Colorado State University Athletics
RamHighlights.ColoState.Edu ? September 15, 2003
9/16/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Fort Collins, Colo. - Sonny Lubick figures fans attending Saturday's football game between his Colorado State Rams and Miami University (Ohio) will see two of the nation's premier quarterbacks doing battle.
"There is not another coach in this country who would not want one of these kids on their football team," he said of his own signal caller, Bradlee Van Pelt, and MU's Ben Roethlisberger. "The fans are in for a treat: You have two of the best quarterbacks in the country. He (Roethlisberger) can really throw the ball, he has experience and is poised in the pocket."
Van Pelt is 6th in the nation in total offense by averaging 319.7 yards per game,w hile Roethlisberger threw for 353 yards in a 44-13 win by the RedHawks at Northwestern.
Lubick says the 6-foot-4 inch, 248-pound Roethlisberger is an imposing figure.
"This will be the best quarterback we've faced to date. They have a good offensive line and are very well-coached. A huge key is the quarterback. He's in the shotgun and gets rid of the ball very quickly. He's just not going to take a sack."
Sacks have been a mainstay for Colorado State's defense through two games. The Rams, 2-1, already have sacked opposing quarterbacks 11 times. They did so only 18 times in 14 games a year ago.
"Defensively, if you rush 4, all you hope is that you make him throw it on time," said Lubick. "If he has 3 seconds to throw, we're in trouble. If he has less, we're in good shape."
Lubick said with the prowess of the Rams' offense - which is 4th nationally and averages 509 yards per game - and Roethlisberger handling MU's attack, the game could be a high-scoring affair.
"I hope it's not a shootout. We seem to lose those," Lubick said.
The Rams, such Lubick, must continue their defensive improvement and eliminate turnovers and penalties which have plagued them in 3 games to date.
He also said that center Mark Dreyer, who underwent surgery last week to repair a finger injury and did not play in the team's 31-7 win over Weber State, will return to practice Tuesday wearing a splint and will try and play in Saturday's game.
Kickoff time is 1 p.m. at Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium for Saturday's game. There is not television coverage. The game can be heard on the Colorado State Sports Network. Rich Bircumshaw calls the play-by-play, Erik Olson is the analyst, and Brian Roth is the sideline reporter. The network engineer is Kevin McGlue and the studio producer is Randy Bernard.
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