A day spent reviewing films of Colorado State’s opening 38-17 loss to Colorado on Sunday night only confirmed Steve Fairchild’s initial assessment:
The Rams’ pass protection didn’t meet expectations, and CSU put itself into too many unmanageable third-down situations. But the coach remained encouraged by the physical play and effort.
It’s certainly not a matter of scrapping the lineup and starting over again as the Rams prepare for Sacramento State, a Division I-AA Big Sky Conference member. The Hornets are coming off a 45-13 victory over Division II Humboldt State.
“There’s not a lot of shuffling. It’s something we’re going to talk about, but I think we had the right guys out there,” Fairchild said. “I told Coach (Dan) Hawkins they played well and I congratulated them. They outplayed us.”
Besides protection breakdowns, Fairchild said some busted routes by receivers contributed to the third-and- long situations. As for quarterback Billy Farris’ first career start, Fairchild said, “In my estimation, he played a decent game.”
Farris’ mistakes were standard for first-time starters, Fairchild said, in getting flushed out of the pocket a little quickly and not checking down to a third option.
Fairchild won’t need the standard Appalachian State reminder to his players about an opponent from what is now called the Football Championship Subdivision. San Diego State lost to Cal Poly 29-27 on a field goal as time expired Saturday.
“Sacramento State always has fairly good speed,” Fairchild said. “They are a lot like Cal Poly.”
The Rams will face former teammate Brett Willis, who caught one pass in his opener for 20 yards.
He transferred from CSU after last spring.
Footnotes.
Fairchild said he didn’t have a chance to talk to Farris on Monday but was concerned about his family in Baton Rouge, La., as Hurricane Gustav hit. . . . First-year Division I-A coaches were 8-8 going into Rick Neuheisel’s debut Monday night. Half the wins came against I-AA foes. . . . Offensive guard Shelley Smith is listed as day to day with an ankle injury. Walk-on special-teams player Amadeus Waters has a knee injury described as serious. . . . CSU played five true freshman — PK Ben DeLine, WR Marquise Law, S Adam Wilson, CB Gerard Thomas and LB Michael Kawulok.
