1 / 4

Rushing past Colorado State University on Saturday afternoon, BYU's Luke Ashworth made four of the seven touchdowns during the football game at Hughes Stadium in Ft. Collins, Colorado. The Cougars beat the Rams 49-10. Christine Armbruster

Christine Armbruster

2 / 4

BYU tight end Dennis Piita, right, pulls in a pass for a touchdown in front of Colorado State cornerback Brandon Owens in the fourth quarter of BYU's 45-42 victory in an NCAA college football game in Fort Collins, Colo., on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008. Piita had two touchdown catches in the fourth quarter including the game-winner. This was the first of two Piita touchdowns in the quarter.

David Zalubowski, AP Photo

3 / 4

BYU running back Harvey Unga, right, runs for a touchdown past Colorado State defensive back Jake Galusha in the fourth quarter of BYU's 45-42 victory in an NCAA college football game in Fort Collins, Colo., on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

David Zalubowski

4 / 4

BYU's Andrew Rich, left intercepts the ball from Colorado State's Rashaun Greer during a NCAA football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009. (AP Photo/George Frey)

George Frey

❮ ❯

The “Save College Sports Act” is inching ever closer to reality.

The debate on how effective the Act will be rages on. Proponents of the bill say it is needed to keep college sports from destroying itself. Opponents say it’s simply restraint of trade that’s intended to keep the old guard rich while limiting the earning power of athletes.

Meanwhile, the games continue, but without much of what has made college sports unique and special.

For instance, rivalries.

Many long-time regional football rivalries have gone away due to conference realignment, scheduling issues and plain old animosity. And if you follow the money, there is usually a significant financial reason behind it.

One of those regional rivalries is BYU-Colorado State.

It’s been more than 15 years since the Cougars and Rams have met on the football field but the two programs renew that rivalry on Saturday in Fort Collins, game No. 70 in a series that began in 1922.

Much has changed since the last meeting in 2010. BYU left the Mountain West Conference and navigated independence before joining the Big 12 in 2023.

Colorado State built a new stadium in 2017 at the cost of $220 million and has joined up with the rebuilt Pac-12. Hosting the Cougars will undoubtedly fill Canvas Stadium to capacity (41,200) and give the Rams a chance to earn a huge win in front of national (CBS) television audience.

Colorado State won that first meeting in 1922 by a score of 33-0. Six of the first seven games were played in Fort Collins and the Rams won the first six before BYU earned a 20-12 victory at Provo in 1938.

The two teams met pretty much annually in several different conferences but things got really interesting in the 2000s when both programs were in the MWC.

Colorado State won three of four from 2000 — the final season for legendary Cougar coach LaVell Edwards — to 2003. Luke Staley, who would go on win the Doak Walker Award as the best running back in the country, scored four touchdowns in a 56-34 win at Provo in 2001.

That 2003 game was a 58-13 Rams win, with Bradlee Van Pelt throwing three touchdown passes and Marcus Houston adding three scores on the ground. It was the worst home loss for BYU since a 48-0 drubbing at the hands of Wyoming in 1950.

The Cougars then won the next seven meetings in a row.

2004: BYU won 31-21 in Fort Collins with Austin Collie’s 40-yard touchdown catch and Fahu Tahi’s 3-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter making the difference.

2005: Curtis Brown ran 31 times for 147 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-14 Cougars win at Provo.

2006: BYU held Colorado State to 151 total yards, including just 23 on the ground, in a 24-3 victory at Fort Collins.

2007: Max Hall threw for 355 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-16 win at Provo.

2008: Hall threw for 389 yards and five scores, including a touchdown pass to Dennis Pitta with 22 seconds left to secure a wild 45-42 win at Fort Collins.

2009: The Cougars overcame a 372-yard passing performance by Grant Stucker with Harvey Unga going for 113 yards and three scores in a 42-23 victory at Provo.

2010: BYU won 49-10 in Fort Collins with Luke Ashworth having the game of his life, catching four passes for 113 yards and four touchdowns from Jake Heaps. The scores went for 62, seven, 36 and eight yards, all in the first half.

Then BYU went its separate way into independence.

There are several coaches on the Cougar staff — including head coach Kalani Sitake, offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick, defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga and Unga, now the team’s running backs coach — who played pretty much annually against the Rams in their playing days at BYU.

“I remember how good the Rams were,” Roderick said. “When I was at BYU we had our butts handed to us. When I coached up the road at Utah we went there a few times and had some tough battles with that team. They’re a good program and I have a lot of respect for what it means to fans and the town.”

Poppinga, who played linebacker at BYU for two seasons (2006-07), said there are lessons he’s passed along this week.

“The best way to let the players know what they’re getting into is by people who have been there before,” he said. “I’ve been there a bunch of times as a player and a coach. The last year was 2010. There was a blizzard that day and nobody was in the stands. It was cold, Jake Heaps had a great day if I remember right, and we played well and won the game.

“I remember two years prior to that we were ranked and we might have been undefeated. We were 17th in the country and it was a dogfight. We ended up pulling it out right at the end. Dennis Pitta made great catch in the end zone and got the crap knocked out him and we ended up winning 45-42.”

When BYU joined the Big 12 in 2023, the closest league opponent was Texas Tech (879 miles from Provo). The following season, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona joined and created a renewal of great regional rivalries.

The Cougars and Rams are scheduled to play in Provo in 2029 but aside from money games against Weber State and Southern Utah in 2030, there are no other regional non-conference games on the slate for BYU in the future.

So both sides will savor Saturday’s meeting in Fort Collins, where the Cougars are a 17.5 point favorite.

Poppinga said, “These are battles. I think the guys are ready for this environment. It’ll be a sold-out crowd and loud. Their team is playing well and their team has lot to cheer about.”

On Monday, Colorado State coach Jim Mora said, “It’s just that those (earlier) days, there was just a bit of an underdog feel (to BYU) and now they’re a powerhouse.

“They were a WAC team and now they’re a contender in the College Football Playoff. Quite frankly, it’s a bit of a road map for us here. Sticking with good people, doing the right things, making good decisions, continuing to elevate all areas of your program, which are the things that we’re doing here.”