Oh, how things have changed.

The last time Colorado State faced off against Boise State was arguably the peak of the Jay Norvell era.

It was a little over two years ago at Canvas Stadium and despite trailing 30-10 midway through the fourth quarter, the Rams miraculously came back and won on a Hail Mary touchdown pass from Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi to tight end Dallin Holker, capping an epic first win over the Broncos in program history.

CSU was 0-12 against Boise State heading into that night and it seemed like everything was on the right track in Fort Collins.

Now, 25 months later, as the Rams (2-8, 1-5 Mountain West) head to Boise to face the Broncos (6-4, 4-2 MW) on Saturday (5 p.m. FS1) for the final time as Mountain West foes (they’ll continue to play every year in the new-look Pac-12), things couldn’t be much different.

Interim coach Tyson Summers sums it up best.

“Really challenging (season),” he said. “Haven’t won as many games as we (would’ve) liked, coach (Norvell) winds up getting dismissed, you’re on your third coordinator, now we’re on our third quarterback. A lot going on.”

There certainly is.

With an injury report so deep you could field a solid offense and defense, CSU has lost four straight games, three of which came after Norvell’s firing and unless they find a way to win one of their final two games, the Rams are staring down the program’s worst record in a full season since they went 1-10 in 1988.

But Summers isn’t giving up hope of getting that third win, which would match the amount CSU had during Norvell’s first season in 2022.

The Rams were a few plays away from beating a talented New Mexico team last week in Albuquerque as redshirt freshman Darius Curry, who is set to make his first career start this week, came in for an injured Jackson Brousseau and became the first CSU quarterback to throw for over 200 yards in a game this season, finishing with 248 yards and two touchdowns (along with three interceptions) as the Rams offense showed signs of life for the first time in weeks.

“I am really, really excited about the trajectory that we’re on. I think we continue to get better,” Summers said. “(Curry was) really good with his efficiency. Just had some bad luck with some batted balls that we’ve gotta make sure that we don’t have, but if you’re able to get some of those batted balls taken out of it, then it’s a whole different game.”

Even though the Rams won the second half last week and appear to be finally headed on the right track, albeit way too little and way too late, you won’t find Summers shouting from the rooftops about moral victories.

“We’re not looking for second-place trophies or anything like that, but I do think when we start talking about progress and process, I’m as excited as I can be,” Summers said. “What you’re starting to see is some of our changes and habits and some of our attention to detail to things and some of the changes and adjustments that we’ve made over the course of the last three weeks… I think you’re seeing them start to translate into games.”

King’s Prediction

Boise State 24, Colorado State 14

While the Rams certainly are a different team from two years ago, so are the Broncos. After making the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff last year, Boise State has taken a step back without Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty. The team still has good running backs and a quality defense, but the Boise offense has fallen off in recent weeks, with just 14 points over the last two games. Still, CSU coming to town is a nice way to get back on track.