Rams ready to end year in Frisco
By winning five of its last seven games, the Colorado State Rams
football team earned its school-record fifth straight bowl trip,
which will occur on New Year’s Eve in San Francisco.
Expect plenty of offensive fireworks on New Year’s Eve, as CSU
and Boston College, two of the nation’s elite scoring teams, battle
it out in the City by the Bay in the second annual Diamond Walnut
San Francisco Bowl.
Now in his 11th season as head coach, Sonny Lubick has led CSU
to eight postseason contests in the past decade. Lubick’s overall
record with the Rams stands at 91-43, and he has guided his team to
10 consecutive winning seasons.
“We’ve had some good practices,” Lubick said. “Its good to see
the guys running around and having fun.”
Rams quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt, the two-time Mountain West
Conference Offensive Player of the Year, is still nursing a broken
hand injury that he suffered in the team’s regular season finale in
Las Vegas against UNLV three weeks ago.
He had surgery to repair the injury, and was on the field for
practice on Thursday, but he did not throw the football.
In 2003, Van Pelt tallied 3,526 total yards of offense and
scored 27 touchdowns to lead the MWC. In his third year behind
center, Van Pelt became just the fourth quarterback in Division I-A
football history to pass for at least 5,000 yards and rush for more
than 2,000 yards during his collegiate career.
Tom O’Brien, Boston College’s head coach, has led the resurgence
of Eagles football since taking charge of the program in 1997.
O’Brien’s record with the Eagles is currently 47-36, and he too has
led Boston College to five straight bowl appearances. In the San
Francisco Bowl, the Eagles will be seeking their 4th consecutive
bowl victory.
“This is a great opportunity for our football team and our
fans,” O’Brien said in a press release. “The timing of the game is
perfect. It’s important for our team, when making the change to the
(Atlantic Coast Conference), that we show the new conference that
our fans will travel and they will support this team.”
Senior running back Derrick Knight is the leader of Boston
College’s high-powered offense. Knight led the Big East Conference
in both rushing with 1,599 yards and in all-purpose yards, gaining
1,826 total yards. He ranked third in the nation in rushing in
2003, and capped off his Boston College career as the school’s
all-time rushing leader with 3,603 yards.
“Boston College is a solid team,” Lubick said. “They are going
to be physical and try to run the ball. They have a very good
running back and are sound all the way around.”
The Eagles lead the Big East in total offense, averaging 407.8
yards per game, with 42 touchdowns this season. The Rams lead the
Mountain West in total offense, averaging 443.2 yards per game, and
is second in the conference in scoring offense, averaging 30 points
per game.
“We’re very excited to select Boston College to face Colorado
State in the second annual Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl,” said
Gary Cavalli, executive director of the San Francisco Bowl in a
press release. “We got the match-up we’ve wanted. In CSU
quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt and Boston College running back
Derrick Knight we have two of the best offensive players in college
football. It promises to be an exciting, high-scoring game.”
The game will kick-off at 8:30 p.m. (Mountain Time) and can been
seen on ESPN2. It will be played at Pac Bell Park in San
Francisco.
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