On December 13, 2011, Colorado State hired Alabama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain to take over as head coach. McElwain remained with the Crimson Tide through the remainder of the bowl season before taking over at CSU, and won a second national championship with Alabama when they defeated LSU 21–0 in the BCS Championship Game on January 9, 2012. McElwain's tenure at CSU began on a high note. In his first game the Rams defeated rival Colorado 22–17 on September 1, 2012. The Rams finished 4–8 in McElwain's first season and improved to 8–6 in 2013. After leading the Rams to their best season since 2003, with a record of 10–2, McElwain won the 2014 Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year honors. Just a couple days after that announcement in early December 2014, McElwain accepted the position of head coach at the University of Florida, making him the first football coach in CSU history to leave the team for another program.