FORT COLLINS -- Sonny Lubick is Colorado State football.

The field at Hughes Stadium is named after him. A steakhouse bearing his name, which is going to feel a lot like the Brett Favre Steakhouse in Green Bay this fall, is getting ready to open in Old Town.

During Lubick's 15 years as CSU's head coach, the long-suffering program won or shared six conference championships, made nine bowl appearances and turned a one-sided series with Colorado into an emotional rivalry played on the national stage.

So what is going to happen to the Rams now that Lubick is no longer officially a part of CSU football?

Well, that depends on who you talk to.

Some fans are still seething at CSU athletic director Paul Kowalczyk for firing the legend. Lubick's feelings are still hurt over not being given the Joe Paterno treatment, which he believes was well earned after posting a 108-74 record.

Some boosters demanded the regime change after watching the program suffer through three losing seasons in the last four years and an overall record of 24-36 over the last five seasons. They are hoping first-year head coach Steve Fairchild can return CSU to the glory days.

"Pretty confusing," is how Rich Bircumshaw, the veteran play-by-play radio voice of the Rams, describes the awkward departure of Lubick last November. "Sonny had so many loyal people. A lot of people didn't want a change, but at the same time people knew they probably had to have a change if the program was going to move on."

Kowalczyk was a four-letter word in Fort Collins after the bold decision was made to turn the page on the Lubick era.

How can you replace the face of the program? Hiring a respected member of the family was his answer.

Fairchild played quarterback at CSU from 1978-80 and was one of Lubick's key assistants during the Rams' remarkable rise to power in the old WAC and the early years of the Mountain West Conference.

Only time will tell if the magic Lubick created in Fort Collins can ever be recreated on the football field.

If nothing else, Fairchild has a copy of the old blue print.

“Coach Fairchild is an amazing fit,” said CSU junior safety Klint Kubiak. “He has already done wonders with our team and he has changed us a lot. It’s a 180 from where we were mentally and physically last year. We couldn’t have asked for a better replacement.”

Kubiak is the son of former Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak, who is entering his third season as the head coach of the Houston Texans.

Fairchild — a CSU assistant from 1993-2000 — spent the last seven years in the NFL. He was the offensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills in 2006 and 2007 before returning to Fort Collins.

“It’s a shocking difference,” Kubiak said of the approach the business-like Fairchild has taken to the job compared to the lovable Lubick. “I grew up watching the Broncos practice and the Texans practice. Coach Fairchild and my dad might as well be the same guy as far as the practice tempo and what he expects from his guys.

“But as much as he expects out of us he respects us and knows what we’re going through. I love Coach Fairchild.”

Hiring Fairchild was a no-brainer for Kowalczyk. Agreeing to replace Lubick was something Fairchild wasn’t even willing to think about until speaking with his mentor on the phone last December.

“During my initial conversation with Sonny, I had no intention of even talking about this job,” Fairchild told the Camera after Saturday’s scrimmage at Hughes Stadium. “He’s such a good person, and the longer we were on the phone he kind of said he thought this might be a good idea for me to do this. And he kind of recommended me in his own way.

“I can’t say enough about him. I’ve worked for some really good coaches, and he’s by far the one who influenced me the most. He was just so kind to me and my family when we were here.”

A sheepish start?

Ram Nation’s glass-half-full population believes Fairchild can do for CSU what Troy Calhoun did for Air Force last season.

After leaving his position as Gary Kubiak’s offensive coordinator with the Texans to take over for Fisher DeBerry — another Front Range coaching legend who was shoved into retirement — Calhoun guided his alma mater to a 9-4 record and was named the Mountain West’s coach of the year.

Inheriting senior quarterback Shaun Carney, a four-year starter, and running back Chad Hall, the Mountain West Conference’s offensive player of the year, didn’t hurt the cause.

“I think it is unfair to say that Steve could do that because I don’t think he has as many weapons as Calhoun had last year,” Bircumshaw said. “It’s got to be a three- to five-year process. I don’t think it’s something that can be done overnight. But I think this coaching staff has the capability to do get the program turned back around because they understand what it takes.”

Before accepting the position, Fairchild made sure Kowalczyk was willing to pay the freight for a first-class coaching staff. Then he quickly brought back popular defensive coordinator Larry Kerr, retained Marc Lubick (son of Sonny) and made ex-Rams Pat Meyer, Daren Wilkinson and Anthoney Hill assistants.

“I used to be very concerned as a younger coach about facilities and infrastructure and resources,” Fairchild said. “And those things are very important, but the only thing I talked with Paul about that I would not have taken this job on was coaches salaries. I just wanted to make sure I had the resources in that area to go get a very talented staff, which I did.

“Once I was assured I could do that then obviously this was the job for me.”

Fairchild said because of the confidence he has in the staff and the work they have done since taking over in January he will not be nervous next Sunday when he makes his head coaching debut against Colorado at Invesco Field.

But he also understands that in order to compete with BYU, Utah and TCU in the Mountain West, CSU is going to have to significantly upgrade its facilities in the near future.

Many of today’s recruits care as much about the size of locker rooms and weight rooms as they do the quality of the education they will receive or the assistant coaches they will play for.

“We did some things in the 90s, but everybody else is progressing. The whole world of college football is progressing,” Fairchild said. “Unless we try to stay with it then the job gets harder and harder.”

The Rams were picked to finish eighth in the nine-team Mountain West in the preseason media poll, ahead of only Nevada-Las Vegas.

“As a player, if you’re not motivated just by the fact that you’re playing the game that you love and playing for your school and teammates ... if that’s not enough, I don’t know what is,” CSU running back Kyle Bell said. “But it’s kind of interesting to hear some of the outside stuff every now and then. Still, what’s in our locker room, that’s what fuels us.”

CU later Sonny

If not for CSU’s inability to close out games against CU in recent years, there is a good chance Sonny Lubick would still be stalking the sideline.

The Buffs have won four of the last five meetings in the series by scores of 42-35, 27-24, 31-28 and 31-28.

Jeremy Bloom’s clutch catch at Invesco Field. Marcus Houston getting stuffed at the goal-line in Boulder. Last-second field goals by Mason Crosby and Kevin Eberhart.

All of the above led to season-opening hangovers CSU couldn’t seem to shake.

“It is a big game because it does set the winning team up,” Bell said. “You get momentum if you win. And as we’ve found out the last couple years, losing at the wire is tough to come back from.”

CSU did defeat the Buffs 14-10 in 2006. Of course that was the year Montana State beat CU 19-10 as the Dan Hawkins era got off to a painful 2-10 start.

In the last two years, while Lubick was struggling on the field and recruiting trail, Hawkins has restocked his program with some impressive talent and re-energized the CU fan base.

Meanwhile, the wise guys obviously think Fairchild will open up with a pretty empty cupboard as the Buffs are currently listed as 11½-point favorites in Las Vegas.

“I think we have the guys to do it this year,” Kubiak insists. “More than talent, I think we have tough guys who want to win. And that’s more important in my eyes. We have guys that are going to have your back when you go into the corner.”

Long road

Playing a Big 12 opponent in an NFL stadium produces the kind of exposure and revenue CSU desperately needs. On Saturday, Fairchild described the rivalry with the Buffs this way.

“The CU game is just so cool,” he said.

But when Fairchild was breaking the huddle the Rams didn’t even get a chance to play the Buffs, which was probably good timing for CU during its 1-10 campaign in 1980.

“I didn’t get to play CU, but I remember getting indoctrinated into the Wyoming rivalry and the Air Force rivalry,” Fairchild said. “And when I was here as an assistant we had some games against Air Force that were just epic games. The Wyoming thing has such a great history and what’s neat about the Wyoming rivalry is both universities, not just the athletic departments, take it so seriously.

“And then the CU thing with the setting in Denver, I hope we continue to do it there because it’s just a great thing for the state of Colorado.”

In other words, there are plenty of backyard brawls Fairchild needs to help CSU start winning consistently again.

Despite the recent struggles, Lubick finished his career with a 4-4 record against CU in Denver and an 11-4 record in the Border War against Wyoming.

Your turn, Steve.

“You wish it would have ended a little better,” Bell said. “Anytime you have a coach that leaves it’s not a great situation. There was a lot of mixed feelings, but when they went out and got coach Fairchild it did kind of bring back a feeling of comfort just to know we were getting a guy with credentials and a guy who has been here. That was the first step in the right direction.”