Colorado State football bowl history: Rams’ all-time bowl scores, results
The first bowl game for the Colorado State football program came on New Years Day in 1949.
Nine of CSU’s bowls were played under coach Sonny Lubick, by far the most for any coach of the Rams.
CSU is back in the postseason in 2024 with the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl.
Here is a look at CSU’s bowl history, with notes and results for each bowl the Rams have played in.
1949 Raisin Bowl
- Score: Occidental College 21, Colorado A&M 20
- Location: Ratcliffe Stadium, Fresno, California
- Attendance: 10,000
- Notable: The Jan. 1, 1949 bowl came at the end of the Bob Davis-led 1948 season that saw Colorado A&M go 8-2. Colorado A&M led 13-0 at halftime, with star Eddie Hanna scoring on a 71-yard run. Occidental scored 21 second-half points to secure the win.
1990 Freedom Bowl
- Score: Colorado State 32, Oregon 31
- Location: Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California
- Attendance: 51,103
- Notable: The first postseason game in more than 40 years for CSU and a matchup with Pac-10 foe Oregon. Running back Todd Yert was named the MVP after rushing for 94 yards and a touchdown as CSU secured its first bowl win.
1994 Holiday Bowl
- Score: Michigan 24, Colorado State 14
- Location: Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California
- Attendance: 59,453
- Notable: Anthoney Hill had a big day for CSU, throwing for 289 yards and two touchdowns to be named offensive MVP of the bowl game.
1995 Holiday Bowl
- Score: Kansas State 54, Colorado State 21
- Location: Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California
- Attendance: 51,051
- Notable: A 19-point second quarter saw Kansas State pull away from Colorado State. Freshman Ram running back Damon Washington had 101 rushing yards.
1997 Holiday Bowl
- Score: Colorado State 35, Missouri 24
- Location: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California
- Attendance: 50,761
- Notable: San Diego native Darran Hall starred in his hometown, scoring on a 14-yard reverse on the first drive then notching an 85-yard punt return TD later in the game. Moses Moreno (another San Diego native) threw for 206 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The San Diego natives were named co-MVPs. The Rams closed what many consider the best season in school history with nine consecutive wins and an 11-2 record.
1999 Liberty Bowl
- Score: Southern Miss 23, Colorado State 17
- Location: Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee
- Attendance: 54,866
- Notable: The Mountain West champions vs the Conference USA champions. Southern Miss scored first on a fumble return and then later on a blocked punt to help take the game.
2000 Liberty Bowl
- Score: Colorado State 22, Louisville 17
- Location: Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee
- Attendance: 58,302
- Notable: Coming off a second Mountain West title in a row, CSU scored second-quarter touchdowns from Cecil Sapp (a 2-yard run) and Frank Rice (16-yard reverse) to build a lead that the Rams would hold. Sapp set a Liberty Bowl record with 160 rush yards. CSU was later ranked 14th by the Associated Press following the end of the season.
2001 New Orleans Bowl
- Score: Colorado State 45, North Texas 20
- Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
- Attendance: 27,004
- Notable: The first time CSU ever competed in three consecutive bowls and first time for CSU to win back-to-back bowls. Justin Gallimore blocked a punt and recovered it to score a touchdown (and earned bowl MVP honors in the process). Bradlee Van Pelt ran for a TD and threw for one.
2002 Liberty Bowl
- Score: TCU 17, Colorado State 3
- Location: Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee
- Attendance: 55,207
- Notable: Cecil Sapp ran for 106 yards but the Rams couldn’t find the end zone against Gary Patterson’s TCU defense. Ten fourth-quarter points for TCU kept the Rams at 10 wins on the season.
2003 San Francisco Bowl
- Score: Boston College 35, Colorado State 21
- Location: SBC Park, San Francisco, California
- Attendance: 25,621
- Notable: Boston College raced to a 21-0 lead to take control. CSU quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt threw for 163 yards and a touchdown and ran for 65 yards and a score. The Rams threw five interceptions, three by Van Pelt and two by Justin Holland. David Anderson had 10 catches for 134 yards and a 40-yard touchdown.
2005 Poinsettia Bowl
- Score: Navy 51, Colorado State 30
- Location: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California
- Attendance: 36,842
- Notable: Navy’s Reggie Campbell tied the NCAA bowl record at the time with five rushing touchdowns. Navy racked up a whopping 467 rush yards and 611 yards of total offense. CSU’s Justin Holland threw for 381 yards and three touchdowns but it was no match for Navy’s surge. CSU tight end Kory Sperry had eight catches for 117 yards and David Anderson had nine catches for 126 yards.
2008 New Mexico Bowl
- Score: Colorado State 40, Fresno State 35
- Location: University Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Attendance: 24,735
- Notable: The Gartrell Johnson show as he set an NCAA bowl record at the time for combined rushing and receiving yards with 375 yards of total offense. Johnson had 285 rush yards and two touchdowns on the game to go with 90 receiving yards. CSU took its first lead of the game on a 69-yard TD pass from Billy Farris to Rashaun Greer in the fourth quarter. Johnson secured the win with a 77-yard rushing score in the final 2 minutes. The Rams had 619 yards of offense.
2013 New Mexico Bowl
- Score: Colorado State 48, Washington State 45
- Location: University Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Attendance: 27,104
- Notable: One of the wildest wins in CSU history. The Rams trailed by 15 points with less than 3 minutes left. A Garrett Grayson to Jordon Vaden TD with 2:52 left made it 45-37 Washington State. Shaquil Barrett forced and recovered a fumble with 1:51 to go. Kapri Bibbs scored to make it 45-43 and then Donnell Alexander tied it on a Statue of Liberty two-point conversion. On the ensuing kickoff, SteveO Michel forced a fumble that Jasen Oden recovered, And, on the final play of the game, CSU kicker Jared Roberts drilled a 41-yard field goal to give the Rams the miraculous victory.
2014 Las Vegas Bowl
- Score: Utah 45, Colorado State 10
- Location: Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada
- Attendance: 33,067
- Notable: The 10-win season ended with a thud. The Rams played the bowl without coach Jim McElwain, who had departed for Florida (and made an appearance on the TV broadcast that infuriated CSU fans). CSU quarterback Garrett Grayson threw for 227 yards and a touchdown and All-American wide receiver Rashard Higgins had 110 receiving yards on seven catches. Utah running back Devontae Booker rushed for 165 yards and a touchdown.
2015 Arizona Bowl
- Score: Nevada 28, Colorado State 23
- Location: Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Arizona
- Attendance: 20,425
- Notable: CSU took a 23-22 lead with 3 minutes, 40 seconds remaining on a 38-yard field goal by Wyatt Bryan. Wolf Pack running back James Butler had 192 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner that came on a 4-yard run with 1:06 to play. CSU attempted to drive the field in what time was left, but CSU couldn’t get out of bounds to stop the clock on a 9-yard pass from Nick Stevens that got the Rams to the Nevada 12.
2016 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
- Score: Idaho 61, Colorado State 50
- Location: Albertsons Stadium, Boise, Idaho
- Attendance: 24,975
- Notable: An “ice bowl” of sorts on the slippery blue turf in Boise. A wild offensive shootout with both teams notching more than 600 yards of offense. CSU was way down and scored 36 fourth-quarter points, but it wasn’t enough for a comeback after Idaho had 41 unanswered points over one stretch. Olabisi Johnson set CSU’s all-time single-game receiving yards record with seven catches for 265 yards and two touchdowns. Michael Gallup had three receiving touchdowns.
2017 Gildan New Mexico Bowl
- Score: Marshall 31, Colorado State 28
- Location: Dreamstyle Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Attendance: 26,087
- Notable: CSU trailed 31-14 late in the third quarter before scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns, but a final drive inside the final 2 minutes to try and tie or take the lead ended with a turnover on downs. Nick Stevens threw 52 passes for 320 yards and two touchdowns. Marshall had 501 yards of offense.
2024 Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl
- Date: 2 p.m. Mountain Saturday, Dec, 28, 2024
- Location: Arizona Stadium
- Matchup: CSU vs Miami (Ohio)
- Notable: CSU makes its return to the postseason for the first time since 2017. The Rams went 8-4 in the regular season and will face Miami (Ohio) of the MAC. Miami is 8-5 and lost in the MAC title game. The Rams will be looking to snap a four-game bowl losing streak and win a postseason game for the first time since 2013.
Colorado State football all-time bowl record
CSU is 6-11 in bowls all-time entering 2024.
Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on X and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.
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