Colorado State’s fifth-year seniors came into the program at the start of what grew into a two-season, 13-game losing streak. Now they enter their final season with the Rams determined to stop a similar slide.
“It’s what I’m trying to avoid, so we don’t have another one of those,” CSU fullback Zac Pauga said last week in Las Vegas at the Mountain West Conference football preview.
In 2006, CSU lost its final seven games. The Rams opened the following season with six straight losses.
Fast forward to the 2009 season. The Rams won their first three games, then lost their final nine games as the season careened out of control.
“That’s definitely how it felt during the season. We couldn’t get it back on track,” Pauga said. “Guys started being so worried about each loss. When we had lost seven and knew we couldn’t get to a bowl game, guys started getting discouraged.”
CSU’s seniors need to provide the leadership to ensure the slide doesn’t continue, Pauga said.
“We have to make sure what we did last year doesn’t affect us this year,” he said.
To that end, the Rams showed more dedication during summer conditioning work. “There was definitely a new mentality this summer,” Pauga said. “When you go 3-9, guys are going to work harder. Last summer, after we went to the bowl game (in Albuquerque, where CSU beat Fresno State 40-35 to cap a 7-6 season in 2008), we thought that felt good and maybe we didn’t push ourselves as hard.”
Recruited as a linebacker out of Green Mountain High School, Pauga was moved to an H-back/blocking back the spring before his freshman season, which is where he’s stayed.
CSU starts preseason practices Thursday, and the Rams open camp for the third consecutive year in search of a starting quarterback. Their rotation at running back also will be determined during camp.
“It’s probably the most talent I’ve seen for a long time,” Pauga said of newcomers Pete Thomas and Nico Ranieri at quarterback and Raymond Carter and Chris Nwoke at running back. “Thomas, the level of ability he has at 18 or 19 years old, is just amazing. I’ll support Pete or Nico. As long as they have ability, what year they are in school doesn’t matter.”
While Pauga spent the long offseason dwelling on what went wrong a year ago, fifth-year senior Guy Miller, a returning starter at nose tackle, took the opposite approach.
“I put it behind me,” he said. “This is a whole new year, a whole new situation. I’m not going to dwell on that.”
Natalie Meisler: 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
