Comment on The Arizona Republic's Top 10 storylines as small-school football teams enter Week 1

Doomed from the start. Hell of a response. Then a collapse. Five minutes into the Colorado Rapids’ Decision Day match against Austin FC, midfielder Djordje Mihailovic went down with a rolled ankle that required a substitute and a stretcher. On the same play, Austin earned and converted a penalty via Sebastian Driussi in the eighth minute after Mihailovic was treated. Goals in the 42nd and 75th for the Rapids seemed to have secured a quality win in what coach Chris Armas considered a must-win for his team, but two headed goals from Austin in stoppage time flipped the result and subjected the Rapids to the seventh seed in the MLS Cup Playoffs. Here are three takeaways from a 3-2 loss that reawakened the demons of losing to bad teams on the road heading into a playoff matchup with L.

AIR FORCE ACADEMY — The Colorado State Rams have endured many long, somber bus rides from Falcon Stadium back home to Fort Collins. Not Saturday night. The Rams held on for a tense 21-13 victory over Air Force, turning the 125-mile journey into something of a joy ride. CSU made its share of mistakes — early and late — but delivered enough big plays to notch a win at the Academy for the first time since 2002.

TUCSON, Ariz. — On a day when Stanley Burrell turned up to hang with Deion Sanders, the Buffs were the ones who put the (MC) Hammer down. “CU has a real shot in the Big 12 (title race),” Erik Garcia told me, gushing, as we stood outside the Buffs’ locker room at Arizona Stadium early Saturday night. Garcia believes, baby. Did we mention that Erik is an Arizona fan? Yep.

The Colorado School of Mines football team is done playing nip-and-tuck games away from Golden — at least for now. The Orediggers submitted their strongest offensive performance of the season Saturday in Alamosa, piling up a season-high 638 yards in a 56-14 rout of Adams State in RMAC play. Quarterback Evan Foster did it all, completing 25 of 31 passes for 326 yards and four touchdowns, running for 57 yards on four carries, and even reeling in a 17-yard scoring pass from Landon Walker on a trick play. The 12th-ranked Orediggers (6-1, 4-1 RMAC) rumbled for 288 yards on the ground against out-manned Adams State (0-7, 0-5 RMAC), which lost starting quarterback Chase Nelson in the first half and never recovered.

AIR FORCE ACADEMY — Fueled by pride, passion and pageantry, rivalries have long put the pizzazz in college football. But as conference realignment continues to reshape the landscape, rivalries are an endangered species. That’s likely the case for the decades-old Colorado State-Air Force showdown. The two teams met for the 62nd time Saturday night at Falcon Stadium where the Rams had not won since 2022.

Initial observations from the CU Buffs’ 34-7 win over the Arizona Wildcats in Big 12 play at Arizona Stadium. Paging Sean Payton: An onside kick attempt to start the game? Did Arizona head coach Brent Brennan consult the Broncos’ Sean Payton earlier this week? Bold move, to say the least — if not a very bright one.