Colorado State University Athletics
Photo by: Tommy Joe Waido
Rams shift focus to preparing for Rocky Mountain Showdown meeting against rival Buffaloes
8/29/2017 2:41:00 PM | Football
CSU gearing up for tough test against strong CU squad
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Normally, Colorado State football players are given a "24 hour rule" following a win. They have 24 hours to celebrate a victory, then their attention shifts to their next opponent and continuing to improve every day.
Following their season-opening victory on Saturday over Oregon State (and with a shortened week ahead), the CSU players were granted just 12 hours from the final horn to rejoice in their 58-27 win in front of a sold out crowd in what was a historic day on campus.
So by the time the players woke up on Sunday, their focus was 100 percent on their next game and opponent – the Rocky Mountain Showdown against Colorado.
"We have a bigger challenge as a football team this week," Head Coach Mike Bobo said of CU. "This is a very good football team that is returning a lot of players. Their core group, their core values, the culture that Coach MacIntyre has established there – those guys believe in it."
Colorado went 10-4 (8-1) last year, winning the Pac-12 South title and reaching a peak national rank of No. 9, while also appearing in the top 10 in the College Football Playoff rankings. The Buffaloes return nine starters on offense, including four critical senior skill position players. A trio of talented wide outs – Shay Fields (56 catches, 883 yards, 9 TDs in 2016), Devin Ross (69-787-5) and Bryce Bobo (44-548-2) – return, along with senior running back Phillip Lindsay (244 carries, 1,252 yards, 16 TDs).
Fields and Ross are both on the Biletnikoff Watch List (honoring the nation's top wide receiver), joining CSU WR Michael Gallup. Lindsay is on a myriad of watch lists, including the Doak Walker Award (top running back) and Maxwell Award (best all-around player). The offense will be led by sophomore signal-caller Steven Montez, who threw for 1,078 yards (9 TDs, 5 INTs) last year while filling in occasionally for starter Sefo Liufau.
"The first thing that jumps off the film to me, is how explosive they are on offense," Bobo said. "They have a number of receivers that can hurt you in a variety of ways. They have speed, great ball skills, they block for each other.
"Their running back, Phillip Lindsay, is like the heart and soul of their football team. He plays with toughness, he plays with a swagger, he plays with some attitude. It's a big challenge for us defensively."
The CSU defense intends to be up for that challenge come Friday night.
"We had our ups and downs last year," senior safety Jake Schlager said. "Being able to make the adjustments, have the maturity and have the experience behind us has helped. I think we continue to get better every single day.
"It's kudos to the coaching staff. They've been able to continue to help us grow, and it's the players also willing to work to get better every single day."
While Schlager gave a lot of credit to the staff for helping the defense improve and with preparation for the Buffs loaded offense, Coach Bobo stated that ultimately, it will be the players on the field determining the outcome on Friday.
"There is no secret to success," Bobo explained. "You think it might be something that you say to the guys because you're playing CU, but it's going to come down to execution. It's going to come down to our guys doing their job, preparing this week at a championship level so they can go out and perform at a high level."
As Coach Bobo has stressed since the beginning of camp, the Rams will continue to try to control what they can leading into the 89th Rocky Mountain Showdown, all the way to the 6:07 p.m. MT kickoff, and then throughout each quarter of the game.
"At the end of the day, we have to try and find a way to score one more point than they do," Bobo said. "We know it's a big game, it's a rivalry game. We started talking about it right after the [Oregon State] game and it's something we talked about this summer. The thing we can control is what we do at practice and I keep saying that but that's going to be my message all year."
Scoring one more point than the Buffs on Friday night may just earn the Rams their full 24 hours on Saturday.
Following their season-opening victory on Saturday over Oregon State (and with a shortened week ahead), the CSU players were granted just 12 hours from the final horn to rejoice in their 58-27 win in front of a sold out crowd in what was a historic day on campus.
So by the time the players woke up on Sunday, their focus was 100 percent on their next game and opponent – the Rocky Mountain Showdown against Colorado.
"We have a bigger challenge as a football team this week," Head Coach Mike Bobo said of CU. "This is a very good football team that is returning a lot of players. Their core group, their core values, the culture that Coach MacIntyre has established there – those guys believe in it."
Colorado went 10-4 (8-1) last year, winning the Pac-12 South title and reaching a peak national rank of No. 9, while also appearing in the top 10 in the College Football Playoff rankings. The Buffaloes return nine starters on offense, including four critical senior skill position players. A trio of talented wide outs – Shay Fields (56 catches, 883 yards, 9 TDs in 2016), Devin Ross (69-787-5) and Bryce Bobo (44-548-2) – return, along with senior running back Phillip Lindsay (244 carries, 1,252 yards, 16 TDs).
Fields and Ross are both on the Biletnikoff Watch List (honoring the nation's top wide receiver), joining CSU WR Michael Gallup. Lindsay is on a myriad of watch lists, including the Doak Walker Award (top running back) and Maxwell Award (best all-around player). The offense will be led by sophomore signal-caller Steven Montez, who threw for 1,078 yards (9 TDs, 5 INTs) last year while filling in occasionally for starter Sefo Liufau.
"The first thing that jumps off the film to me, is how explosive they are on offense," Bobo said. "They have a number of receivers that can hurt you in a variety of ways. They have speed, great ball skills, they block for each other.
"Their running back, Phillip Lindsay, is like the heart and soul of their football team. He plays with toughness, he plays with a swagger, he plays with some attitude. It's a big challenge for us defensively."
The CSU defense intends to be up for that challenge come Friday night.
"We had our ups and downs last year," senior safety Jake Schlager said. "Being able to make the adjustments, have the maturity and have the experience behind us has helped. I think we continue to get better every single day.
"It's kudos to the coaching staff. They've been able to continue to help us grow, and it's the players also willing to work to get better every single day."
While Schlager gave a lot of credit to the staff for helping the defense improve and with preparation for the Buffs loaded offense, Coach Bobo stated that ultimately, it will be the players on the field determining the outcome on Friday.
"There is no secret to success," Bobo explained. "You think it might be something that you say to the guys because you're playing CU, but it's going to come down to execution. It's going to come down to our guys doing their job, preparing this week at a championship level so they can go out and perform at a high level."
As Coach Bobo has stressed since the beginning of camp, the Rams will continue to try to control what they can leading into the 89th Rocky Mountain Showdown, all the way to the 6:07 p.m. MT kickoff, and then throughout each quarter of the game.
"At the end of the day, we have to try and find a way to score one more point than they do," Bobo said. "We know it's a big game, it's a rivalry game. We started talking about it right after the [Oregon State] game and it's something we talked about this summer. The thing we can control is what we do at practice and I keep saying that but that's going to be my message all year."
Scoring one more point than the Buffs on Friday night may just earn the Rams their full 24 hours on Saturday.
Players Mentioned
WR
/ Football
S
/ FootballThursday, May 14
Monday, May 11
Friday, May 08
Tuesday, April 28