CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — The Colorado State Rams traveled to Boston on Thursday, staged their walkthrough Friday at the New England Patriots’ facility in Foxborough, and also had a team study hall as several players took proctored tests.
Saturday, it’s all football.
Coming off a bye week, CSU (2-1) faces the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Boston College Eagles in a 10:30 a.m. matchup at Alumni Stadium.
BC is 3-1, with the most impressive victory coming against then-No. 9 Southern California, and quarterback Tyler Murphy has rushed for 500 yards in the four games and thrown for 491. Murphy transferred from Florida after last season and was eligible to play in 2014 because he already had his undergraduate degree.
“It’s a great test,” said CSU coach Jim McElwain. He added: “I’m sure they’re sitting there saying, ‘Hey, look, this is a ball squad from the Mountain West conference coming all the way over here. Let’s just get out of this one and get ready for conference.’ And yet, they’ll get prepared and ready to play.”
In their previous true road game this season — CSU also was designated the visitors against Colorado in Denver — the Rams fell behind 30-10 at the half and gave up 676 yards of total offense in a 37-24 loss at Boise State on Sept. 6. Broncos dual-threat quarterback Grant Hedrick did considerable damage, both running (80 yards) and passing (352).
“We watched some of our negative plays in the Boise game and got those corrected,” said CSU linebacker Aaron Davis. “We can’t let up on (Murphy). We definitely can’t have any mental errors or breakdowns and have to keep him contained.
“He has more rushing yards than passing yards this season so we need to force him to throw. That’s our plan. Keep him out of his game, keep him contained and force him to pass.”
And offensively, can the lesson from that game be applied to the game at Alumni Stadium?
“I guess the biggest thing is not to be shocked … if something goes bad in that first drive or whatever it is,” said CSU quarterback Garrett Grayson. “Start fast is what I’m trying to say. That’s what Coach Mac wants out of us, that’s why we start practice the way we do, why he has certain drills set up the way he does. That’s something I don’t think we did against Boise. We came back from watching the film and kind of agreed we put ourselves in the hole. We know going into this game with the running team that (the Eagles) have, we know we need to stay on the field and start fast and keep our defense fresh.”
The blot on the Eagles’ record is a 30-20 home loss to Pittsburgh on Sept. 5. In fact, this will be BC’s fourth consecutive home game after the Eagles opened the season with a victory over Massachusetts at the Patriots’ Gillette Stadium.
Terry Frei: tfrei@denverpost.com or
Colorado State at Boston College
10:30 a.m. Saturday, ROOT; 105.5 FM
When the rams run
CSU will be reassembling its offensive line after the return of tackle Ty Sambrailo (sprained knee) and the loss of center Jake Bennett (likely knee surgery). CSU has been terrific in the ground game in two games, in- adequate in the other (against Boise State) with Dee Hart and Treyous Jarrells doing most of the ball carrying. But BC has a staunch run defense, allowing only 394 yards in four games. Edge: Eagles
When the eagles run
The major threat here is quarterback Tyler Murphy, who has run for 500 yards, and the Rams must keep him from making back-breaking big runs to win this game. But that’s easier said than done. BC’s Jon Hilliman (241 yards) and Myles Willis (208) have been productive at running back, and the Eagles are the No. 3 rushing team in the country. Edge: Eagles
When the rams pass
Joe Hansley, CSU’s second-leading receiver, is out with a possible concussion. That’s another opportunity for the Rams’ young receivers to step up. CSU must protect QB Garrett Grayson better than it did against its previous out-of-state road opponent, Boise State. Edge: Eagles
When the eagles pass
Let’s say this flat-out: Murphy, who has thrown five interceptions, is a decent passer at best. At this stage, this is a complement to his running threat and the Rams must dare him to throw. Edge: Rams
Special teams
Hart will be doing the punt returning, and a productive return or two could be a shot in the arm. CSU kicker Jared Roberts has been called on for only three field-goal attempts so far, making two, and he could be more important here. Edge: Rams
Terry Frei, The Denver Post
