Memorable Moments: Rally at Academy A 1992 Bright Spot

Coach Earle Bruce and his Rams had entered the midway point of his fourth season with the Rams in the Century Season of 1992. Only a year and a half removed from his amazing 1990 Freedom Bowl championship team, Bruce had been rebuilding CSU football since his arrival in 1989, and 1992 had proved to be a struggle. The Rams were 2-4 entering game seven of the season and still stinging from one of the worst upset losses in school history by the Idaho Vandals.

The Rams didn't just need a win, they needed a moral victory, knowing they had a better team than their record showed. Afterall, they had beaten LSU in Baton Rouge earlier in the season and walloped UTEP. A win over in-state rival Air Force in Colorado Springs would give them desperately needed momentum.

Bruce ran his team out of the Talbot Portal at Falcon Stadium on October 17th to face a Falcons team which had narrowly beat the Rams at Hughes Stadium in 1991. Bruce and his team wanted revenge in Colorado Springs and came out fighting for a victory on the road.
Behind quarterback Anthoney Hill and senior wide receiver Greg Primus, the Rams were expected to be a passing team, but the Falcons shot down the ariel attack. Hill only completed 5-of-17 passes on the day and Primus had 14 receiving yards. The game was built on CSU taking advantage of mistakes by the Falcons and scoring at the right time.

CSU kicker Peter Rantzau put the Rams on the board first with a career best 55-yard field goal in the first quarter. The next time the Rams took possession of the ball, Hill engineered an 80-yard drive in nine plays ending with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone by fullback John Ivlow. The Rams had an early 10-0 lead and seemed to be taking control of the game.

On the ensuing kickoff after Ivlow's touchdown, Falcon tight end Brian Hellinger fumbled Rantzau's kick and CSU's Rick Ward pounced on the ball for the turnover at the Falcon's 27-yard-line. It only took five plays until CSU fullback Tom Romero ran in for another CSU touchdown, the PAT missed, and the Rams commanded a 16-0 lead only 3 minutes into the second quarter. The Rams seemed in control, but that type of overconfidence is what did them in at the Idaho game, so Bruce had to control his men for a fight against a formidable foe.

Air Force responded with a quick touchdown, followed by a two-point conversion to cut the lead in half. Before the intermission, both CSU and Air Force traded field goals and the two rivals went to the locker room with the score at 19-11 in favor of the Rams.

The Falcons took advantage after halftime and shut out the Rams in the third quarter scoring 17 points to take a 28-19 lead into the fourth quarter. It was as if the Vandals had snuck into the Air Force locker room to tell them how to beat CSU when they had the lead. Nothing seemed to work for Bruce's team, but the final quarter would end up being an exciting come-from-behind fight.

Early in the fourth, Hill connected with Matt Phillips on a 27-yard touchdown pass to cut the Falcon lead to within two points. An improved Rams defense rose to the occasion when future CSU Hall of Fame inductee Ray Jackson knocked down a pitch by Falcon quarterback Jarvis Baker and then pounced on the live ball to give the Rams the turnover at the Falcon 10-yard line. Jackson said after the game, "I saw the option coming and all I've ever dreamed about was getting in the way of the pitch and taking it in for the touchdown. I couldn't catch it this time, but I was happy to knock it down and recover it."

Three plays later Geoff Grenier scored on a 7-yard sweep and the Rams retook the lead at 32-28. However, there was still 8 minutes of football to be played and it took a tough Rams defense to hunker down and fight to keep Air Force out of the end zone.

The Falcons were not going to lay down and quit under their veteran coach Fisher DeBerry. They quickly marched down the field to the CSU 10-yard line, threatening to punch it in for a touchdown to retake the lead again. On fourth-and-5 from the 10, DeBerry decided he had to go for the first down, but a host of Ram defenders stopped the Falcons a yard short and took possession to eventually run out the clock.

An ecstatic Bruce said after the game, "You got your money's worth if you came to this game. This was a big game for us; we're on our way back."

Unfortunately, the Rams still had rebuilding to do on the field and they went on to lose their next three before winning their final two to end the 1992 season at a very disappointing 5-7. This game showed the signs of life that within two years, under head coach Sonny Lubick would kick off the greatest period in post-WWII history at CSU. Many of the players who fought in this game, including the tough defense, carried onto Lubick's staff after Bruce was fired on November 22, 1992.

Over the course of the next 15 years, the Rams and Falcons fought for several exciting games, this one launching a new era in the in-state rivalry.

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