Michael Brian / Loveland Reporter-Herald)
FORT COLLINS — He pinches his nose, massaging the tips of his fingers against the inside of the bridge, languishing for answers.
Tom Hilbert's face scowls, eyes squeezing shut as the coach's players huddle behind him. Colorado State teeters on the edge of defeat, a sensation the Rams avoided since late August and had only experienced once all season.
Everything between then and the moment Hilbert is now frozen was flawless. Perfection. Ten consecutive wins, a pair of victories over ranked opponents, one even on hostile soil. The Rams cracked back into the top 25 themselves, resting at No.