- Jun 11, 2014
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Under McElwain's guidance the 2013 CSU Rams won eight games--the school's most in 12 seasons--and finished with a victory in the New Mexico Bowl over Pac-12 foe Washington State. As monumental as it was to win the school's first bowl game since 2008, it was the way the Rams won, scoring 18 points in the game's final three minutes for a 48-45 victory, that epitomized everything McElwain has worked to instill in his team since his arrival in Fort Collins: To adapt, to overcome, to handle chaos and to never give up.
The New Mexico Bowl win capped an 8-6 season that saw McElwain's team re-write the school's record book in several offensive categories, including new standards for single-season points scored (507) and yards per game (470.8). The 2013 Rams scored 50 or more points four times and topped the 500-yard mark for total offense eight times, both school records, and were the only team in Division I FBS to feature a 3,500-yard passer (Garrett Grayson, 3,696) and a 1,500-yard rusher (Kapri Bibbs, 1,741). CSU ranked 24th in the nation in total offense and 22nd in scoring offense, and showed tremendous balance with a No. 27 rushing rank and No. 30 passing rank.
Colorado State made the second-biggest improvement among FBS schools in scoring offense from 2012 to 2013 (from 100th to 22nd) behind Auburn (from 112th to 12th). The Ram's year-to-year improvement in total offense was fourth-biggest in FBS (100th to 24th) behind Auburn (+104), Washington (+84) and Missouri (+80).
https://www.csurams.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/jim_mcelwain_789708.html
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