Colorado State’s final four games of the 2025 season, its final four in the Mountain West Conference, include games against the top two teams in the league from last year and conclude with a Friday rivalry game.
Coming off their second bye week of the season, the Rams will host UNLV before going on the road in back-to-back weeks to face New Mexico and last year’s Mountain West champion, Boise State. CSU will close out the regular season on a Friday against Air Force at Canvas Stadium looking to retain the Ram-Falcon Trophy the Rams won last year in Colorado Springs.
This is the last in a three-part series profiling Colorado State’s 2025 opponents. This third installment focuses on the Rams’ final four opponents.
Nov. 8 vs. UNLV, Time TBA, at Canvas Stadium
The final stretch for CSU in the MWC begins against a Rebels team that was the league runner-up last season. The Rebels will not be leaving the Mountain West along with CSU, so this matchup could be the last between the teams for a while.
The Rebels are coming off an 11-3 season. They advanced to the Mountain West championship game where they lost to Boise State, 21-7, before defeating Cal in the LA Bowl, 24-13. UNLV has been picked to finish second in the conference again this year.
First-year head coach Dan Mullen brought in more than 30 new players, but several key contributors from last year are still around. The Rebels’ offense is led by preseason all-conference running back Jai’Den Thomas, who rushed for 940 yards and seven touchdowns last season. Transfers Alex Orji (Michigan) and Anthony Colandrea (Virginia) are expected to battle for the starting quarterback position, while transfers Troy Omeire (Arizona State) and JoJo Earle (TCU) will look to replace star receiver Ricky White.
Defensively, the Rebels will have to replace star linebacker Jackson Woodard. Marsel McDuffie returns at that position after recording 46 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and two sacks last year. The rest of the team’s defense will likely be made up of transfers, several of whom could make an impact right away, such as Tunmise Adeleye (Michigan State) and Chief Borders (Pitt) on the line and Denver Harris (UTSA), Laterrance Welch (Arizona State), and Andrew Powdrell (Montana State) in the secondary.
This will be the 26th meeting between the two teams. CSU leads the series 17-7-1. UNLV won the last meeting, 25-23, in Las Vegas in 2023 on a field goal as time expired.
Nov. 15 at New Mexico, Time TBA, in Albuquerque
After hosting UNLV, CSU will hit the road for the first of back-to-back games away from Fort Collins, against another team that won’t be joining the Rams in the Pac-12 in 2026.
The Lobos are coming off a 5-7 season a year ago. They were 3-4 in the Mountain West, including a loss to the Rams at Canvas Stadium. New Mexico is another Mountain West team with a new coach, as Jason Eck takes the helm.
Offensively, last year’s quarterback Devin Dampier left for Utah and will be replaced by James Laubstein, who was on the team last season but didn’t complete a pass. Transfer Jack Layne (Idaho) is also in the mix. At running back, the Lobos picked up Scottre Humphrey in the transfer portal from Montana State. He ran for close to 1,100 yards last year with 13 touchdowns. New Mexico also had to get receivers from the portal. The group will be led by Keegan Johnson from Kansas State, who has 73 career catches.
On the defensive side, the Lobos return some depth at linebacker. Dimitri Johnson is back in the middle and comes off a 77-tackle season, while Randolph Kpai was third on the team with 80 stops. Coach’s son Jaxton Eck came with his father after a 123-tackle season at Idaho. The defensive line and secondary will be mostly made up of transfers, led by pass rusher Keshawn James-Newby from Idaho, who led the Vandals with 10.5 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss.
CSU holds a 45-35 advantage in a series that dates back to 1935. Including last year’s victory at Canvas Stadium, the Rams have defeated the Lobos 13 straight times.
Nov. 22 at Boise State, Time TBA, in Boise
The Rams’ final road game of the season will take them to Boise to face a team they didn’t face last year during the Broncos’ run to the Mountain West championship and College Football Playoff berth.
Boise State went 12-2 overall last year, including a 7-0 run through the Mountain West. The Broncos defeated UNLV in the conference championship game before losing to Penn State in the first round of the CFP.
Offensively, the Broncos had five players named to the preseason all-conference team. Quarterback Maddux Madsen, the Mountain West preseason offensive player of the year, returns after passing for 3,018 yards and 23 touchdowns last season. Wide receiver Latrell Caples is also back after catching 38 passes for 473 yards and five touchdowns, as is tight end Matt Lauter, who caught 47 passes for 619 yards and seven touchdowns. First-round NFL draft pick Ashton Jeanty will be replaced by either returnee Sire Gaines or Fresno State transfer Malik Sherrod. Linemen Kage Casey and Mason Randolph were selected to the preseason all-conference team.
Defensively, the Broncos had another five players selected to the preseason all-conference team. Defensive linemen Braxton Fely and Jayden Virgin-Morgan return. Virgin-Morgan had 40 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks last season. Fely had 24 tackles, nine tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. Also back is linebacker Marco Notarainni, who had 60 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks, and defensive backs Ty Benefield and A’Marion McCoy. Benefield had 82 tackles and two interceptions last season, while McCoy had 60 tackles and one interception.
This will be the 14th meeting between the two teams. Boise State won the first 13 before CSU ended the streak with a last-minute touchdown in 2023 at Canvas Stadium.
Nov. 28 vs. Air Force, Time TBA, at Canvas Stadium
The final week of the regular season will mark not only the last Mountain West game for CSU, but also the last, for now, edition of the battle for the Ram-Falcon trophy with Air Force. The Falcons are not joining the Pac-12 with the Rams.
Air Force is coming off a 5-7 season a year ago in head coach Troy Calhoun’s 17th season. The Falcons went 3-4 in the Mountain West.
Offensively, the Falcons are looking at a pair of quarterbacks to lead the team this season after the departure of Quentin Hayes. Josh Johnson is the only option with experience, and Liam Szarka has the most talent among the QBs on the roster. At running back, Dylan Carson returns after leading the team with 600 yards despite missing a few games last season. He will be joined by Owen Allen, Terrence Gist, Kade Frew and Cade Harris in the Falcons’ dynamic rushing attack. Harris was also the team’s top receiver after leading the team with 23 catches for 368 yards and two scores.
Daniel Grobe will lead the defensive line after recording 4.5 tackles for loss to go with 31 tackles last season. Also on the line, Payton Zdroik had three sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss. After losing David Santiago to Michigan State, Blake Fletcher and Luke Fisher are the leading returning linebackers. Safety Kyle Chen is the leading returning tackler among the defensive backs.
Air Force leads the all-time series between the two teams, 39-22-1, in a series that dates back to 1957. Prior to last year’s win by the Rams, the Falcons had won seven in a row and 16 of the previous 19.