2019 Ram Recap - Week 4 - Rocketed

So we are doing this again, huh? The Toledo Rockets came into Fort Collins late on Saturday night to finish up the non-conference slate for my Rams and boy did that game disappoint. While Toledo is a quality opponent, CSU should beat a MAC team at home. The loss drops the Rams to 1-3 and (most importantly) marks the first of my incorrect predictions this season. I am irate. 

Going into this contest, there was high probability of a shootout with CSU's defense showing limited signs of life this season and a Toledo offense that has accumulated yards and scores with ease over the past calendar year. The first half was surprisingly low scoring, with Toledo holding a 14-13 lead. With an offense that looked good despite playing its backup quarterback, we hoped that maybe the Rams could reverse their disastrous second half trends from this season. 

As ESPN hates the fact that my entire family has season tickets, the game was scheduled to start at 8:15, got delayed until 8:30, and had more penalties and television breaks than normal. As a result, we took a cue from our cranky kid (just one, the other two were fine) and left the game toward the beginning of the third quarter during a stretch of the game when neither team wanted to play defense. When the dust settled at the end of the third quarter, Toledo scored 21 points in the quarter, rushed for over 200 yards in the quarter, and exposed the CSU defense once again. A back and forth battle in the fourth quarter produced drama as the Rams got the ball back down six with 31 seconds left in the game. A few plays later, the fate of the game rested on a single play from the 25 yard line - Patrick O'Brien connected with EJ Scott and he was brought down... at the 2 yard line. Toledo wins. 

The positives:

• The offense still looked good with Patrick O'Brien at the helm. While his ability to throw on the move is significantly less than Collin Hill's, he made some good throws throughout the game. As a unit, they put up 35 points and generated 694 yards of offense. That should be sufficient to win a football game. 
• Marvin. Kinsey. Junior. Or as we like to say after the CU announcer debacle: Marvlin. Kinsley. Junlior. Whatever you call him, the dude can tote the rock. Twenty three carries. Two hundred forty-six yards. Two touchdowns. The man is on a mission in his senior season to show that he is worthy of a look at the next level. 

.@KinseyMarvin leads the nation in All-Purpose yards per game (@hornungaward) and leads the nation in rushes of 20+ yards with 7

He is also the only player with multiple runs of 70 yards or more.

— Colorado State Stats and Info (@CSUStatsInfo) September 23, 2019

• Warren Jackson frequently made the Toledo defensive backs look foolish, either making a catch over a scrambling cornerback or forcing a scrambling cornerback to commit pass interference.
• The offense only had one turnover - a Patrick O'Brien interception late in the first half. The running backs and receivers held onto the ball and limited the opportunities for Toledo to turn the tide of the contest with a takeaway. 
• This picture:

Courtesy of Colorado State University

The negatives: 

• The defense (if you can even call it that) was atrocious. Toledo ran at will, both with running back Bryant Koback (a Kentucky Wildcat transfer who amassed 228 yards and 3 TDs on 19 carries) and quarterback Mitchell Guadagni (119 yards, 1 TD, 12 carries). 
• A bad defense can totally redeem itself if it has an ability to generate turnovers. CSU cannot get a turnover to save their lives (or John Jancek's job, currently). 
• There were four, yes four, illegal formation penalties on the Rams for having more than four players off the line of scrimmage. Four times the Rams pushed themselves backwards because someone did not know where to stand. 
• This was not a disciplined football game on either side. The Rams had an additional 7 penalties on top of the illegal formation penalties for a total of 11 penalties for 82 yards. Team discipline on the field has been an issue throughout the Mike Bobo era and it continues to frustrate the Ram faithful. 
• At the end of the half, Nate Craig-Myers caught a Patrick O'Brien pass at the 2 yard line as time expired. At the end of the game, EJ Scott caught a Patrick O'Brien pass at the 2 yard line as time expired. In both of those situations, (a) Patrick O'Brien needs to get the ball to his receivers over the goal line and (b) the receivers should not be running short of the end zone. Little details make the difference between a win and a loss and the same mistake happened twice in one game. 

Oh and this is how CSU-Toledo ended. pic.twitter.com/WY5EwOi8gJ

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) September 22, 2019

• We forgot the football-shaped cookies for our tailgate at our house. 
• I ate like three of those sadness cookies as time expired. The Rams' poor play is going to make me gain weight.  
• The Arkansas team that thumped the Rams in the fourth quarter last week lost at home to the former doormat of the Mountain West Conference, the San Jose State Spartans. 
• The Rams lost at home to Toledo. 
• The Rams might now be the doormat of the Mountain West Conference. 

Up Next - Week 5

Conference play begins this week with a trip to Logan to face the other Aggies in the conference - Utah State. This past weekend, Utah State won on the road against conference foe San Diego State. To increase the degree of difficulty, Marvin Kinsey, Warren Jackson, Ellison Hubbard, and Toby McBride are all questionable/doubtful for this upcoming game.  I have a hard time seeing how the Rams leave Utah with a victory. 

To be quite honest, my relatively tempered expectations for the Rams this year might not be able to be met. Our defensive play will not allow us to be competitive as we face the other "State" schools (Utah, Boise, Fresno, San Diego) or rivalry schools (Air Force, Wyoming). The two other downtrodden programs that we face this year (New Mexico, UNLV) might be our only chances at victories the rest of this season. That is pathetic. Would Bobo be able to survive another 3-9 season? I would venture to guess that he would not. Will Bobo make some changes mid-season to try and right the ship? The obvious answer is to fire John Jancek, but I do not know if that will help. Who on the staff could slide into the defensive coordinator role and make an impact? I have no idea. Regardless, Bobo's future in Fort Collins now rests on the performance of his coaches and players over the next 8 games. 

Flick's Picks

Week	Opponent	Prediction	Result	Flick's Picks
1	Colorado (Denver)	L	CU 52 - CSU 31	1 - 0
2	Western Illinois	W	CSU 38 - WIU 13	2 - 0
3	at Arkansas	L	UA 55 - CSU 34	3 - 0
4	Toledo	W	UT 41 - CSU 35	3 - 1
5	at Utah State	L
6	San Diego State	L
7	at New Mexico	W
8	BYE	--
9	at Fresno State	L
10	UNLV	W
11	BYE	--
12	Air Force	W
13	at Wyoming	W
14	Boise State	L

2019 Ram Recap - Week 3 - Woo Pig Soie

Full disclosure: I watched very little of the game this week due to a prior engagement... literally. Matt and Sophie closed up the engagement portion of their relationship with a kick-ass, scenic, beautiful, and fun wedding on Saturday. While I did catch a little bit of the first half on my phone, the second half happened as I stood next to my brother being proud as hell of him and his new wifey.

The outcome of the game was not what we wanted, but I am happy to report that I am a solid 3-0 on my picks this season. I would rather be wrong... 

The positives: 

• The offense continued to click. The Rams were tied at 34 with an SEC team on the road with a little over a quarter remaining in the ballgame. Granted, it is not a good SEC team but still... 
• Marvin Kinsey is the real deal. Kinsey ended up with 20 carries for 180 yards, including a 75 yard touchdown run on the second play of the game. 
• Patrick O'Brien's first drive. 

The negatives:

• This: 

Bush league. pic.twitter.com/QLEnkqnpmB

— Justin Michael (@JustinTMichael) September 14, 2019

• No one knows the extent of the Hill injury, but we do know that he will not play this upcoming week. I just feel awful for this guy - he cannot have worse luck on the football field. 
• More freaking turnovers. Kinsey had two fumbles, both of which were recovered by the Hogs. 
• The fourth quarter.

Up Next - Week 4

The Ram's schedule does not get any easier to close out the non-conference slate. The Rockets of Toledo come to Fort Collins for a nationally televised late game on Saturday. Toledo is 1-1, but just whipped Murray State 45-0. Their loss came at the hands of another SEC team - the Kentucky Wildcats. I assume this will be another high scoring affair as CSU's defense has faltered late against quality opponents.

Flick's Picks

Week	Opponent	Prediction	Result	Flick's Picks
1	Colorado (Denver)	L	CU 52 - CSU 31	1 - 0
2	Western Illinois	W	CSU 38 - WIU 13	2 - 0
3	at Arkansas	L	UA 55 - CSU 34	3 - 0
4	Toledo	W
5	at Utah State	L
6	San Diego State	L
7	at New Mexico	W
8	BYE	--
9	at Fresno State	L
10	UNLV	W
11	BYE	--
12	Air Force	W
13	at Wyoming	W
14	Boise State	L

2019 Ram Recap - Week 2 - What's a Leatherneck?

Well, that was needed... after nearly a year since the last CSU football victory (the last one coming on October 13, 2018), the Rams dominated their FCS foe from the opening kickoff and evened their record at 1-1. More importantly, the weather at Canvas Stadium was gorgeous as the hot afternoon sun slid behind the press box for most of the game. Most importantly, my predictions have gone 2-0. 

As we settled into our seats before kickoff and the Leathernecks deferred, I told Keith that the Rams should return the opening kickoff for a touchdown to get things started the right way. The opening kickoff was a touchback, so my dreams of a quick start evaporated. Ten game seconds later, Dante Wright was sprinting into the end zone with the football to cap off a meticulous and grinding one play, 75 yard touchdown drive. The Rams would never relinquish the lead and would cruise to an easy 38-13 victory. 

The positives:

• Marvin Kinsey Jr. and Dante Wright are a threat to score at any moment. Each player had two touchdowns on the day - two touchdown receptions for Kinsey and one touchdown reception and one touchdown run for Wright. 

What a home opener for ⁦@KinseyMarvin⁩ & ⁦@DanteWright8⁩!#EDGE | #CSURams pic.twitter.com/sos5M6vrHE

— Colorado State Football (@CSUFootball) September 8, 2019

• The control of the line of scrimmage on the offensive side of the ball continued from week one's loss. The offense was incredibly efficient and the big uglies did their job - creating wide running lanes for the backs and really limiting pressure on Collin Hill dropbacks. 
• The offense is just fine. The Rams finished with 582 total yards with a healthy 47/53 pass/run split. The running game averaged over 5 yards per carry and they averaged over 12 yards per pass attempt. This was another well-called and well-executed offensive performance. 
• Team tackling was better, specifically in the secondary. Jamal Hicks drew my ire repeatedly last year for trying to make the big hit only to let his man go for a long score. He clearly has readjusted his game to wrap up ball carriers and bring them to the ground. 
• The defensive effort lasted the entire game. At the final whistle, CSU had accumulated seven sacks and ten tackles for a loss. The front seven provided the necessary push to pressure the WIU quarterback and stop plays in the backfield. This trend will need to continue on the road in Fayetteville next week. 
• This team is full of fighters. Look at this touchdown reception for EJ Scott. He caught the ball at the six yard line. He was wrapped up at the five yard line. Then his offensive linemen and Marvin Kinsey and Adam Prentice joined the fray. The ball popped out, but not before Scott had crossed the goal line. Extra effort like that does not have a huge impact on a game like this one, but that mentality will be huge for games against the quality teams on the rest of the schedule. 

Keep those legs moving and push the pile into the endzone! Touchdown @CSUFootball!#EDGE | #CSURams | #MWFB | #AtThePeak pic.twitter.com/aLfodeI79X

— Mountain West (@MountainWest) September 7, 2019

The negatives:

• TURNOVERS - once again the Rams lost the turnover battle. The Rams fumbled four times, losing two of them. One of the lost fumbles came on the first rushing attempt for Marcus McElroy, who sat out last week due to an ankle injury. With as well as Kinsey has been playing, the other running backs cannot afford to make mistakes if they wish to stay on the field. Fortunately, CSU did force their first defensive turnover on the year when Jan-Phillip Bombek had a strip sack of Connor Sampson and fell on the loose ball. 
• I did not see Champ Bailey in Canvas Stadium. However, I did see his wife and Keevan at Wing Shack after the game. By the way - the true freshman had a solid game, recording four total tackles including a sack and a tackle for a loss. 

  

  Courtesy of @JoelDreessen

Up next - Week 3

The Rams head out to SEC country to complete the home-and-home series with the Razorbacks of Arkansas. Last year's thrilling victory in Canvas Stadium was a highlight of a disappointing Rams season and Arkansas has all the motivation in the world to avenge their 2018 defeat. But the Razorbacks are still bad - they beat Portland State to kick off their season. They won by a touchdown. At home. Against an FCS school. At home. In Fayetteville. At home. They won by seven. At home. Against an FCS school. They followed up that impressive victory by getting thumped by Ol' Miss. I'm not sure what to expect from this game, but I hope the Rams can pull off another SEC win this season.

Week	Opponent	Prediction	Result	Flick's Picks
1	Colorado (Denver)	L	CU 52 - CSU 31	1 - 0
2	Western Illinois	W	CSU 38 - WIU 13	2 - 0
3	at Arkansas	L
4	Toledo	W
5	at Utah State	L
6	San Diego State	L
7	at New Mexico	W
8	BYE	--
9	at Fresno State	L
10	UNLV	W
11	BYE	--
12	Air Force	W
13	at Wyoming	W
14	Boise State	L

2019 Ram Recap - Week 1 - The Buffaloons

In the current CSU losing streak in the Rocky Mountain Showdown, the Rams have lost by 3 (2015 OT game), 37 (2016 hot disaster game), 14 (2017 offensive pass interference game), 32 (2018 domination game), and now 21 (2019 first half hope game). Outside of the first RMS under Mike Bobo in 2015, this game has not been competitive. Even the 14 point loss in 2017 felt like a larger point spread than the scoreboard indicated. Naturally, my prognostication for the Rams was bleak. I had predicted a loss. I had predicted a CU blowout.

Courtesy of CSU

And then the first half happened. After nearly forcing a punt on their opening possession, CU scored a touchdown on their opening drive to take the first lead of the game. The predictions started to become reality and we were six minutes into the game. Fortunately, the Rams responded immediately with a quick six play drive that resulted in a 39 yard touchdown pass from Collin Hill to freshman Dante Wright. Tie ball game. The Rams defense then forced a punt. WHAT WAS HAPPENING?! The following drive ended with a spectacular interception in the end zone for a CU touchback. The Buffs drove down the field, but the defense held them to a field goal. The next possession, CSU put on an offensive clinic, marching down the field and scoring a touchdown on a Warren Jackson reception. For the first time since who knows when, the Colorado State University football team had a lead against the hated Buffaloes (actual name: bison) from Boulder. CU would take back the lead with another touchdown drive, but CSU responded with a touchdown drive of their own. With four minutes and two seconds left in the first half, my Rams had a lead and I truly believed that a victory was possible. WHAT WAS HAPPENING?!!

The Buffs scored another touchdown right before the half expired and the Rams had two straight turnovers to start the second half, but CSU was in a position to compete and win for three quarters of that game. That fact by itself is more than we had seen the past four iterations of that game. Yes, the Rams lost by 21. No, the Rams did not cover the spread. But there were a ton of positives to take with us on our midnight ride home.

The positives: 

• Playing without Marcus McElroy (ankle), Marvin Kinsey and Jaylen Thomas moved the ball easily behind the best offensive line performance that we have seen since Will Friend left. From our vantage point in the southeast corner of the lower bowl, running plays looked like they had resulted in minimal to no gain - yet the running backs had followed the big uglies for gains of 5 or 6 yards. We could see holes developing and the line was clearly moving downhill off the snap. Let's hope this continues to improve as the season progresses. 
• In addition to his ball-carrying responsibilities, Kinsey looked dangerous catching the ball out of the backfield. 
• Collin Hill looked composed and competent. 
• Warren Jackson looked like the weapon we saw in Tuscaloosa in 2017 when he scored two touchdowns against Alabama. Freakishly tall and athletic, Jackson appears to be the next big thing to come out of Wide Receiver U. 
• Dante Wright will make some plays this year. The true freshman had a receiving and rushing touchdown and clearly has some high-level speed. He will be fun to watch these next few years. 
• Tackling had been a major issue the past few seasons and looked markedly improved (with the fourth quarter being the notable exception). Players actually wrapped up the ball carrier instead of trying to knock them down and bouncing off like a ping-pong ball. 
• Big plays were mostly eliminated. CU did have a few large gains, but the story of the previous years were the explosive, game-changing 60 yard touchdowns that just broke the will and spirit of the CSU squad. Those did not happen this year. 
• The tight end group looked stacked. Trey McBride and Cameron Butler were consistently open as check-down options for Hill and they ran the ball violently. These two will hopefully provide matchup problems for the remaining games. 

The negatives:

• The defense just crumbled in the second half. CU ended up with 475 yards of offensive and 52 points to go along with it. For what is considered to be a bottom-tier PAC-12 team, that was too many of both. 
• Mike Bobo's post-game comments on the refs, which were unnecessary and looked like whining.
• The response to the refs comment was as bad if not worse. Bobo clearly did not blame the loss on the refs, but a man beaten five straight times by the same opponent was frustrated and those frustrations bubbled up. Again - Bobo's comments before and after the popularly quoted ref statement was that CSU got beat, citing poor discipline and costly mistakes. 
• Speaking of costly mistakes: the Rams had a 4:0 turnover ratio. Your chances of winning a football game with those numbers are nil. 
• The public address announcer inside of Broncos Stadium at Mile High was atrocious. The starting tailback for the Rams is named Marvin Kinsey Jr. Despite the fact that he was a starter, he was projected to be a focal point in the CSU offense, and his name is fairly easy to pronounce, the idiot PA guy called him "Kinsley". All game. 
• The same moron with a mic frequently referred to Collin Hill as "Collin Hall". Arguably the most recognizable name on the CSU roster, the starting quarterback of the squad, and a last name you most definitely should not mispronounce, getting incorrectly called out over the speakers. Look at a freaking program before the game, guy. 

Up Next - Week 2: 

The Rams host the Western Illinois Leathernecks (what?) on Saturday. The Rams offense should have their way with this FCS opponent. As long as the defense is somewhat competent, it should be a Ram victory.

Flick's Picks 

Week	Opponent	Prediction	Result	Flick's Picks
1	Colorado (Denver)	L	CU 52 - CSU 31	1 - 0
2	Western Illinois	W
3	at Arkansas	L
4	Toledo	W
5	at Utah State	L
6	San Diego State	L
7	at New Mexico	W
8	BYE	--
9	at Fresno State	L
10	UNLV	W
11	BYE	--
12	Air Force	W
13	at Wyoming	W
14	Boise State	L