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.