Fort Collins – As juniors, Justin Holland and David Anderson learned past glory wasn’t any help in winning football games at Colorado State.
As seniors, they have helped provide the leadership to position the Rams to regain some glory heading into a first-place showdown Saturday at Texas Christian.
No longer pining for the days of running back Cecil Sapp, quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt, a Larry Kerr-coached defense or Brian Schneider-coached special teams, the Rams at last have established their own identity. A disastrous 4-7 season a year ago and a humbling 0-2 start this year have been forgotten.
A new identity has emerged for the surging Rams (5-3, 4-1 Mountain West Conference).
It includes weekly second-half comebacks, Anderson setting a school record with every catch, Holland’s heroics and Kyle Bell chasing a 1,000-yard rushing season. And a defense that has become a janitorial crew, cleaning up with nine turnovers in the past two weeks.
“I think we knew our identity,” Anderson said. “It just took us a little longer to get to it. We knew the team had lots of potential. We had a lot of players who could make a lot of plays. We just had to put it all together, play as one and thrive with each other.”
Added Holland: “We’ve taken and made it our team. This is a predominantly veteran team. The coaches can do a lot more things with us. Week in, week out we change. Last week we came out in a no-huddle offense. There’s a lot more trust put in the players by the coaching staff.”
Holland and Anderson, road roommates, have risen through the ranks as leaders.
Said Bell, a sophomore: “I’ve come a long way because of them. Guys like me look for someone to look up to for how to play, how to act off the field. Dave is more the talker, the real vocal guy to get the fire going. Justin will get after guys. They know what they have to do. They are smart about it. They don’t go over the top.”
Before they lead the Rams onto the field, the quarterback with the fourth-best efficiency rating in the country and his favorite target have their weekly pregame wrestling match in the team’s hotel.
“(Senior guard) Brandon Alconcel watched me pin him,” Holland said with pride. “That’s the type of guys we are, not taking things too seriously. That’s part of the team’s identity. This is the closest a team has been since I’ve been here, by far.”
Anderson tried to set a leadership tone at practice early in the season, after a last-minute loss to Colorado in the opener.
“Dave came running in and said, ‘This isn’t going to be last year’s team,”‘ Holland said. “‘We’re not going to start out 0-4. We’re practicing 30 periods.”‘
That would have extended practice past three hours. There was no immediate help, as CSU was blown out at Minnesota that week, but a more serious tone had been set.
“Sometimes being a leader doesn’t mean doing what everyone wants you to do,” Anderson said. “Sometimes you go against the grain.”
Their leadership styles complement each other, teammates say. Anderson is outspoken, emotional. Holland prefers to take a teammate aside and talk over a problem.
Such as when receiver Johnny Walker was distraught over a late fumble in the 24-14 loss to Brigham Young.
“I told him he was a big reason we were being successful, and it wasn’t his fault we lost the game,” Holland said. “I’m not the big rah-rah type of dude that Bradlee (Van Pelt) was. We all have to lead in different ways. We can’t have four or five guys being vocal guys, because no one will listen. If someone needs to get his butt chewed out, one of us is going to do it.”
That accountability has spread to a defense thinned by injuries that is still coming up with clutch plays.
“We were lacking in leadership last year,” safety Miles Kochevar said while accepting blame for not stepping up more. He also credits cornerback Robert Herbert with helping keep the rest of the defense in line.
Anderson said he sees a continuity with the past. He objects to anyone calling the 2002 and 2003 teams “Bradlee’s teams.”
This year’s team wants to accomplish something Van Pelt and the 2002 MWC champions couldn’t in the Liberty Bowl that year: defeat TCU.
Footnote
The CSU-TCU game will be available over the Internet only on ESPN.com as part of its premium online game plan. It is not televised. Details will be available at Themwc.com.
COLORADO STATE AT TCU
KEY MATCHUPS
CSU (5-3, 4-1): Senior quarterback Justin Holland, fourth nationally in passing efficiency, faces his biggest challenge this season throwing against cornerbacks Quincy Butler and Drew Coleman, who lead the MWC in combined interceptions and pass breakups. CSU’s depth at receiver should pose problems for TCU, as it has for every opponent, if the offensive line gives Holland time to throw. The entire offense will have to adjust to TCU’s defensive speed to get the ground game going behind Kyle Bell.
TCU (8-1, 6-0): Junior tailback Robert Merrill is coming off a 170-yard outing at San Diego State. The Horned Frogs’ depth at running back is similar to CSU’s receiving depth, and they’ll look to exploit it in this game. TCU hasn’t made it through a season with the same starting quarterback for four years. Jeff Ballard has been more than an adequate replacement for senior Tye Gunn, injured earlier in the season. CSU’s special teams face the MWC’s top punt returner in junior Cory Rodgers, who is also the Frogs’ best receiver.
KEY STAT
16 – TCU leads Division I-A in turnover differential at plus-16. The Rams are ranked next in the MWC at plus-9.
KEYS FOR COLORADO STATE
Unlike the Frogs, the Rams have virtually no depth on defense. It will be up to the offense to stay on the field and help out the defense. Every week CSU says it can’t afford another slow start. Every week, the Rams come alive after halftime. TCU is one team that doesn’t fade at the end, however.
KEYS FOR TCU
Get off to another fast start and don’t let up. The Frogs have outscored opponents 78-38 in the first quarter this season. CSU hasn’t scored a first-quarter touchdown in its past four games. The Horned Frogs must establish their running game early when CSU’s defense has shown the most vulnerability.
Reasons for reversal
A look at the key reasons behind CSU’s turnaround this season:
Running game: The Rams are 5-0 when tailback Kyle Bell rushes for at least 95 yards.
Special teams: CSU found some protection for punter Jimmie Kaylor after three disasters in the season’s first two games. Kaylor is averaging 45.6 yards per punt, fifth in the nation. The final piece of the kicking puzzle, place-kicker Jason Smith, arrived last week, just in time for the stretch run.
Maturation of Justin Holland: The senior QB threw four interceptions in the opener at Colorado, but just four over the next seven games. He is fourth nationally in passing efficiency.
Defensive takeaways: The Rams’ defense has produced nine turnovers the past two games.
Staff writer Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303-820-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
