Matt L. Stephens

matthewstephens@coloradoan.com

The starting quarterback is back. The other starter is, too.

So is the starting running back. And the better running back.

The superstar wideout and the breakout receiver, they're back, and the offensive line returns its biggest and best.

Spring football begins Tuesday, 158 days from the season- and stadium-opening kickoff against Oregon State, and for CSU, expectations of the 2017 campaign haven't been this high since Sonny Lubick roamed the sideline. The Rams are moving into a new home and with them comes a new era. Not an era marked by a new coach, but marked by what this season and many of the next need to include.

A championship era.

More: CSU to open stadium earlier, vs. Pac-12 team

Much like what the school has accomplished over the past few months in volleyball, indoor track and women's basketball, Colorado State University's time in football has arrived. Or, at least, it should. After a 15-year drought that's since never seen the Rams finish better than third in the Mountain West and only two bowl victories in seven tries, the landscape is finally ripe for reaching the conference summit.

Mike Bobo enters his third season in Fort Collins with the most talent he's ever had as a head coach. Fifteen starters return, including all-conference selections in receiver Michael Gallup (first team) and center Jake Bennett (second team). Quarterback Nick Stevens was the most efficient in the country from Oct. 22, 2016, onward and there isn't a better running-back tandem in the Mountain West than Dalyn Dawkins and Izzy Matthews.

Defensively, the Rams bring back nine starters and 67 percent of their tackling.

And that's without even considering the talent signed in February, a bevy of which is expected to immediately contribute.

More: CSU will play spring football game on campus

Then there's the rest of the conference. Wyoming loses the Mountain West's best running back, Brian Hill (1,860 yards, 22 TDs in 2016), who declared for the NFL draft, along with receiver Tanner Gentry (1,326 yards, 14 TDs) and tight end Jacob Hollister (515 yards, 7 TDs). Boise State is down running back Jeremy McNichols (1,709 yards, 23 TDs) and receiver Thomas Sperbeck (1,272 yards, 9 TDs). Safety Weston Steelhammer (80 tackles, 7 interceptions) can't lay any more dirty hits at Air Force and Nate Romine and Jacobi Owens can no longer flawlessly execute the option. Plus, the three teams CSU will play from the West division — Nevada, San Jose State and Hawaii — shouldn't be an issue.

"We all know that that's a goal of ours, to compete for a championship. It's been the same way every year. That's going to be our goal this year," Bobo said Monday. "We talk about what's going on at this university with all of these other sports that are winning championships or in the race to win a championship. We talk about our basketball team, how (they had) a chance to win a championship in season and in the tournament and how exciting that is and how the feeling is to be in that race. That's where we want to be, so what are we going to do about it?"

What they need to do is win, and that's been a challenge in the make-or-break games for the Rams for the past three years.

More: CSU football won't have a bye in 2017

In Jim McElwain's final season, 2014, CSU needed to beat Air Force in the regular-season finale to play in the Mountain West championship game. It was a game the Rams should have won, but they lost 27-24. There were statement opportunities against Boise State and San Diego State in 2015 on national television; instead, the Broncos and Aztecs mopped the floor with CSU with an average margin of victory of 27.5 points. And last year, with a chance to turn heads as an overachieving team, CSU lost close games at Boise State and Air Force and was blown out at home by Wyoming. (And don't forget the 61-50 bowl loss to Idaho.)

So what's going to be the difference this year?

Bobo was hesitant to say this roster has more talent than any he's coached in Fort Collins, even if, top to bottom, that couldn't be more clear, noting that it's not always skill that prevails on the field; it takes coaching. He's right, and the onus falls on him more than ever this season, starting with the first of 15 springs practices Tuesday, to make sure his team doesn't fall behind by 34 points against a team that, say, is dropping down to the FCS in 2018.

This season won't be without its challenges. It opens against Oregon State, and the nonconference slate also includes a strong University of Colorado team and a Week 4 game at Alabama worth $1.5 million. Just as likely as CSU is to win those games against Pac-12 opponents, it could just as easily be beaten handily, and the Sept. 16 showdown in Tuscaloosa is primarily there to build experience on a grand stage. But even if the Rams enter conference play with three losses, ultimately, those shouldn't hinder 2017's goal of winning a Mountain West title.

More: CSU lineman impresses at NFL pro day

It's been a long time coming and the opportunity is finally here to usher in the championship era.

"It's year three, so, really, three-fourths of your team, this is all they've known is us," offensive coordinator Will Friend said. "And there's no question that we're ahead right now than where we've been every spring since we've been here.

"Obviously, the proof's in the pudding out there in the fall, but when you say 'where you at right now?' we're ahead. So the expectations of the players, definitely of our coaching and what Coach Bobo has put on us have definitely increased a lot. It's why we all came to Colorado State — we came here to win a championship. We came here to win every football game. It's Year 3. It's time to start doing why we came here."

For insight and analysis on athletics around Northern Colorado and the Mountain West, follow sports editor Matt L. Stephens at twitter.com/mattstephens and facebook.com/stephensreporting.

Returning in 2017

16 starters (nine on defense)

72 percent of receptions

93.9 percent of rushing yards

100 percent of rushing touchdowns

67 percent of tackles

75 percent of interceptions and tackles for loss

Unexpected offseason departures