FORT COLLINS, Colo.—Colorado State coach Steve Fairchild has carried a recurring theme throughout this week of practice. Stop celebrating last week’s upset win over instate rival Colorado and concentrate on upcoming opponent Weber State.
“We certainly can’t rest on that win,” Fairchild has warned his team. “The worst thing we can do is turn around Saturday and be walking out of our locker room 1-1.”
Colorado State (1-0) hosts Weber State (0-1), an FCS team from the Big Sky Conference.
“We aren’t to the point we can take anyone lightly,” Fairchild said. “Weber State is certainly a capable opponent, and we will need to play our best Saturday to be in the game.”
The Rams don’t have to look any further than Weber State’s starting running back, Trevyn Smith, and starting quarterback, Cameron Higgins, to realize Fairchild’s concerns. Smith, a 5-foot-9, 210-pound senior is the school’s career rushing leader with 4,125 yards.
“Smith is a strong kid with a strong lower body and he’s got great speed,” Weber State coach Ron McBride said.
Higgins, a junior has thrown for 6,758 yards and 56 touchdowns in two-plus years with the Wildcats. He trails only Jamie Martin, a former St. Louis Rams quarterback, for the career lead there in both categories.
“I know he put up some numbers last year and he has a group of skill players that are formidable,” Fairchild said. “We are going to do the best we can to get some pressure on the quarterback and try and turn the ball over.”
McBride, who coached from 1990-2002 at the University of Utah, compares Higgins favorably to some of the best quarterbacks he had with the Utes, including current San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith and current Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy .
Higgins comes off a game at Wyoming where he threw for 322 yards, but had five passes intercepted.
“I told him Monday, that game is over with and don’t play backwards. Look forward,” McBride said. “You see tennis players hit one into the net and then hit three more there because they screwed up a single point and didn’t look forward.”
What will Higgins see by looking forward? A Rams defense that limited Colorado to 29 yards on the ground a week ago and to 251 yards of total offense.
While on offense, Colorado State is expected to establish the run first. Leonard Mason ran for 107 yards on 23 carries against Colorado.
Senior quarterback Grant Stucker threw for 208 yards and a touchdown in his first career start.
