FORT COLLINS — Colorado State coach Jim McElwain already has pointed to Tuesday’s practice as a starting point for his team’s recovery from a 37-24 loss at Boise State on Saturday night.
McElwain said Monday he saw some of the shortcomings that emerged against Boise State developing as early as last Tuesday’s practice. So the starting point of making those fixes for Saturday’s 1 p.m. home game against UC Davis comes Tuesday.
“If it takes all 20 hours of our weekly practice time, we’re going to get it right on Tuesday,” McElwain said.
One of the areas he wants his defense working on is how to defeat cut blocks. Boise State was nearly unstoppable in the first half, rolling to a 30-10 halftime lead. The Broncos finished with 676 total yards.
McElwain and his staff are also going to focus on how to get the running game going after the Rams rushed for just 28 yards.
“It was the first time our new offensive line had faced a defense that quick and able to play with sudden movement,” McElwain said. “We were a step slow a couple of times, and they filled quickly from the outside and beat us to the edge. They won too many of the one-on-ones.”
McElwain noted that the running statistics got out of balance because CSU fell so far behind and needed to throw the ball, but when the game was close, the Rams could not sustain a running game.
McElwain was disappointed in his team’s showing but predicted the Rams (1-1) will become a good football team. Even so, he didn’t deny Boise State appears a step ahead of the rest of the Mountain West.
“Boise State still is the king of the hill until somebody knocks them off,” McElwain said. “It was disappointing Saturday, because you go into every game thinking you’re going to win. We lost, but I don’t see a huge gap. We’re not there yet, but good teams never get there. They always try to get better no matter what.
“It was a disappointed team in that locker room. The players weren’t feeling sorry for themselves. They were unhappy with their actions. That’s a sign of a maturing football team.”
Tight end Nolan Peralta said all phases of the offense need improvement.
“I wouldn’t say it was only the offensive line,” Peralta said. “It’s more how the whole offense works as a group.”
Irv Moss: imoss@denverpost.com
