The Rocky Mountain Showdown is the name given to the Colorado–Colorado State football rivalry. It is an American college football intrastate rivalry between the University of Colorado Buffaloes and the Colorado State University Rams; the winner of the game receives the Centennial Cup. It began in 1893 and was played annually from 1899 to 1958, except for 1901, 1905, and 1943–44. It was revived in 1983 and played periodically until it became an annual rivalry once again from 1995 to 2019.
Louis Matthew "Sonny" Lubick is a retired American football coach. He was the 15th head football coach at Colorado State University from 1993 to 2007. Lubick won or shared six Western Athletic Conference or Mountain West Conference titles, guided the program to nine bowl games and was named National Coach of the Year by Sports Illustrated in 1994.
The Colorado Buffaloes football program represents the University of Colorado Boulder in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The team is a member of the Pac-12 Conference, having previously been a charter member of the Big 12 Conference, and will rejoin the Big 12 beginning in the 2024 season. Before joining the Big 12, they were members of the Big Eight Conference. The CU football team has played at Folsom Field since 1924. The Buffs all-time record is 716–520–36 as of the 2022 season. Colorado won the 1990 National Championship. The football program is 27th on the all-time win list and 40th in all-time winning percentage.
The Colorado State Rams are the athletic teams that represent Colorado State University (CSU). Colorado State's athletic teams compete along with 8 other institutions in the Mountain West Conference, which is an NCAA Division I conference and sponsors Division I FBS football. The Conference was formed in 1999, splitting from the former 16-member Western Athletic Conference. CSU has won nine MWC tournament championships and won or shared 11 regular season titles. Rams football teams won or shared the Mountain West title in 1999, 2000 and 2002.
The Colorado State Rams football program represents Colorado State University and is a member of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Mountain West Conference. The Rams have long-standing rivalries with Colorado, Wyoming, and Air Force. The team is currently led by head coach Jay Norvell, who was hired in December 2021.
Merritt James Norvell III is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at Colorado State University, a position he has held since the 2022 season. Norvell served as the head football coach at the University of Nevada, Reno from 2017 to 2021. His father, Meritt Norvell, was the athletic director at Michigan State University from 1995 to 1998.
The 2015 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University during the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rams were led by first-year head coach Mike Bobo and played their home games at Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium. They were members of the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 7–6, 5–3 in Mountain West play to finish in a four way tie for second place in the Mountain Division. They were invited to inaugural Arizona Bowl where they lost to fellow Mountain West member Nevada.
The 1994 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University in the 1994 NCAA Division I-A football season. This was the 98th year of football at CSU and the second under Sonny Lubick. The Rams played their home games at Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado. They finished the season 10–2, and 7–1 in the Western Athletic Conference. As champions of the WAC, they were invited to the 1994 Holiday Bowl, where they lost to the Michigan Wolverines.
The 1997 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Rams were led by fifth-year head coach Sonny Lubick and played their home games at Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado. Colorado State competed as a member of the Western Athletic Conference in the Pacific Division. They won that division with a 7–1 conference record, earning them a spot in the 1997 WAC Championship Game, where they defeated New Mexico to earn their third WAC title in four years. They were invited to the 1997 Holiday Bowl, where they defeated Missouri, and were ranked 17th in the final AP Poll of the season, the second ranked finish in school history and first since 1994.
The 2016 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on December 22, 2016, at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho. The 20th annual edition of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, the game featured the Idaho Vandals of the Sun Belt Conference and the Colorado State Rams of the Mountain West Conference. It was one of the 2016–17 bowl games that concluded the 2016 FBS football season. The game's title sponsor was the Idaho Potato Commission. The game began at 5:05 p.m. MST and was broadcast on ESPN College Football. Idaho defeated Colorado State by a score of 61–50.
The 1999 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University in the 1999 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by seventh-year head coach Sonny Lubick and played its home games at Hughes Stadium. They finished the regular season with an 8–3 record overall and a 5–2 record in the newly formed Mountain West Conference, making them conference co-champions. The team was selected to play in the Liberty Bowl, in which they lost to Southern Miss.
The 2017 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University during the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rams were led by third-year head coach Mike Bobo and played their home games at the newly built Sonny Lubick Field at Colorado State Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado as members of the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 7–6, 5–3 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for second place in the Mountain Division. They were invited to the New Mexico Bowl where they lost to Marshall.
The 2018 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rams were led by fourth-year head coach Mike Bobo and played their home games at Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado as members of the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 3–9, 2–6 in Mountain West play to finish in fifth place in the Mountain Division.
The 1957 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University in the Skyline Conference during the 1957 NCAA University Division football season. In their second season under head coach Don Mullison, the Rams compiled a 3–7 record, tied for sixth place in the Skyline Conference, and were outscored by opponents by a total of 224 to 109.
The 1959 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University in the Skyline Conference during the 1959 NCAA University Division football season. In their fourth season under head coach Don Mullison, the Rams compiled a 6–4 record, finished second in the Skyline Conference, and were outscored by opponents by a total of 147 to 123.
The 1961 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University in the Skyline Conference during the 1961 NCAA University Division football season. In their sixth and final season under head coach Don Mullison, the Rams compiled a 0–10 record, finished last in the Skyline Conference, and were outscored by a total of 249 to 74.
The 2019 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rams were led by fifth-year head coach Mike Bobo and played their home games at Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado as members of the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference. The Rams finished the season 4–8, 3–5 in Mountain West play to finish in fifth place in the Mountain Division.
The 2020 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Originally, there was a cancellation of the 2020 season for the Mountain West Conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but this was reversed when the conference agreed to play a conference-only, eight game season. The Rams were to play their opening game at Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado against New Mexico, but the game was canceled due to virus restrictions. The Rams were led by first-year head coach Steve Addazio.
The 2021 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rams were led by second–year head coach Steve Addazio and played their home games at Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado, as members of the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference.
The 2023 Colorado State Rams football team represents Colorado State University as a member of the Mountain West Conference (MW) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by second-year head coach Jay Norvell, the Rams play home games at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado,.
