Fort Collins – Barring NCAA legislation to reduce game time from 60 to 45 minutes, Colorado State has to figure out a way to play those final 15 minutes well enough to stop a 10-game losing streak.
The Rams have outscored three opponents 45-37 in the first half, but have been outscored 66-38 after the break. Third-quarter leads of 11 points against Colorado and 14 points at Houston evaporated. The only time CSU showed any fourth-quarter offensive urgency was against Cal after trailing 34-14 in the final minutes.
“Every week it’s so close,” Rams quarterback Caleb Hanie said. “We just have to have a killer instinct to finish off a team. I’ve had some good numbers, but we’re 0-3.”
Three of Hanie’s four interceptions this season have been after halftime, including one in overtime against Colorado.
Coming off a breakout, 16-tackle game, linebacker Jake Pottorff said: “We hope to go out and finish a whole game. That’s what we’re working for – four quarters of football.”
The Rams are looking to their Mountain West opener Saturday at TCU as an opportunity to wipe clean the slate of an 0-3 start.
Although CSU’s coaches don’t place a lot of emphasis on statistics unless their team is near the top or the bottom of the turnover ratio list, offensive co-coordinator Dan Hammerschmidt found one disconcerting number amid the stats this week.
The Rams are last in the conference in first downs (60) while second in the league and 28th in the country in third-down conversions at 45.8 percent. That translates to not a lot of first downs on first or second down.
“We need to get more drives going. I think we showed explosive plays last week, (37- and 53-yard TD passes) but we’re not going to hit four deep balls every game. We can’t go three-and-out,” Hammerschmidt said.
Offensive coordinator Dave Lay said Hanie’s protection broke down in the second half at Houston. Hanie – who was 8-of-10 in the first half but 8-of-16 in the second half against the Cougars – has earned praise from all the coaches for his poise under pressure.
“He was throwing with guys in his face,” Lay said. “Some of it is the inconsistency in the running game. You have a good play. You have a bad play.”
The running game has set up the play-action pass, probably CSU’s most successful weapon.
“Any time an offense is not going down the field, the first thing that always comes up is predictability,” said Lay. “It’s not like the calls are changing, the execution is changing.”
Meanwhile, the players are reaching within themselves to finish out games they generally start with an offensive spark.
Wide receiver Luke Roberts sees a slight drop in confidence but said winning would change everyone’s outlook.
“We’re right there but can’t get over the hump,” he said.
Staff writer Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
