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CSU's Kyle Bell sat out last season with a knee injury after rushing for 1,288 yards in 2005.

FORT COLLINS — Just for the fun of it, Colorado State defensive lineman Jesse Nading and a couple of his teammates began counting how many times Kyle Bell has been asked about his knee since the Rams started practice last week.

They quit when the number hit triple digits.

"About 100, easily," Nading said Tuesday.

As for Bell, he doesn't even need to hear the question before the answer pops out.

"The knee's great," said Bell, who missed all of last season after a stellar 1,288-yard, 10-touchdown performance in 2005. "It's 100 percent. There's the occasional soreness and stiffness, but that's to be expected. I'm confident there won't be a problem."

The all-time leading rusher in Colorado prep history, Bell ran for 8,248 yards at Weld Central. After getting his feet wet with 26 carries in six games as a freshman at CSU, he had his breakout sophomore season. That led to all kinds of preseason honors a year ago — and that's as far as the year went, as he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament just a few days before the season opener.

But now he's back, he says he's healthy, and he can't wait to test his knee in any game. The fact that the Rams' season opener is the Sept. 1 rivalry game with Colorado at Invesco Field in Denver makes it even better.

"It's a big rival, the first game, great stadium, big crowd — you couldn't ask for anything better," Bell said. "When you're a football player, you want to play football. I have no doubt that my knee is healthy.

"But even more important, we're ready to go. We had a tough year last year (the Rams finished the season with seven consecutive losses), and we want to turn that around. I know every team in the country is saying this right now, but we really think we can do something special this year."

Notable

This might be the most experienced team in CSU history. The Rams have 20 returning starters, including nine on defense. ... While Sonny Lubick was the head coach at CSU for the two seasons that Bill McCartney was Colorado's coach, the two never met on the field. Lubick's first game against the Buffs came in 1995, in Rick Neuheisel's second game as CU's head coach. Lubick has now coached against three different CU bosses: Neuheisel (0-4), Gary Barnett (3-4) and Dan Hawkins (1-0). ... While CU won eight in a row over CSU in the McCartney-Neuheisel eras, the series is 4-4 since 1999.