Colorado State University Athletics
2003 Football Season Preview
5/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Lubick Coaching Streak
Colorado State is in the midst of the most successful period in school football history under Sonny Lubick?s guidance, including:
Lubick Coaching Capsule
Lubick Among Leaders
Colorado State coach Sonny Lubick is one of 18 active Division IA coaches with 100 or more career victories, including:
Coach, Current School, Wins
Joe Paterno, Penn State, 336
Bobby Bowden, Florida State, 332
Lou Holtz, South Carolina, 238
Jackie Sherrill, Mississippi State, 178
Ken Hatfield, Rice, 159
Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech, 159
Dennis Franchione, Texas A&M, 155
Fisher DeBerry, Air Force, 149
Dennis Erickson, Oregon State, 144
Mack Brown, Texas, 135
Mike Price, Alabama, 130
Paul Pasqualoni, Syracuse, 129
John Robinson, UNLV, 124
Bill Snyder, Kansas State, 116
John L. Smith, Michigan State, 110
Sonny Lubick, Colorado State, 105
Phil Fulmer, Tennessee, 103
Returning And Lost
Category, Total, Ret., Pct., Lost, Pct.
Rushing, 2880, 1220, 42.4, 1660, 57.6
Passing, 2560, 2553, 99.7, 7, 0.3
Returns, 1439, 1177, 81.8,262, 18.2
Punting, 40.3, 00.0, 00.0, 40.3, 100.0
Field Goals, 24, 24, 100.0, 0, 00.0
Points, 418, 270, 64.6, 148, 35.4
Tackles, 1007, 694, 68.9, 313, 31.1
QB Sacks, 18 11, 61.1, 7, 38.9
Rams In The Classroom
Fifteen Colorado State football student-athletes were honored by the MWC as fall semester Academic All-Conference award winners, including:
Player; Academic Major, GPA
WR David Anderson; Speech Communications, 3.14
DB Curt Beling; Natural Sciences, 3.88
WR Joey Cuppari; Health & Ex. Science, 3.17
HB Joel Dreessen; Business Management, 3.32
OL Mark Dreyer; Business Marketing, 3.43
LB Jeff Flora; Finance & Real Estate, 3.22
OL Zeke Hacker; Sociology, 3.11
DB Adam Hayward; Undeclared, 3.16
DB Jason Hepp; Management, 3.89
P Joey Huber; Health & Exercise Science, 3.30
DB Landon Jones; Business Marketing, 3.22
LB Eric Pauly; Information Systems, 3.76
DL Bryan Save; Construction Management, 3.20
WR Russell Sprague; Speech Communications, 3.57
LB Andrew Wood; Psychology, 3.60
Consecutive Seasons
Rams? coach Sonny Lubick is among the national leaders among coaches with the most consecutive winning seasons. Entering 2003, Lubick has guided the Rams to nine consecutive winning campaigns, a school record, and sixth most nationally.
Coach, School, Seasons
Bobby Bowden, Florida State, 25
Mack Brown, Texas, 13
Phil Fulmer, Tennessee, 11
Bill Snyder, Kansas State, 10
Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech, 10
Sonny Lubick, Colorado State, 9
Joe Tiller, Purdue, 9
Title Winners
Rams? coach Sonny Lubick has won or shared more conference titles as an NCAA Division IA head coach than any other MWC mentor. The list includes:
Coach, School, Titles Won, Last Title
Sonny Lubick, Colorado Sate, 6, 2002
John Robinson, UNLV, 5, 1995
Fisher DeBerry, Air Force, 3, 1995
Gary Crowton, BYU, 1, 2001
Rocky Long, New Mexico, 0, --
Tom Craft, San Diego State, 0, --
Urban Meyer, Utah, 0, --
Joe Glenn, Wyoming, 0, --
On The Sidelines
Six of Colorado State?s nine assistant coaches have been on the Rams? staff an average of 8.5 years, including Tom Ehlers, who is in his 15th year. Ehlers and Mick Delaney are both original members of Coach Sonny Lubick?s staff. Ehlers, John Benton, and Dan Hammerschmidt, along with newcomer Darrell Funk all formerly played football at Colorado State. Funk, Steve Stanard, and James Ward are in their first seasons, respectively, at Colorado State.
Staff Capsule
Colorado State?s nine-member assistant coaching staff has a total - including the 2003 season - of 54 years of combined experience at Colorado State, an average of nine seasons per coach, including:
Coach, Position, Yr.
John Benton, Co-Off. Coor./Offensive Line, 9th
Mick Delaney, Running Backs, 11th
Tom Ehlers, Defensive Line, 15th
Dan Hammerschmidt, Co-Off. Coor./QB?s, 8th
Matt Lubick, Wide Receivers, 3rd
Darrell Funk, Tight Ends/Special Teams, 1st
Steve Stanard, Def. Coordinator/Linebackers, 1st
James Ward, Secondary, 1st
Jesse Williams, Defensive Line, 5th
Bowl Foes
Four teams who played in bowl games last season appear on Colorado State?s 2003 schedule, including: Air Force, Colorado, Fresno State, and New Mexico.
2002 NCAA Statistics Capsule
Bradlee Van Pelt, Pass Eff., T4th, --, 119.6
Dexter Wynn, Punt Returns, 1st, 6th, 16.2
Dexter Wynn, Kick Returns, 3rd, 50th, 22.3
Joey Huber, Punting, 6th, --, 40.3
Jeff Babcock, Scoring, 2nd, 24th, 8.4
Cecil Sapp, Scoring, 4th, --, 7.3
Jeff Babcock, Field Goals, 1st, 5th, 1.7
Drew Wood, QB Sacks, 4th, --, 0.43
Drew Wood, Tackles For Loss, 9th, --, 0.93
Eric Pauly, Fumble Recoveries, 5th, --, 3
Drew Wood, Fumble Recoveries, 6th, --, 2
Rhett Nelson, Pass Deflections, 2nd, --, 14
David Vickers, Pass Deflections, T5th, --, 10
Eric Pauly, Pass Deflections, T5th, --, 10
Eric Pauly, Tackles, 7th, --, 8.6
David Vickers, Tackles, T9th, --, 8.3
Drew Wood, Tackles, 13th, --, 8.0
Adam Wade, Tackles, T26th, --, 5.5
Dexter Wynn, Tackles, T31st, --, 5.2
Peter Hogan, Tackles, 37th, --, 4.6
Benny Mastropaolo, Tackles, 44th, --, 4.2
Rhett Nelson, Tackles, 48th, --, 4.0
Team
Category, MWC, NCAA, No.
Scoring Offense, 2nd, 37, 29.9
Rushing Offense, 3rd, 24, 205.7
Passing Offense, 6th, 83, 182.9
Total Offense, 4th, 43, 388.6
Scoring Defense, 3rd, 44, 23.7
Rushing Defense, 5th, 77, 167.6
Passing Defense, 2nd, 47, 205.8
Total Defense, 4th, 64, 373.4
Kick Returns, 5th, 62, 19.9
Punt Returns, 1st, 6th, 15.9
Net Punting, 4th, 53rd, 34.7
Turnover Margin, 2nd, 48th, 0.21
Percent Capacity
Colorado State drew 152,307 fans for a five-game home schedule in 2002, 30,462. The average is 101.5 percent of total capacity, the third highest in school history. The total attendance is third highest ever, while the per game average is the fourth highest. The top figures for percent capacity include:
Year, G, Attendance, Avg., Pct.*
1998, 4, 125,169, 31,292, 104.3%
1994, 6, 187,344, 31,224, 104.1%
2002, 5, 152,307, 30,462, 101.5%
1997, 5, 147,973, 29,795, 99.3%
1996, 6, 173,308, 28,885, 96.3%
2001, 5, 138,184, 27,763, 92.5%
1999, 5, 137,884, 27,577, 91.9%
2000, 5, 137,696, 27,540, 91.8%
1995, 5, 136,867, 27,373, 91.2%
*Percent based on 30,000 capacity.
Six-Game Slate
Colorado State in 2003 will play six home games at Hughes Stadium for only the eighth time since the facility opened in 1968. It will be the third time in Sonny Lubick?s 11 seasons at the helm that Colorado State will play six games in Fort Collins, including 1994, and ?96. The five other times Colorado State had six home games in Fort Collins were 1973, ?77, ?86, ?90, and ?92.
The Seventh
Colorado State actually has a seventh home game on the schedule, though the game will be played at a neutral site. For the second year in a row, the Rams will be the home team when they face instate rival Colorado at INVESCO Field at Mile High in Denver.
Third-Year Starters
QB Bradlee Van Pelt returns as Colorado State?s starting quarterback in 2003. He has a 16-7 record as the team?s starting quarterback since taking over in the fourth game of the 2001 season. The last time that the Rams had a two-year starter returning at quarterback was 1997, when Moses Moreno led Colorado State to an 11-2 record - the only 11-win season in school history - a league title and a win over Missouri in the Holiday Bowl.
Pauly, Wood Honored
Linebackers Eric Pauly and Drew Wood earned Verizon Academic All-American Football Team honors as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Pauly, a junior from Conway Springs, Kan., was named first-team Academic All-American, while Wood was named to the second team. Pauly has a double-major in Business Administration and Computer Informations. He has a 3.78 grade point average, and was named to the second team in 2001. Pauly will earn his undergraduate degree in May of 2003, then enroll in graduate school at Colorado State while he completes his playing career for the Rams. Wood has a 3.63 grade point average and is majoring in Psychology. To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a starter or top reserve with at least a 3.2 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) for his career.
Four 10?s Or Better
Rams? coach Sonny Lubick has guided the Rams to the only four 10-win-or-better seasons in school history. The team has three times won 10 games (1994, 10-2; 2000, 10-2; 2002, 10-4), and in 1997 set the school record for most wins in a season with an 11-2 record.
Field Goal Record By Babcock
Sophomore K Jeff Babcock kicked 24 field goals in 2002, breaking Derek Franz? record, 21, set in 1998. Babcock scored 118 points, the second most in a season behind Calvin Branch?s record, 132, in 1996. Babock kicked four field goals in the final regular season game, the fourth time in 2002 he has kicked three or more field goals in a game, and second time he kicked four or more in a game. Babcock kicked a school and MWC record five field goals in the first game of the 2002 season at Virginia.
Tight Ends Receiving
Colorado State?s H-backs and tight ends make the most of their receiving opportunities. The trio of HB Joel Dreessen, TE Matt Bartz and TE James Sondrup combined for 38 receptions. Of the 39 receptions, eight resulted in touchdowns. Dreessen had two TD?s in 29 receptions, four of Bartz? eight catches went for scores, and both of Sondrup?s receptions were for TD?s.
Dreessen Receiving
H-back Joel Dreessen earned first-team all-conference in 2002 as a sophomore. Dreessen, a native of Fort Morgan, enters 2003 with 59 career receptions. The most career receptions by a tight end in school history is 153 by former All-American Keli McGregor (1981-84), including a school single-season record 69 in 1983. McGregor is now the vice president of the Colorado Rockies baseball club.
Starting Line
When the 2003 season arrives, the Rams will return four starters and a top reserve to the offensive line. Mark Dreyer (26), Erik Pears (16), Albert Bimper (13), and Mike Brisiel (9) were starters in 2002 and along with top reserve Jamie Amicarella (2) have combined for 66 career starts. Dreyer has started every game the past two seasons and was a second -team all-conference selection in 2002. Dreyer also earned CoSIDA All-District academic honors.
Receiving Production
Colorado State?s wide receivers were productive in 2002. WR Chris Pittman had 60 receptions, tying for the fifth highest total in school history. WR Joey Cuppari, who joined Pittman as a starter, had 35 receptions and tied for the team lead with four touchdowns. Together, the pair accounted for 95 of the Rams? 182 receptions, 53 percent. Top backup Eric Hill had six receptions, while Russell Sprague one.
Drive Time
Colorado State in 2002 had 19 scoring drives of 10 or more plays, 11 drives that covered 12 or more plays, and a season-best 15-play drive. The longest of the season was an 85-yard touchdown drive against UNLV.
Starting Blocks
Colorado State returns 25 players who have started at least one game in their college careers. LB Adam Wade has the most career starts, 33, entering the 2003 season. HB Joel Dreessen?s 26 career starts are the most by an offensive player. Dreessen is entering only his junior season at Colorado State in 2003.
Babcock Touchdown
Colorado State K Jeff Babcock is the first kicker in NCAA Division IA history to recover a fumbled kickoff and return it for a touchdown. He did so in Colorado State?s 31-12 win at Air Force last season.
New Punter
Colorado State?s punter in 2003 will follow in the footsteps of all-league performer Joey Huber, the team?s starter the past three seasons. Huber is fourth on the school?s career list. Huber took over the team?s punting duties following the departure of Deone Horinek, another all-conference choice, who was the starter in 1998-99 and is second on the school?s career list.
And Holding
The Rams will not only have a new punter in 2003, but for the third year in a row, the team will have a new holder for placements. WR Pete Rebstock held for kicks in 2001, and WR Joey Cuppari did the same in 2002. WR David Anderson, a sophomore, enters 2003 as the projected holder, backed up by QB Justin Holland and QB Joey Kearney.
Wynn Seeking Three-Peat
DB Dexter Wynn has earned first-team all-conference honors in 2001 and ?02 as a return specialist and also has earned postseason honors as a defensive back. Wynn was fifth nationally in 2002 as a punt returner. The last Colorado State player to earn at least three consecutive first-team all-conference selections was DB Greg Myers, who was named to the first-team four seasons in a row, 1992-95.
Tackles Trio
LB Eric Pauly (242), LB Drew Wood (211), and LB Adam Wade (206) have combined for 659 career tackles entering 2003. They form arguably one of the nation?s finest linebacker trios. Pauly was a first-team all-league pick in 2001 after leading the MWC in tackles that season and was second-team a season ago. Wood is a two-time honorable mention choice, and Wade was honorable mention in 2002.
Tackles Trio, Part II
Pauly (242), Wood (211), and Wade (206) each have an opportunity to join the school?s career top 10 list for total tackles. Pauly needs 70, Wood 101, and Wade 106 tackles, respectively, to tie former DB Erik Olson for 10th on the list.
Not Since 1993
Colorado State enters the 2003 season having lost two games in a row. The Rams lost their final regular season game then dropped a decision in the Liberty Bowl. Colorado State has not lost three games in a row during Sonny Lubick?s tenure since the 1993 season - Lubick?s first in Fort Collins - when the Rams were beaten by BYU, at Nebraska and at Kansas.
Title List
Colorado State?s 2002 MWC championship is the 15th won outright or shared in school history. Colorado State has now won 11 titles outright including 2002, and shared four others.
Title List, Part Two
Under Sonny Lubick, the Rams have won four titles outright (1994, ?97, 2000, ?02) and shared two others (1995, ?99).
Length Of Service
Colorado State returns 16 starters from the 2002 conference title team. Of that total 10 players - five each on offense and defense - were starters in 2001 and again in ?02. Six others were starters for the first time in 2002.
Receiving Streaks
Two Rams? receivers - WR Chris Pittman and H-back Joel Dreessen each caught at least one pass in all 14 games in 2002. Dreessen has the team?s longest active streak with at least one reception - 24 games in a row - dating back to the 2001 season.
Late-Game Success
Colorado State has a 71-4 record (98%) under Sonny Lubick when the Rams lead after three periods. The only four losses include:
Quarterback Rushing
Colorado State QB Bradlee Van Pelt five times in his career has rushed for more than 100 yards in a game. The 100-yard rushing games by Rams? quarterbacks since 1950 include:
Quarterback, Game, Year, No.-Yds-TD
Bradlee Van Pelt at BYU, 2001, 21-174-2
Bradlee Van Pelt vs. Fresno St., 2001, 14-141-1
Bradlee Van Pelt at Nevada, 2002, 13-128-1
Bradlee Van Pelt at Fresno St., 2002, 9-125-1
Bradlee Van Pelt, New Mexico, 2002, 11-106-1
Keith Lee vs. UTEP, 1978, 19-122-1
Mike Gimenez at New Mexico, 1989, 10-102-0
Van Pelt Starting Record
Rams? QB Bradlee Van Pelt has made 23 career starts, during which time the Rams have a 16-7 record. He made his first career start in 2001 at Wyoming, a 42-14 Rams? victory.
Van Pelt Keeps Moving
Colorado State QB Bradlee Van Pelt set a new school record for most rushing yards in a season by a quarterback. Van Pelt gained 819 rushing yards, eclipsing his own previous record, 546, set in 2001. The list of the top rushing quarterbacks since 1950 includes:
Quarterback, Year, Yds.
1., Bradlee Van Pelt, 2002, 819
2., Bradlee Van Pelt, 2001, 546
3., Anthoney Hill, 1993, 433
4., Keith Lee, 1978, 392
5., Pat Juliana, 1972, 339
15 Every Start
Fifteen players on the roster (7 offense, 6 defense, 2 kicking specialists) started all 14 games in 2002.
Nucleus Returns
Colorado State coach Sonny Lubick figures to have a strong nucleus that returns for the 2003 season, including 16 starters (8 offense, 7 defense, 1 kicker). The breakdown includes:
Offense: TE Matt Bartz, OL Albert Bimper, OL Michael Brisiel, HB Joel Dreessen, OL Mark Dreyer, OL Erik Pears , WR Chris Pittman, and QB Bradlee Van Pelt.
Defense: DL Patrick Goodpaster, DB Benny Mastropaolo, LB Eric Pauly, DL Bryan Save, LB Adam Wade, LB Drew Wood, DB Dexter Wynn.
Specialists: K Jeff Babcock.
Turnover Table
Colorado State annually has ranked among the conference leaders in turnover margin. The Rams finished 2002 a ?plus-eight? in turnover ratio. Since Sonny Lubick arrived in Fort Collins in 1993, the Rams are a +56 in turnover ratio and have scored 26 defensive touchdowns, including:
Year, Give, Take, +/-, Int. TDs, Fum. TDs
2002, 23, 31, +8, 0, 2
2001, 29, 29, Even, 0, 2
2000, 25, 27, +2, 3, 1
1999, 25, 23, -2, 3, 0
1998, 23, 30, +7, 2, 0
1997, 13, 39, +26, 4, 0
1996, 28, 28, Even, 0, 0
1995, 26, 31, +5, 3, 0
1994, 22, 25, +3, 2, 1
1993, 19, 26, +7, 3, 0
Totals, 233, 289, +56, 20, 6
Rams? Passing Fancy
In Sonny Lubick?s 10 seasons at Colorado State, the Rams are 7-13 in games where the team has attempted 35 or more passes and 77-25 games when attempting less than 35 passes.
Rushing Defense
Colorado State has allowed 49 individual 100-yard rushing performances during Sonny Lubick?s 11 seasons. The Rams are 29-17 in games where an opponent rusher has gained 100 or more yards. Colorado State is 55-21 when an opponent does not feature a 100-yard rusher.
