Catch this recap at MWCConnection.com over at SBNation.com!
The San Diego State Aztecs (3-4, 1-2) won 42 - 28 at Fort Collins against Colorado State (3-5, 0-4). The Aztecs victory was their first in conference and extended the Rams losing streak to 5 in a row. Ryan Lindley threw a career high 6 touchdowns in the victory. Catch more after the jump!
SDSU scored on a DeMarco Sampson touchdown pass with 9:39 left in the 4th quarter and never looked back. They were down by 14 at one half and by one going into the final quarter before Lindley put the team on his back. It was the ninth most receiving yards in Aztec history by Sampson.
Ryan Lindley behind great protection all game threw six touchdowns for 459 yards and a 67% completion percentage. Most of those passes targeted DeMarco Sampson, 15 catches for 257 yards. Most of these yards came after stud WR Vincent Brown went out with an injury. The SDSU passing game clicked all game and they had no need to rely on a running game except to throw in a different look ever so often. They picked up 72 yards on the ground, most for show.
The CSU Rams were actually up 21 - 7 at half and it looked like they were headed to victory. Grant Stuckers 48% completion percentage and two interceptions would have something to say about that. John Mosure ran for a career high 130 yards while emerging freshman Lou Greenwood got zero carries. Mosure also connected on a 23 yard pass. Once again the Rams snatched defeat from the jaws of victory as the blew another lead, the forth game in a row.
Next week the Aztecs host New Mexico and look to go .500 in conference. Colorado State will host Air Force in a in-state rivalry.
Rams Notes:
That was unacceptable for a team trying to break into the top tier of the conference. Blowing a six point lead to TCU is no shame or a lead to Utah. However a 14 point lead at home against a two win SDSU team is unacceptable. After a SDSU scoring drive that took the lead in the 4th quarter the defense came off to... nothing. It was a 38 yard pass down the middle and three tackles were missed. They were not yelled at by the coaching staff nor did a defensive leader step up and rally them. That could be the biggest problem with Klint Kubiak going down. CSU needs a leader, it won't be Stucker, Kubiak, or Blu-Smith. That coaching staff seems to be missing a piece.
I am not huge believer in veteran leadership or teams losing cause they didn't care. Skill/game plans will win out 95 out of 100 times. However this team needs a fire under its butts right now or it will miss the bowl season after a 3-0 start. They lack a killer instinct on both sides of the ball right now, obvious from the four blown leads in a row. I did not expect this out of a Steve Fairchild coached team. Fairchild and Steve Kerr need to get their players back on track as the wheels have completely fallen off. The rest of the season could be embarrassing if they don't get it turned around now!
So at 3-5 should the Rams fight for a bowl or look to next year? Well go for a bowl, but I am not sure that getting there with Stucker and your seniors is the way to go. Jon Eastman can be a "game manager" at the least or he wouldn't be on the team. Give him a shot next time Stucker throws a pick and looks to be heading down hill, i.e. the last three weeks. Give Lou Greenwood a chunk of the carries and see what he can give you, better now then spring ball after a 6-6 season.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
CSU SDSU Game Thread
Few quick notes of things to look for.
- Leonard Mason's ribs... or Lou Greenwood's finish on runs.
- Stucker's confidence, he has had a rough few weeks.
- Ivory Herd and Blu-Smith as safeties, who takes the run who takes the pass.
- The play calling, will they try to put up a huge number once they finally face a defense that will allow it? Or control the clock and get their running game going?
Go Rams!
- Leonard Mason's ribs... or Lou Greenwood's finish on runs.
- Stucker's confidence, he has had a rough few weeks.
- Ivory Herd and Blu-Smith as safeties, who takes the run who takes the pass.
- The play calling, will they try to put up a huge number once they finally face a defense that will allow it? Or control the clock and get their running game going?
Go Rams!
Friday, October 23, 2009
A Few Quick Ram Notes
The volleyball team dropped 3 straight sets against TCU, their worst loss of the year by far. It snapped their 12 game winning streak.
7 O Clock Rock Results:
Womens 3 Point: Chatilla van Grinsven
Mens 3 Point: Wes Eikmeier
Overall 3 Point: Wes Eikmeier
2 Ball: Andy Ogide and student
Slam Dunk: Harvey Perry
Bad news, Wes Eikmeier is inneligable to play this year. No suprise seeing Harvey Perry win the dunk contest as he is the best athlete on the squad.
7 O Clock Rock Results:
Womens 3 Point: Chatilla van Grinsven
Mens 3 Point: Wes Eikmeier
Overall 3 Point: Wes Eikmeier
2 Ball: Andy Ogide and student
Slam Dunk: Harvey Perry
Bad news, Wes Eikmeier is inneligable to play this year. No suprise seeing Harvey Perry win the dunk contest as he is the best athlete on the squad.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
7 OClock Rock!
Get a preview of the Rams men and women basketball teams tonight at 7! Here is the link and info you might need. Here.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
CSU Rams host SDSU Aztecs
The Colorado State Rams (3-4, 0-3) host the San Diego State Aztecs (2-4, 0-2) this Saturday at Sonny Lubick Field. The Rams are coming off four straight losses, most recently to #8 TCU. SDSU is coming off a 38-28 loss to #16 BYU. Both teams are currently win less in conference and are hoping to get in the win column.
First a quick look at the Aztecs. Junior Wide Receiver Vincent Brown. That is a good boil down of their team. He is leading the MWC in Yards per game (129.7), receiving yards (778), and touchdowns (6). That is 232 more yards than the next closest receiver. He is a dominate offensive weapon and will be playing on Sundays soon enough. Sophomore QB Ryan Lindley will be taking the snaps and has had an up and down year with a few good games and a few bad ones. He comes into the game connecting on 53.1% pass attempts, he has four games over 60% and one 40% and a 25.9% completion game. He also is sporting a 10 to 11 touchdown to interceptions ratio. These are all good things to hear out of a defense that thrives on turnovers and will be missing safety Klint Kubiak. The San Diego running game is almost non-existent at 119th in the nation. They average 68.33 yards a game, and are less than a yard away from last place.
The Aztec defense runs around the middle of the pack in defensive rankings. They shouldn’t be feared by any means but can’t be considered a team you can just run over. They are adjusting to a new 3-3-5 system on defense this year. The Aztecs have not won a game in which they did not win the turnover margin, so ball security will be a must for CSU.
Rams might be playing running back carousel again this weekend as John Mosure appears to still be in Coach Fair’s doghouse, Leonard Mason has bruised ribs and is questionable, Lou Greenwood is talented but still playing like a freshman, and Alex Square is 4th on the depth chart for a reason. So where do the Rams go with the ball? Square looked decent against TCU so he may get the bulk of carries if Mason is out of action. Mosure will see some action but not the bulk of it the way things have been going. Establishing the run will be key to the Rams getting a win, they stuck with TCU till Mason went out with that injury.
Grant Stucker is taking the bumps against good defenses and needs to use what he learned the last few weeks against the lower level teams in the MWC to boost the offensive production. Pre-season All-MWC WR Rashaun Greer has zero touchdowns, Stucker needs to find him more often. Greer and Dion Morton are averaging 3.3 and 2.6 catches a game, which is simply not enough for your play makers. They both average 19+ yards per catch, some of which they are getting on the ground. For CSU to bust out at the end of the year those two need the ball in their hands.
On defense the Rams could afford to get healthy, Alex Williams returning would go a long way. Klint Kubiak is out for the year as the Rams turn to Ivory Herd at safety. The Rams just need to tackle better as they are not talented enough to make mistakes on the defensive end that allow for 2nd or 3rd and short opportunities.
The Rams should be looking at this as a tale of two MWC seasons. Their first season consisted of the top three opponents; BYU, TCU, Utah. They lost all those games and really only played well against Utah. Against BYU they played ok, but dug a hole too early. TCU just out played them and the Rams lost big. Good news for the Rams though, their remaining teams have a record of (12-21, .364%) and the two teams with winning records they get to play at home. There is a possibility for a five game streak to end at 8-4 and a bowl game. Teams might look down at them seeing the losing streak and the Rams should take advantage of that and get the swagger of the 3-0 team they were back. Six wins for a bowl game shouldn’t be the target of this team. They are good enough to get eight wins and that starts with a win at home against SDSU.
Rams Keys to Victory:
Win the turnover battle.
Find the ground game and put the ball in your play makers hands.
Play a complete game, come out with the same fire in the 2nd half as the 1st.
First a quick look at the Aztecs. Junior Wide Receiver Vincent Brown. That is a good boil down of their team. He is leading the MWC in Yards per game (129.7), receiving yards (778), and touchdowns (6). That is 232 more yards than the next closest receiver. He is a dominate offensive weapon and will be playing on Sundays soon enough. Sophomore QB Ryan Lindley will be taking the snaps and has had an up and down year with a few good games and a few bad ones. He comes into the game connecting on 53.1% pass attempts, he has four games over 60% and one 40% and a 25.9% completion game. He also is sporting a 10 to 11 touchdown to interceptions ratio. These are all good things to hear out of a defense that thrives on turnovers and will be missing safety Klint Kubiak. The San Diego running game is almost non-existent at 119th in the nation. They average 68.33 yards a game, and are less than a yard away from last place.
The Aztec defense runs around the middle of the pack in defensive rankings. They shouldn’t be feared by any means but can’t be considered a team you can just run over. They are adjusting to a new 3-3-5 system on defense this year. The Aztecs have not won a game in which they did not win the turnover margin, so ball security will be a must for CSU.
Rams might be playing running back carousel again this weekend as John Mosure appears to still be in Coach Fair’s doghouse, Leonard Mason has bruised ribs and is questionable, Lou Greenwood is talented but still playing like a freshman, and Alex Square is 4th on the depth chart for a reason. So where do the Rams go with the ball? Square looked decent against TCU so he may get the bulk of carries if Mason is out of action. Mosure will see some action but not the bulk of it the way things have been going. Establishing the run will be key to the Rams getting a win, they stuck with TCU till Mason went out with that injury.
Grant Stucker is taking the bumps against good defenses and needs to use what he learned the last few weeks against the lower level teams in the MWC to boost the offensive production. Pre-season All-MWC WR Rashaun Greer has zero touchdowns, Stucker needs to find him more often. Greer and Dion Morton are averaging 3.3 and 2.6 catches a game, which is simply not enough for your play makers. They both average 19+ yards per catch, some of which they are getting on the ground. For CSU to bust out at the end of the year those two need the ball in their hands.
On defense the Rams could afford to get healthy, Alex Williams returning would go a long way. Klint Kubiak is out for the year as the Rams turn to Ivory Herd at safety. The Rams just need to tackle better as they are not talented enough to make mistakes on the defensive end that allow for 2nd or 3rd and short opportunities.
The Rams should be looking at this as a tale of two MWC seasons. Their first season consisted of the top three opponents; BYU, TCU, Utah. They lost all those games and really only played well against Utah. Against BYU they played ok, but dug a hole too early. TCU just out played them and the Rams lost big. Good news for the Rams though, their remaining teams have a record of (12-21, .364%) and the two teams with winning records they get to play at home. There is a possibility for a five game streak to end at 8-4 and a bowl game. Teams might look down at them seeing the losing streak and the Rams should take advantage of that and get the swagger of the 3-0 team they were back. Six wins for a bowl game shouldn’t be the target of this team. They are good enough to get eight wins and that starts with a win at home against SDSU.
Rams Keys to Victory:
Win the turnover battle.
Find the ground game and put the ball in your play makers hands.
Play a complete game, come out with the same fire in the 2nd half as the 1st.
Rams Volleyball Ranked #25!
The Rams volleyball team has jumped back into the top 25 rankings for the first time since the preseason poll when they were listed #24. After two losses in their first two games this season the Rams were dropped. Since then they have gone won a dominate 16 of 17 including 12 straight.
Tessa Nelson's quote basks me up in my claim about the Ewing Theory. "I think that this year our team has really put aside individual goals and statistics and all that stuff and come together as a team" said Nelson. Having Makena Barnes had a effect on the teams play and this year they didn't have that star player to rely on so they have come together more.
Tessa Nelson's quote basks me up in my claim about the Ewing Theory. "I think that this year our team has really put aside individual goals and statistics and all that stuff and come together as a team" said Nelson. Having Makena Barnes had a effect on the teams play and this year they didn't have that star player to rely on so they have come together more.
Fairchild's Week 8 Video Presser
Steve Fairchild talks about the upcoming SDSU game and how one game doesn't define the program.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Colorado State Rams Men's Basketball 09-10 Preview
Check out this post at MWCConnection.com Your place for anything MWC related!
The Rams are coming off a 9-22 season with a 4-12 record in the Mountain West Conference. The Rams will look to improve on both those records, however they were picked to finish 8th in the conference. Tim Miles is going into his third year as the Rams head coach and looks for his recruits and system to start taking effect. Let's check out the roster.
The Rams are returning three of five starters. They lost their main scoring threat in Marcus Walker which will hurt, he averaged 17.1 points per game last year. The other loss was guard Willis Gardner. The returning three are Jesse Carr, Andre McFarland, and Andy Ogide. None of those three are seniors so they should start throughout this year and next giving Miles some stability in his lineup. Jesse Carr was impressive as a freshman when he was healthy. He brings the three point threat which opens up some lanes. At 6-6 McFarland is small for a forward but has scoring potential. Last season he shot .399% from the field, and was actually better from behind the arc at .423%. Ogide was a bit of a work in progress last year averaged 10.2 points per game, while shooting 50% from the field.
This leaves the Rams with two open starting spots. I expect one to go to Harvey Perry. He is a great athlete but struggled shooting last year. He has the talent to put it together as a senior. The other spot depends if Tim Miles wants to go with a 3 guard or 2 guard lineup. The guard choices are a little slim with Adam Nigon or Arin Dunn being your choices, both are rather unattractive. The forward would be Travis Franklin who averaged 18 minutes and 6.5 points per game. That would be the best route for Tim Miles to take as the guard options are thin.
For new comers the Rams picked up three transfers Travis Busch, Johnny Del Bene, and Wes Eikmeier. Eikmeier is ineligible this year so lets skip him. Busch is coming from Minnesota but tore his ACL this summer. He is on the roster however his health is up in the air for sure. Bene is a junior college transfer out of San Diego Mesa College.
As for freshman the Rams have four listed on the roster. They got a 7 footer in Trevor Williams out of Denver, CO. Greg Smith out of Nebraska was named "Mr. Basketball" for the state. None of these players are world beaters and will see limited minutes unless they surprise the coaching staff. If any of them do suprise my pick would be Dorian Green out of Kansas.
Last year The Mtn ran a show covering the Rams and Tim Miles called "Reaching the Peak". It was nominated for an emmy so there will be a follow up show of the same nature. You can catch a inside look at the Rams on The Mtn this fall leading up to the season.
Tim Miles is putting his system into place and if the players follow it should show results. The Rams were picked for 8th but I think they could jump a few spots higher if things start clicking in Fort Collins. Are they going to win the MWC? No. Can they do better then 8th? Absolutely. To do this they have to establish a inside game to compliment their guard play. This is easier said then done but essential for the Rams success.
A good season for the Rams would be a 6-7 place finish in the MWC with most those wins coming at home, along with coming out strong against their non-conference opponents. They can't lose to smaller schools like they have in the past. Simply win the games you should and try and surprise a few in upsets. Just around .500 should be a goal for this team, 14-17(6-10) would be a good season for this team.
A bad season would see them in the same place as last year with the only wins in conference against Air Force. They have a schedule that they can win some games early and get confidence, if they fail to do so it could be another 9-22 year on the horizon.
The Rams are coming off a 9-22 season with a 4-12 record in the Mountain West Conference. The Rams will look to improve on both those records, however they were picked to finish 8th in the conference. Tim Miles is going into his third year as the Rams head coach and looks for his recruits and system to start taking effect. Let's check out the roster.
The Rams are returning three of five starters. They lost their main scoring threat in Marcus Walker which will hurt, he averaged 17.1 points per game last year. The other loss was guard Willis Gardner. The returning three are Jesse Carr, Andre McFarland, and Andy Ogide. None of those three are seniors so they should start throughout this year and next giving Miles some stability in his lineup. Jesse Carr was impressive as a freshman when he was healthy. He brings the three point threat which opens up some lanes. At 6-6 McFarland is small for a forward but has scoring potential. Last season he shot .399% from the field, and was actually better from behind the arc at .423%. Ogide was a bit of a work in progress last year averaged 10.2 points per game, while shooting 50% from the field.
This leaves the Rams with two open starting spots. I expect one to go to Harvey Perry. He is a great athlete but struggled shooting last year. He has the talent to put it together as a senior. The other spot depends if Tim Miles wants to go with a 3 guard or 2 guard lineup. The guard choices are a little slim with Adam Nigon or Arin Dunn being your choices, both are rather unattractive. The forward would be Travis Franklin who averaged 18 minutes and 6.5 points per game. That would be the best route for Tim Miles to take as the guard options are thin.
For new comers the Rams picked up three transfers Travis Busch, Johnny Del Bene, and Wes Eikmeier. Eikmeier is ineligible this year so lets skip him. Busch is coming from Minnesota but tore his ACL this summer. He is on the roster however his health is up in the air for sure. Bene is a junior college transfer out of San Diego Mesa College.
As for freshman the Rams have four listed on the roster. They got a 7 footer in Trevor Williams out of Denver, CO. Greg Smith out of Nebraska was named "Mr. Basketball" for the state. None of these players are world beaters and will see limited minutes unless they surprise the coaching staff. If any of them do suprise my pick would be Dorian Green out of Kansas.
Last year The Mtn ran a show covering the Rams and Tim Miles called "Reaching the Peak". It was nominated for an emmy so there will be a follow up show of the same nature. You can catch a inside look at the Rams on The Mtn this fall leading up to the season.
Tim Miles is putting his system into place and if the players follow it should show results. The Rams were picked for 8th but I think they could jump a few spots higher if things start clicking in Fort Collins. Are they going to win the MWC? No. Can they do better then 8th? Absolutely. To do this they have to establish a inside game to compliment their guard play. This is easier said then done but essential for the Rams success.
A good season for the Rams would be a 6-7 place finish in the MWC with most those wins coming at home, along with coming out strong against their non-conference opponents. They can't lose to smaller schools like they have in the past. Simply win the games you should and try and surprise a few in upsets. Just around .500 should be a goal for this team, 14-17(6-10) would be a good season for this team.
A bad season would see them in the same place as last year with the only wins in conference against Air Force. They have a schedule that they can win some games early and get confidence, if they fail to do so it could be another 9-22 year on the horizon.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Klint Kubiak out for year
Check it here...
Not good at all, the CSU secondary is already hurting and missing that leadership can't help. As seen by the blown coverage early in the 3rd quarter against TCU. It would be sweet if a Kubiak could play a full year for us... maybe one day.
Not good at all, the CSU secondary is already hurting and missing that leadership can't help. As seen by the blown coverage early in the 3rd quarter against TCU. It would be sweet if a Kubiak could play a full year for us... maybe one day.
Rams Volleyball Checkup!
With the big win over the Utah Utes the Colorado State Rams volleyball team went to 16-3 and 8-0 in the MWC. It is their 12th straight win. I am not a volleyball guru by any means but it is easy to see the Rams have been dominate on the court this year. The Rams dominated Utah in three sets (25-14, 25-13, 25-15). Check out the rest of the recap here at csurams.com
The buzz around the program had died after "the big three" campaign of last year. The Rams are playing more consistent and just plain better then last year. Chalk it up to the Ewing theory or less pressure but whatever it is Tom Hilbert has it working. The Rams head into the second half of their MWC schedule with a two game cushion and have to feel good about it.
If you have a chance to get out to Moby Arena do it. The volleyball team is embracing the meaning of Defend the Fort.
The buzz around the program had died after "the big three" campaign of last year. The Rams are playing more consistent and just plain better then last year. Chalk it up to the Ewing theory or less pressure but whatever it is Tom Hilbert has it working. The Rams head into the second half of their MWC schedule with a two game cushion and have to feel good about it.
If you have a chance to get out to Moby Arena do it. The volleyball team is embracing the meaning of Defend the Fort.
Game Notes to the Rams 6-44 loss at TCU
Catch my game recap over at MWCConnection.com, your source for anything Mountain West!
RAMS NOTES:
Jon Eastman got his first action this year for CSU in garbage time. Quarterback controversy? I don’t think so. First off it was garbage time and Steve Fairchild has played musical quarterbacks before, a few times last year with Billy Farris and Klay Kubiak. I didn't catch Eastman in action but he was 3-5 with 52 yards. He throws from a high arm slot and in my eyes was the assumed favorite to get the starting job this year. As a Junior he should be the starter next year, unless Klay Kubiak can actually get his arm healthy at some point. Fairchild says you fight for your job everyday in practice so there is that angle, however going into the easy part of the schedule I don't see Fairchild starting new with Eastman.
Think the Rams suck now after 4 straight losses? All gloom and doom in Fort Fun? Don't be, their schedule has been killer! The Rams opponents have a combined record of 28-10 this year, I threw out Weber State. That is a .737 winning percentage!! We are coming up on a stretch of 5 games where the combined record is 12-21 (.364) with two winning teams, Air Force and Wyoming. We get both those games at home. Chin up Ram Fans, if this team plays like it can and should the Rams are about to rip off a 5 game win streak and head to a second consecutive bowl game.
This next section is a thumbs up, thumbs down look at the Rams effort. For those of you who don’t know who Fum McGraw is click his name for a little history.
Fum Would Be Proud of the 1st half effort. Besides the punt return by Kerley there was really a lot to be optimistic about. Before Mason went down the Rams were in control of that game.
Fum Would Be Upset at the 2nd half effort. Maybe I should call it the 2nd half "effort". That was ugly. The missed coverage on the 47 yard TD to Curtis Klay is unacceptable. It is a simple act of knowing your responsibility. The WR comes across in motion, do you switch or do you stay with your original man. Not rocket science.
Fum McGraw Motivating Player of the Game is Leonard Mason and Alex Square. Mason ran for 42 yards on 7 carries against TCU! Square had 38 yards on 7 carries. Those are good gains on a very tough defense. On the flip side Mosure should find him self deeper in the doghouse with his 1.9 average per carry.
RAMS NOTES:
Jon Eastman got his first action this year for CSU in garbage time. Quarterback controversy? I don’t think so. First off it was garbage time and Steve Fairchild has played musical quarterbacks before, a few times last year with Billy Farris and Klay Kubiak. I didn't catch Eastman in action but he was 3-5 with 52 yards. He throws from a high arm slot and in my eyes was the assumed favorite to get the starting job this year. As a Junior he should be the starter next year, unless Klay Kubiak can actually get his arm healthy at some point. Fairchild says you fight for your job everyday in practice so there is that angle, however going into the easy part of the schedule I don't see Fairchild starting new with Eastman.
Think the Rams suck now after 4 straight losses? All gloom and doom in Fort Fun? Don't be, their schedule has been killer! The Rams opponents have a combined record of 28-10 this year, I threw out Weber State. That is a .737 winning percentage!! We are coming up on a stretch of 5 games where the combined record is 12-21 (.364) with two winning teams, Air Force and Wyoming. We get both those games at home. Chin up Ram Fans, if this team plays like it can and should the Rams are about to rip off a 5 game win streak and head to a second consecutive bowl game.
This next section is a thumbs up, thumbs down look at the Rams effort. For those of you who don’t know who Fum McGraw is click his name for a little history.
Fum Would Be Proud of the 1st half effort. Besides the punt return by Kerley there was really a lot to be optimistic about. Before Mason went down the Rams were in control of that game.
Fum Would Be Upset at the 2nd half effort. Maybe I should call it the 2nd half "effort". That was ugly. The missed coverage on the 47 yard TD to Curtis Klay is unacceptable. It is a simple act of knowing your responsibility. The WR comes across in motion, do you switch or do you stay with your original man. Not rocket science.
Fum McGraw Motivating Player of the Game is Leonard Mason and Alex Square. Mason ran for 42 yards on 7 carries against TCU! Square had 38 yards on 7 carries. Those are good gains on a very tough defense. On the flip side Mosure should find him self deeper in the doghouse with his 1.9 average per carry.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Colorado State @ TCU Preview
Editors Note- I wrote this post for MWCConnection.com you can catch my past game posts there as well as anything dealing with the MWC. For future posts here I will put more of a CSU spin on the games.
The Colorado State Rams (3-3, 0-2) travel to Fort Worth Texas to take on #12 Texas Christian (5-0, 1-0). The Horned Frogs slipped two places after a 20-17 win at Air Force last week. The Rams are reeling after blowing a 14 point lead to Utah at home, this came after a 3-0 start.
The Rams came into this tough stretch where they play 5 bowl teams in 7 games at 2-0 and took the first game against Nevada. Since then it has been two tough road losses and an even tougher loss at home to Utah. Steve Fairchild hasn't lost hope yet and understands where his team stands.
The other thing that should be very apparent to our team is that we could easily be 5-1, or maybe even 6-0 if the ball bounced our way a few times. We could be the team everyone is talking about around the country. But we could also easily be 2-4. The point is that there's very little difference between a win and a loss; football games hinge on a series of a few plays.
Can the Rams make enough plays at TCU to pull off an upset? CSU will turn to QB Grant Stucker who took a step back last week with three poor interceptions. He simply made bad decisions and it cost him. TCU will be the toughest defense he faces all year. Stucker will have to know where Jerry Hughes is at all times. The scramble could be his best friend this game, he failed to use it last game instead choosing to make bad passes that translated to interceptions against Utah.
Leonard Mason had his break out party with 130 yards on 24 carries last week. Meanwhile fellow RB John Mosure was absent from the offense, only one carry for -4 yards. The running game will need to put it all together so TCU, 9th in the nation in rushing defense, can't force Stucker to win the game via the air. Freshman Lou Greenwood will see more action if Mosure is still in the doghouse.
On defense the Rams are getting a few players healthy which will help in their challenge of stopping TCU. I don't see any huge advantage for TCU to exploit, just a little of everything. The run defense has been a little more porous due to bad tackling. The secondary has been exposed to anything outside the numbers as the safeties Klint Kubiak and Elijah Blu-Smith haven't been able to help in coverage on the sides. Both CSU corners have trouble with tall receivers, which TCU doesn't have much of so that might help. However the TCU speed will give the Rams problems on special team, this could be the difference between a TCU blowout and a watchable game.
For the Horned Frogs QB Andy Dalton is quietly having a good year completing 65% of his passes and rushing for 191 yards. His 6-3 touchdown to interception ratio could be better but he really hasn't killed the offense and has put up enough points for the defense to do their thing. Look for RB Joseph Turner to have a big game as TCU should run it at the Rams till they prove they can tackle.
On defense TCU should continue their string of domination in the MWC. They might have a few troubles with Fairchild's offense but their athletes on that side of the ball can make up for that. TCU will be looking to bring a lot of pass pressure to see if they can get Stucker to throw up a few mistakes. Jerry Hughes will have an absolute field day if Stucker won't tuck it and run. Leading tackler Daryl Washington will have to keep Mason in check so the Rams can't turn it into a low scoring affair and hope for an upset in the 4th quarter.
TCU will win if: TCU shows up to play. If they are looking forward to next week at BYU, CSU might surprise them.
CSU will win if: They find a way to run on TCU and don't put the game on Stucker's shoulders.
TCU wins 35-10. TCU is a great team and should win the MWC and get a BCS game if they win out. CSU hasn't showed it can play on the road against a good team and have only put together two full games all year.
Welcome to Knights of the Green and Gold!
Welcome! Let's kick this off with a little a mission statement and some author background.
The purpose of Knights of the Green and Gold is to give a place for Ram fans to get together and love the Rammies. From football to volleyball to even the occasional hockey post I will try and cover all of the aspects of CSU sports. I will do my best to provide a non-biased look, along with a look from the heart of a Ram fans. The more fan interaction the better I say, sports blogs are about getting people together to root for their team. If you do comment keep it cordial (even to Buffs fans... maybe) and as others have stated as a good rule of thumb, don't post it if you wouldn't say it to someones face. On to a small introduction.
I am currently a student at Colorado State University and have been a huge sports fan my whole life. I played baseball, basketball, soccer, golf, track, and a bit of football. A jack of all trades and master of none type deal. I am a Marine, Once a Marine always a Marine, right? Also currently I write for MWCConnection.com. It is a great spot to learn about the Mountain West Conference sports and I was lucky enough to dip my foot in the blogging fire there, so check it out.
Hope you enjoy!
The purpose of Knights of the Green and Gold is to give a place for Ram fans to get together and love the Rammies. From football to volleyball to even the occasional hockey post I will try and cover all of the aspects of CSU sports. I will do my best to provide a non-biased look, along with a look from the heart of a Ram fans. The more fan interaction the better I say, sports blogs are about getting people together to root for their team. If you do comment keep it cordial (even to Buffs fans... maybe) and as others have stated as a good rule of thumb, don't post it if you wouldn't say it to someones face. On to a small introduction.
I am currently a student at Colorado State University and have been a huge sports fan my whole life. I played baseball, basketball, soccer, golf, track, and a bit of football. A jack of all trades and master of none type deal. I am a Marine, Once a Marine always a Marine, right? Also currently I write for MWCConnection.com. It is a great spot to learn about the Mountain West Conference sports and I was lucky enough to dip my foot in the blogging fire there, so check it out.
Hope you enjoy!
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