Colorado State University Athletics
Memorable Moments: Homecoming Milestones
10/12/2023 2:00:00 PM | Football
The top five homecoming victories for Sonny Lubick
The legendary Sonny Lubick coached at Colorado State for 15 incredible seasons of football, winning six conference championships and attending nine bowl games. Over the course of his 15 seasons, Lubick won 11 homecoming games. As CSU prepares for its 99th homecoming game this week, here are the top five homecoming games Lubick coached during his amazing career.
5. October 4, 1997 – CSU 63, Hawaii 0: Who doesn't like blowout games from time-to-time? The 1997 homecoming bash against Hawaii marks the widest margin of victory in any homecoming game in CSU history. It also shows the incredible offense and defense of the 1997 WAC Champion Rams. A season in which the offense scored 477 points and the defense only allowed 203 points, including the Holiday Bowl victory over Missouri, the Rams poured it on in this game. This victory started an eight-game winning streak which included the conference championship game and bowl game. Sonny said after the contest, "I hope (the players) are pretty happy and have more confidence in themselves. We'll need that confidence for the rest of the season."
4. September 29, 2005 – CSU 41, AFA 23: There is nothing like an in-state rivalry on homecoming day to make for good football. The last homecoming game CSU played in the month of September was another offensive win as Rams quarterback Justin Holland passed for 318 yards while bruising sophomore running back, Kyle Bell smashed his way up the middle for a career best 197 yards. David Anderson, now a CSU Hall of Fame inductee, caught seven passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Yes, it's always nice to win on homecoming day, but to beat a rival is even better.
3. October 12, 2002 – CSU 44, Wyoming 36: If beating Air Force on homecoming day is sweet, then winning the Border War, capturing the Bronze Boot and beginning a six-game winning streak to win your sixth conference championship was among the sweetest for Lubick. Not only was this a rivalry win, but it was also the 100th overall victory for Lubick dating back to his days at Montana State. His Rams did it with Bradlee Van Pelt at quarterback and Cecil Sapp bashing through the Pokes line for 152 yards and two touchdowns. Despite this offensive might, the Border War is always a battle and Wyoming played scrappy, tying the score at 30 before the CSU offense rambled in for 14 more points and a historic victory for their coach.
2. October 14, 2000 – CSU 20, UNLV 19: The Rebels of UNLV came to Hughes Stadium as favorites behind their highly touted quarterback, Jason Thomas. The Rams defense played a tight and tough game; Thomas had to leave the game with a sprained ankle. However, the Rebels didn't lay down with back-up quarterback Jason Vaughn mounting 86 yards to keep his team in the fight. The Rams needed this victory, set in front of 31,700 fans at Hughes Stadium, to take full control of the Mountain West after Utah's loss to San Diego State earlier that day. Thanks to the hand of Rhett Nelson and a blocked PAT, the Rams came away with a victory and stayed in control of the conference for the remainder of the season. Lubick felt bad for the star UNLV quarterback and even gave him a hug after the game, wishing him words of encouragement.
1. September 24, 1994 – CSU 19, SDSU 17: In the incredible season to remember, the 1994 Rams fought tooth and nail against the San Diego State Aztecs before an overflow crowd of 32,618 homecoming fans, the third largest in school history to that date. The undefeated Rams, riding the high of a 6-game winning streak that started in 1993, faced an Aztec team hell-bent on upsetting a Rams team on the cusp of cracking the AP top 25. Thanks to a tough defense led by Brady Smith and Ray Jackson, who blocked a crucial punt, the Rams came away from this homecoming game simply because the Aztec kicker missed a field goal attempt. The Rams claimed their seventh victory in the streak and fourth of the 1994 season. What made this homecoming win even sweeter is it allowed the Rams to break into the top 25 at No. 24, making it the first time in CSU history a football team had been ranked in the top 25 of the AP Poll.
That 1994 game was incredibly pivotal not just because of how close the contest was or that the Rams cracked into the Top 25 for the first time in their history, it gave them confidence and momentum to beat New Mexico, No. 6 Arizona and UTEP to climb as high as No. 12 in the nation heading into the Utah game. Sonny's second homecoming game may have been his best, simply for the history his 1994 Rams made that day.
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5. October 4, 1997 – CSU 63, Hawaii 0: Who doesn't like blowout games from time-to-time? The 1997 homecoming bash against Hawaii marks the widest margin of victory in any homecoming game in CSU history. It also shows the incredible offense and defense of the 1997 WAC Champion Rams. A season in which the offense scored 477 points and the defense only allowed 203 points, including the Holiday Bowl victory over Missouri, the Rams poured it on in this game. This victory started an eight-game winning streak which included the conference championship game and bowl game. Sonny said after the contest, "I hope (the players) are pretty happy and have more confidence in themselves. We'll need that confidence for the rest of the season."
4. September 29, 2005 – CSU 41, AFA 23: There is nothing like an in-state rivalry on homecoming day to make for good football. The last homecoming game CSU played in the month of September was another offensive win as Rams quarterback Justin Holland passed for 318 yards while bruising sophomore running back, Kyle Bell smashed his way up the middle for a career best 197 yards. David Anderson, now a CSU Hall of Fame inductee, caught seven passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Yes, it's always nice to win on homecoming day, but to beat a rival is even better.
3. October 12, 2002 – CSU 44, Wyoming 36: If beating Air Force on homecoming day is sweet, then winning the Border War, capturing the Bronze Boot and beginning a six-game winning streak to win your sixth conference championship was among the sweetest for Lubick. Not only was this a rivalry win, but it was also the 100th overall victory for Lubick dating back to his days at Montana State. His Rams did it with Bradlee Van Pelt at quarterback and Cecil Sapp bashing through the Pokes line for 152 yards and two touchdowns. Despite this offensive might, the Border War is always a battle and Wyoming played scrappy, tying the score at 30 before the CSU offense rambled in for 14 more points and a historic victory for their coach.
2. October 14, 2000 – CSU 20, UNLV 19: The Rebels of UNLV came to Hughes Stadium as favorites behind their highly touted quarterback, Jason Thomas. The Rams defense played a tight and tough game; Thomas had to leave the game with a sprained ankle. However, the Rebels didn't lay down with back-up quarterback Jason Vaughn mounting 86 yards to keep his team in the fight. The Rams needed this victory, set in front of 31,700 fans at Hughes Stadium, to take full control of the Mountain West after Utah's loss to San Diego State earlier that day. Thanks to the hand of Rhett Nelson and a blocked PAT, the Rams came away with a victory and stayed in control of the conference for the remainder of the season. Lubick felt bad for the star UNLV quarterback and even gave him a hug after the game, wishing him words of encouragement.
1. September 24, 1994 – CSU 19, SDSU 17: In the incredible season to remember, the 1994 Rams fought tooth and nail against the San Diego State Aztecs before an overflow crowd of 32,618 homecoming fans, the third largest in school history to that date. The undefeated Rams, riding the high of a 6-game winning streak that started in 1993, faced an Aztec team hell-bent on upsetting a Rams team on the cusp of cracking the AP top 25. Thanks to a tough defense led by Brady Smith and Ray Jackson, who blocked a crucial punt, the Rams came away from this homecoming game simply because the Aztec kicker missed a field goal attempt. The Rams claimed their seventh victory in the streak and fourth of the 1994 season. What made this homecoming win even sweeter is it allowed the Rams to break into the top 25 at No. 24, making it the first time in CSU history a football team had been ranked in the top 25 of the AP Poll.
That 1994 game was incredibly pivotal not just because of how close the contest was or that the Rams cracked into the Top 25 for the first time in their history, it gave them confidence and momentum to beat New Mexico, No. 6 Arizona and UTEP to climb as high as No. 12 in the nation heading into the Utah game. Sonny's second homecoming game may have been his best, simply for the history his 1994 Rams made that day.
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