FORT COLLINS — Every dollar counts in college athletics these days.

Even the ones from a football game you’re likely being paid to lose.

As Colorado State gets set to face Washington on Saturday night (9 p.m. Big Ten Network) in Seattle, it’s the first of seven road games against Power 4 conference (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC) opponents from now until 2030.

Those games often come with big paychecks, something CSU athletic director John Weber knows, and that matters as the Rams work toward their department goal of being the first non-Power conference program to reach the new revenue share cap of $20.5 million per year.

But it’s about more than just the paycheck that could certainly help CSU attract talent from the high school ranks and out of the transfer portal.

“There’s the old saying of ‘anyone, anytime, anywhere,’” Weber said. “I can’t say we’re gonna think any different than that. When we have the opportunity to play on the national stage, to play a (Power 4) opponent, we have to take advantage of that opportunity. We go into those games and we’ve gotta be able to make some noise and win more than we lose. That’s important to the trajectory of the program and what we’re trying to establish at CSU.”

What Weber is trying to establish, particularly on the football field, is one that competes regularly for that coveted Group of Five spot in the College Football Playoff.

“When I look at it, there’s two schools of thought. One, you can take the paycheck. Two, you can work really hard to get seven home games. We’re gonna focus more on that and making sure that we’ve got an opportunity to compete for a CFP slot,” Weber said. “That is a very, very real opportunity for Colorado State. Scheduling is becoming much more of an art going forward and determining what that nonconference opponent looks like is an important part and important path to the success of getting to a College Football Playoff bid. Who you’re playing and when you’re playing them and where you’re playing them is an important component of that.”

The move to the new-look Pac-12 will help, the Rams believe, but it’s on them to capitalize on it by winning on the field/court/track/pool.

“We’re on a great path, we really are. If you look around this place, the academics, the research, the size of the alumni base, nearly 34,000 students that are on campus, the facilities that are here, the city in which we live… it’s all here,” Weber said. “We’ve got a huge opportunity in front of us.”

So is every time you go to a much bigger stadium against teams with bigger budgets, and hence, bigger, faster and stronger players — like this week in the Pacific Northwest, which has ironically become Big Ten country in this day and age of college football.

“I never thought I’d live in Colorado and have to travel west to play a Big Ten team,” Rams coach Jay Norvell said recently with a laugh.

No one knows the heart of the Big Ten more than Norvell. His father, Merritt played for a Wisconsin team that made the Rose Bowl in 1963 and was later the athletic director at Michigan State. Jay played defensive back at Iowa in the early 1980s.

“I’m a Midwest kid. I grew up in my basement in December watching the Rose Bowl and dreaming about going to California,” Norvell said.

Now, Big Ten teams like Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State go west to California, Oregon and Washington every year.

The Rams believe they’re ready for this unique challenge to begin the 2025 season. They’re confident what happened in Ann Arbor in 2022 (a 51-7 loss to Michigan) and in Austin last year (a 52-0 stomping by Texas) isn’t going to happen this week.

“I think we have a lot of playmakers, which is really exciting offensively. I think we have a quarterback (Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi) that’s had to learn different styles. He’s gonna leave here with a great understanding of offensive football and how to play,” Norvell said. “All those experiences are good for Colorado State football. When you go play on the road in the nonconference, it’s important that you have a guy that has those kinds of experiences.

“Great tradition at Washington. It will be a different kind of environment for our guys. It’s a beautiful setting and a great experience for our guys. And we look forward to it. That’s what college football is all about, to go someplace new and play a great program. We’re gonna have fun with it.”

King’s prediction

Washington 38, Colorado State 20

It won’t look like last year’s beatdown at the hands of the Longhorns, but the Rams will still have their hands full against a Huskies team that could be a sneaky contender in the Big Ten. Norvell sure would like to start his fourth season at CSU with a stunning upset win, but he’ll have to settle for a solid performance that gives the Rams some positivity going into the rest of the nonconference schedule back home at Canvas Stadium.

King’s Players to Watch

Rams: RB Jalen Dupree, LB Jacob Ellis

Norvell made his strategy in games like this clear last year at Texas. He’s going to try and control the tempo of the game and limit possessions, knowing the talent on the other sideline. One way to do that is to rely on Dupree, who could be in for a big sophomore season as the Rams’ leading running back. Defensively, experience will be key, and Ellis has plenty of it coming from Iowa State.

Huskies: QB Demond Williams Jr., CB Tacario Davis

One of the potential breakout stars in all of college football is Williams, who flashed in his limited reps as a freshman but should have plenty of opportunity to put up big numbers for the Huskies offense this year. Defensively, Washington coach Jedd Fisch revamped things by bringing in a couple of players from his Arizona days. Davis, a potential All-American at cornerback, is the standout.