Colorado State University Athletics
CSU football goes 121 plays in rainy scrimmage
8/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 16, 2008
By Jeff Jacobson
Athletic Media Relations
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - With 15 days until the first game, the Rams completed their first full scrimmage of fall camp Saturday as the team returned to Hughes Stadium. Two touchdown connections between Billy Farris and Rashaun Greer, and a rushing TD from Kyle Bell led the offense to an 18-16 victory over the defense.
The team has been sprinkling live periods into previous practice sessions, but Saturday's 1-hour, 30-minute scrimmage, which ran 121 total plays, was completed in a steady rain.
According to Head Coach Steve Fairchild, the scrimmage saw the offense come out on top, but the defense was also very much in the game.
"I think we've got some skill players on offense that showed up," commented Fairchild in a post-scrimmage interview. "Defensively, we lobbed a couple balls down the field, and they made some interceptions, which is good. If you look at it, the defense started fast. It was both sides that had some plays."
Big offensive plays included Greer's two touchdown receptions, including a 45-yard bomb from Farris. He picked up 63 total yards and made three catches, both team highs. Farris went 8-of-13 for 114 yards, including a pair of TDs.
With the majority of the offense's time spent passing the ball, the defense had ample chances to intercept. Jake Galusha, Mike Pagnotta, Gerard Thomas and Scott Zick all recorded INTs on the day, with Zick and Pagnotta - on the first snap of the day - returning theirs for scores. Ricky Brewer and Ty Whittier both penetrated the offensive line to earn sacks.
Special teams saw kickers connect on all six attempts. Jason Smith and Ben DeLine were both good three times each from 27 yards. Smith also punted four times for an average of 34 yards while competing punter Anthony Hartz netted an average 42.3 yards on four punts.
The team has been given the majority of Sunday off as it prepares for a tough week of practice. Two-a-days start up again Monday, with the Rams tentatively set to practice at 7:45 a.m. and 4 p.m. The practice is to take place at the fields south of Moby Arena and is open to the public.
Steve Fairchild quotes:
General: "Positives, I thought our tempo underneath the clock was good on both sides of the ball. I thought our substitution was fairly clean for the first time. I thought we operated as a team, more ready to play a game, than I would have thought. Negatives are a few penalties that showed up; a few turnovers that showed up; a little bit of looseness with the ball in the weather, which we have to get a little better at before we open up. There were some big plays on both sides of the ball."
On playing with new clock rules: "Yeah, that was my biggest concern. We brought officials with the Mountain West/WAC affiliation. (The official) spoke with our team about those, not just the clock rules, but some of the new rules in college football that we need to be aware of. He was good enough to come over before at the McGraw Center and visit with our football team. I was very happy that those guys would take the time to do that. Also, we had the official crew out here working. There are some different things also for the clock operator. It was a lot of good work, not just for our football team and coaches, but for those guys as well."
On the weather not being ideal: "No, but I visited with our team saying, `This could very well be BYU or Houston or somebody next fall and we've got to learn to come out and play in this.' I shared with them a game that Larry (Kerr) and I were here for before, I think it was Tulsa. They came out, it wasn't the best field conditions; they laid a couple snaps on the ground. You can't take a snap for granted; you can't take your grip on the ball for granted. It can get away from you in a hurry. We weren't ridiculously sloppy out there. But because we had ones, twos, and threes, and a lot of that going on, it's going to make it like that sometimes. But we still could do little better job. It was a good practice."
On big plays in the closed scrimmage: "Rashaun Greer caught a couple touchdowns; he looked good. Billy (Farris) made some plays at quarterback, but he's still inconsistent. We've still got some throwing to go there. I think we've got some skill players on offense that showed up. Defensively, we lobbed a couple balls down the field, and they made some interceptions, which is good. I know (Mike) Pagnotta got one early, and he might have scored with it. If you look at it, we competed in the red zone a little bit. I think our offense came out on top. If you look at it, the defense started fast; it was both sides that had some plays. We'll go back this afternoon and try to learn from this."
On whether he worked more of his passing game than running game: "Yeah, because we're still a little young at quarterback. We feel a little bit better about our backs. We probably are throwing the ball more in team situations than normal."
On coming away without any serious injuries: "Yeah, that is a real positive. We came away without anything serious. Tomorrow, we'll condition and do some things; most of the day will be off. We've got one more week before the first game. We start Monday with two-a-days. We still have some things to get done."
On game planning for CU: "We're starting to gravitate on both sides of the ball toward who we are. In a game plan against an opponent, it's going to have a certain percentage that's for that opponent. But the other percentage is just who you are. And that's how you show up and that's what you do. We're starting to find that out. There were some things done out there today that we'll do that Sunday against CU."
On whether reps will start to decrease for those lower on the depth chart: "Yeah, ones and twos and guys that will have a chance to either start or play a big role better be ready because if something happens, they're in there."
On the injury status of the wide receivers: "Ryan Gardner participated. We're anxiously awaiting Jyrone Hickman on Monday to start. I'll visit with Terry (DeZeeuw) based on the next 48 hours to see just how much. But we're anticipating him at practice and going through some drills Monday."
On the team's first fall day off Sunday: "They've earned it. But me not being the nicest guy in the world, we're not going to have a complete day off; we're going to do a little something tomorrow. Maybe it's a chance to recharge a little."
On the punter situation: "We're not going to force that. We're going to take our time until it feels right. So between the two, somebody's going to win. (Jason) Smith and (Anthony) Hartz. Those two are our punters and we'll just wait and see.
