maybe the Big 12 brass count the dollar signs and start cranking up the auditions again. Maybe they don’t. Regardless, there’s more there in Fort Fun, just waiting for the right coach to tap it. More than 7-6, surely.

“There are some pretty good kids in Colorado that they need to work hard on,” Walden says. “It seems to me like CU doesn’t always work hard for the Colorado kids. If that’s the case, CSU needs to get every kid that CU doesn’t take that they want. I think there’s enough (talent) within Colorado as far as high school athletes that you could make a pretty good run.”

“I truly believe, based on the facilities I saw, even compared to the ones I had when I coached at UCLA, there’s no question you could win the day in recruiting,” Neuheisel says.

“You can do it there. I don’t harbor any reservations about that. (It’s) a great place to live, affordable, and convenient to the airport. It’s got a lot of things going for it.”

Dream big. Swing hard. And when you get your pitch, you sure as heck better not miss it.

“Anybody would be crazy not to listen to that type of an offer,” Neuheisel says. “That place has got some gold to it, I really believe it.”

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