RamWire: Rams come back to go back-to-back in 2000 Rocky Mountain Showdown

This season marks the final time for the Rocky Mountain Showdown in Denver. This is the second story of a five-week series as we look back at some of the best Mile High moments for Colorado State in the rivalry.

No respect.

The year before, after beating Colorado 41-14, the Rams kept hearing one constant refrain from their rivals in Boulder.

"Definitely during the offseason and leading up to it. We knew they thought it was a fluke, and they felt they were going to come out and dominate us," former Colorado State quarterback Matt Newton said. "I felt our '99 team was bitter from the '98 season, so we had a bit of a chip on our shoulder. In '99, we got hot at the end and started to gel as a team, and that carried confidence into 2000. Especially the first game of the season."

Even after the first touchdown of the game – a 52-yard strike from Newton to Frank Rice – the Buffs weren't buying it, and Rice heard it from a former high school teammate on the CU sideline. Rice felt the Buffs were so confident what was coming, it just didn't matter.

"Nah, they thought it was a fluke. They thought it was probably bad play calling," he said. "The funny thing is (offensive coordinator Steve) Fairchild called an excellent game. We did a fake, and Joey Cuppari scored when we did a fake on their sideline. They were screaming, 'screen,' and I was laughing because I knew it was a fake screen, and Joey was going on the bomb. Everybody did everything we had practiced the whole week. I went in motion, they started calling for the screen, and we went over the top to Joey for the touchdown."

It was early in the second quarter, and Colorado State held a 14-0 lead. The year before, the Rams scored the first 41, but this time, Colorado did have an impressive response.

When halftime hit, the Buffs led 17-14, and they'd push the lead to 24-14 early in the third quarter. And the talking became louder. But what Newton felt about his team held true. This was a different time in the history of the CSU program, and they weren't there to get pushed around, have a strong showing and head back north with a moral victory.

"We were mature enough and had enough playmakers to take the momentum back," Newton said. "I think that's something that's been missing since the early 2000s.

Cecil Sapp gave the Rams offense some balance with his 76 yards on the ground, but it was Newton who stood tall in the pocket and led the comeback with another strike to Rice, this one good for 42 yards.

"We actually missed another one in that game. He overthrew me in the end zone," Rice said. "I was open, and it was a little bit over.

"We almost had three touchdowns, but the backstory, Jashon Sykes, a CU linebacker, we had been going to school since elementary. It was a lot of trash talk before the game about how slow I was, how I wasn't explosive and how the corners were going to shut me down. I was infuriated they had disrespected CSU up to that point, considering we had beaten up on them since my class had gotten there."

While the plays to Cuppari and Rice were scripted for the Buffs defense, the game-winner had the feel of a Saturday in the sandlot.

Newton said the secondary was directing a lot of attention to Pete Rebstock on the outside, and on one particular play earlier in the game, tight end Jose Ochoa ran a route to draw coverage. That's how the CU defenders treated him, too.

So, in a tight spot, the Rams improvised.

"It was off the cuff. We saw it in the middle of the game. Back then, it was unheard of," Newton said. "Now you have iPads and eyes in the sky and you can see film instantaneously. In 2000, we didn't have any of that. It was basically just going off someone's recollection, and we ran this and this and they weren't near me. It's a testament to old-school football. Trust me, I'll get open.

"We had a timeout, and we were going to run a play I think once on that drive and once before in the game. Jose has a clear out to run down the seam to hold the safety honest, and the last time he said, they're not looking at me, they know I'm running a clear."

The 30-yard play put the final touches on the comeback, giving Newton four scoring tosses as he completed 19 of 30 passes for 322 yards. Rice turned his four catches into 113 yards and two scores on a day when the Rams made the most of their chances – they only netted 17 first downs and 392 yards of total offense. CU's offense rolled to 532 yards, almost had two back surpass 100 yards and didn't turn over the ball.

It didn't matter. The 2000 version of the Rams were out to prove a point, and did so by becoming the first CSU team to win back-to-back games with the Buffs since 1948-49.

"We wanted the tide to shift. There was a lot of momentum on CSU's back," Newton said. "We were winning conference championships and going to bowl games. We wanted to be on an equal footing with CU and not be known as their little brother. We didn't get any respect leading up to the games in '99, '98 and '97. It just carried on to training hard in the offseason and making sure the first game we came out and ready to play. It sets the tone for the season and the preseason."

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