FORT COLLINS — The message was succinct.
At the beginning of the week, first-year Colorado State coach Mike Bobo directed the Rams to stop talking and just work. No more chatter about how good they were last year, how they expected to be just as good this year, who is to blame, who isn’t.
As Bobo pointed out, none of it really matters. What does is the here and now, and if the Rams want to rally, they have to focus on the here and now and what isn’t working when they face Air Force on Saturday at Hughes Stadium.
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From what Bobo witnessed at practice this week, the players understood.
“I believe so. I think there’s a good focus, and the guys are wanting to practice well,” Bobo said. “They’re going out, they’re paying attention, they’re trying to get things right. There’s still some mistakes here and there, but I believe we’re into it. I believe we’re hungry to do the right thing.”
What the Rams really need, he said, is a win. Junior safety Jake Schlager thinks it goes even deeper than that for Colorado State to turn its season around.
“We need to have a real good week of practice,” Schlager said. “We need to have a good Monday, a good Tuesday, a good Wednesday, a good Thursday. We need to have a good walk-through on Friday. When it comes to Saturday, we’re just flying around having fun. We know what to do; we know what our keys are. That’s the win we’re really looking for, the win you work for, you know you’ve worked for, and the outcome on Saturday is what you deserved.”
There is no better team to make the Rams focus than Air Force. The academy is all about discipline, and that’s the way the option offense of coach Troy Calhoun operates. Karson Roberts took over at quarterback when Nate Romine went down in the second game with a knee injury, and Roberts has guided the attack by utilizing all tools.
The fullbacks are leading the way, but the tailbacks and wings are doing their part too, and the distribution among the top five ball carriers is relatively even.
Three weeks into the season, Colorado State’s defense looked much improved against the run. Not the past three weeks, as all three opponents gained at least 200 yards, with Utah State finishing at 298.
It hasn’t looked like the same unit, but senior linebacker Cory James said the CSU defense is intent on becoming dominant.
“Most definitely. That’s what we’re working on,” James said. “That’s what we’ve been emphasizing too this whole week. Most definitely I think we can do that.”
The Rams have issues on offense too, lacking the consistency to sustain drives and struggling to find open space for playmakers that would allow them to produce a lot of points.
“We need to win. Like (offensive line) Coach (Will) Friend and Coach Bobo said, the only way to get out of this is to get a win,” running back Jasen Oden Jr. said. “We get a speech every week, this, that. … We have to win. We’ve got to get a win, and that’s what we’re trying to do right now.”
Story lines for Air Force at Colorado State on Saturday
Just win, baby.
Colorado State has started the season 0-2 in Mountain West play for the first time since 2012 by facing the top two teams in Mountain Division. The test doesn’t get easier for the Rams on Saturday.
Running game fully fueled.
Air Force’s option attack is still going strong, averaging 320.8 yards per game on the ground to rank in the top five nationally. The Falcons’ fullbacks have been a load to stop.
Falcons getting best of Rams.
Air Force has won seven of the past eight meetings. The matchup appears to again favor the Falcons.
Mike Brohard, Loveland Reporter-Herald
Saturday’s area games
1 p.m. Cal Davis at Northern Colorado
1:30 p.m. Air Force at Colorado State, TV: CBSSN
2 p.m. Nevada at Wyoming
7 p.m. Arizona at Colorado, TV: FS1
