CSU took another big step in upgrading its nonconference football schedule Wednesday with the announcement of a home-and-home series with Oregon State that begins with a 2017 game at the new on-campus stadium in Fort Collins.

Colorado State University’s first game in the new stadium will be played Sept. 9, 2017, against Abilene Christian, with the Oregon State game coming two weeks later on Sept. 23.

CSU will open the 2017 season Sept. 2 in Denver against the University of Colorado and will play a road game at Alabama on Sept. 16. That gives CSU three nonconference games against schools from what now make up the Power Five conferences for the first time since 2004, when CU, Southern California and Minnesota were all on the Rams’ schedule.

“We are extremely excited about the opening of our new stadium in 2017 and bringing Rams football back to campus,” CSU coach Mike Bobo said in a news release. “We also want to play the most competitive schedule we can and deliver to our fans the opportunity to see quality competition. Our 2017 non-conference schedule, with two opponents from the Pac-12 and one from the SEC, will provide our program with the type of competition we need to prepare our team for Mountain West play.”

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The conference dates are still unknown because the Mountain West doesn’t announce them until the spring prior to each season. But the schedule calls for the Rams to play home games in 2017 against Air Force, Boise State, Nevada and San Jose State and road games at Hawaii, New Mexico, Utah State and Wyoming.

The Oregon State game is part of a home-and-home series between the two schools, with CSU scheduled to visit Corvallis, Oregon, for the return game in 2020.

Abilene Christian will receive a $325,000 guarantee from CSU for the 2017 game, said Steve Cottingham, the Rams' executive associate athletic director. That's the same amount the school guaranteed Savannah State for each game in a two-game contract that included the 2015 season opener at Hughes Stadium and a future game in Fort Collins. Northern Colorado will receive a $275,000 guarantee for its game this fall at Hughes, Cottingham said.

There are no financial incentives in the two-game deal with Oregon State, Cottingham said, as generally is the case with home-and-home series.

CSU’s 2018 nonconference schedule includes games against CU in Denver to open the season and Sept. 15 at Florida, a game the Rams will receive a $2 million guarantee for playing as part of the $7 million buyout agreement that allowed the Gators to hire coach Jim McElwain away from CSU at the end of the 2014 regular season.

CSU and CU are playing annually through 2020 under terms of a 10-year contract. The first nine games in that series are being played in Denver, with the 2020 game set for Fort Collins. CU filled its three slots for nonconference games in 2021 and 2022 without CSU, but school spokesman Dave Plati said the school was open to resuming the series in 2023 and beyond.

CSU’s 2016 schedule begins with a Friday game on Sept. 2 in Denver against CU and includes home games Sept. 10 against Texas-San Antonio and Sept. 17 against Northern Colorado and a road game Sept. 24 at Minnesota.

The Rams’ MW games this fall include home dates with Fresno State, New Mexico, Utah State and Wyoming and road games at Air Force, Boise State, San Diego State and UNLV.

 

Source : coloradoan.com

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