Misery index: Which Colorado struggling FBS college football program is hurting most?

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Bowl season will be mighty quiet in Colorado.

There are three FBS programs in the state and all need to win out to reach bowl eligibility. And based on results so far, winning out is, er, unlikely.

Air Force, Colorado and Colorado State are a combined 7-18 this season. It's quite a downturn. Air Force has been a bowl mainstay until this season and last. CU and CSU showed signs of growth in 2024 before getting smacked in the face in 2025.

Thankfully the state has some excellent lower level college football, but the biggest names are providing little succes.

Which has it worse? Here's a very unofficial misery index.

Air Force

Misery resume: The Falcons are 2-6 after a 5-7 record a year ago and the Falcons will surely miss a bowl for the second season in a row.

Notable: Air Force is 1-6 against FBS opponents but how it has happened makes it even harder to stomach. It would be one thing to just be flat-out bad. No, Air Force is quite competitive but just can't win. Three of the losses are by just three points, with a ton of late-game drama ending in defeats.

Misery index: 2/10. Back-to-back seasons without a bowl will hurt and there's a real concern that the modern era of college football is finally grounding Air Force. But it's still a competitive team and with the Mountain West/Pac-12 split ahead, the Falcons should be right around the top of the weakened MW moving forward.

Colorado State

Misery resume: The Rams are 2-6 and are almost certain to miss a bowl for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. Additionally, CSU has also made a coaching change with Jay Norvell fired in October.

Notable: CSU made a mid-season coaching change for the first time since the 1981 season and now the Rams have a coaching search underway while the season continues in an awkward final stretch. CSU's 8-5 season in 2024 now feels like a distant memory. The on-field play has been a rough watch, with the offense 120th in FBS in scoring.

Misery index: 7/10. On the one hand, the bottom falling out in 2025 was another slap in the face for fans desperate for some level of consistent success. The midseason firing and general poor play have success feeling a long way away. On the other hand, the stress and drama about a potential change is gone. Fans are now spending time looking at potential candidates and by December will surely be convinced a bright new future is ahead with the new hire.

Colorado

Misery resume: Colorado is 3-6 and will almost surely miss a bowl for the second time in three seasons with Deion Sanders in charge.

Notable: The last two losses for the Buffs came by a combined score of 105-24 and "Coach Prime" is doing some very Steve Addazio-looking things. There were no assistant coaches or players made available to media this week. A quote of "we are trending in the right direction behind the curtains" gives off the same vibes of Addazio's "brick by brick" comment while flailing at CSU. Overall, 16-18 given CU's history before him wouldn't be too bad. The problem? Well, a contract extension before this season means Sanders is a top-15 paid coach in college football. A lot of cash being spent to not be any good.

Misery index: 9/10. Don't imagine the goal for paying a coach $10 million a year is to occasionally make a mid-rate bowl (CU was rolled 36-14 in the Alamo Bowl by BYU last season) is the goal. Yet another change at play-caller and the poor QB play leaves little hope that better is coming soon.

Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on X and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Which Colorado struggling FBS college football program is hurting most?

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