Rams Work Through Disappointment of Canceled Game

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Steve Addazio made it very clear he's simply grateful to be coaching football right now with the chance to play games.

Unfortunately, the 'chance' part of the statement became all too clear Tuesday afternoon for the Colorado State football coach and his program.

Just a little more than an hour before lunchtime, the focus was on New Mexico. Scout teams were providing Lobo looks as the offense and defense ran through the game plan. Then Addazio met with the media via Zoom, breaking down the game plan, past history against New Mexico, the sharp turns involved with preparing a team during a pandemic.

The sharpest turn of all was yet to come, as the Mountain West offices contacted Colorado State with the news New Mexico would not be coming to Fort Collins on Saturday. Then came the reactions.

Nobody was happy, to put it lightly.

"We were ready to play, set to play and the best thing for us would have been to play," Addazio said.

There was the business side of things, where Addazio and his staff sent out feelers to see if a replacement game could be arranged. The idea of playing a real game was first on the list, but even trying to find a scrimmage against somebody different would have been nice. But logistics and timing were not aligning, so it was time to adjust once again.

Graduate assistants replaced tape of the Lobos with that of Fresno State. By Wednesday, Fresno State notebooks had already been developed, sitting on the floor next to the soon-to-be-recycled New Mexico guides.

There was also the emotional side, which hit folks differently. Disappointment was unanimous.

"It's kinda frustrating. I had just recently got off the phone with my auntie, telling her how excited I was, telling her about the possibility of having fans at the game and to hear the news, it's frustrating, but you've just got to keep going," cornerback Rashad Ajayi said. "You just keep focus on the next opponent.

"I mean, 2020's been crazy for everybody. You get frustrated, but I've just learned to deal with it."

When he heard there would be no rescheduling possibility via the press release, he said his mind immediately turned to Fresno State.

That wasn't so easy for everybody. The Rams have already endured some setbacks in getting to this point, but they were fully geared up to play a game. The conference may be able to apply the brakes quickly, but it took linebacker Dequan Jackson a bit longer to come to slow down his mind.

"Definitely upset and disappointed," he said, "but who can you be mad at? It is what it is. It took me a whole night. I was still upset about that game all last night, but I came to practice today, and I'm pretty sure it was the same with the rest of the guys, it was with Fresno on our minds."

Which made Addazio proud. He kept the practice plan the same, just sans the New Mexico bits. From here on out will get tricky, as the coaching staff wants to avoid a malaise while keeping the team fresh for kickoff.

To keep on a game track, Addazio plans to run the team through a scrimmage on Thursday, give it Friday off and then start game week on Saturday. But Thursday's practice was sharp, and he felt that was a credit to the players and coaches quickly adjusting.

"I thought we had a heck of a day today," Addazio said. "I was very encouraged with how they came out and went to work. Which was great, because we're all obviously disappointed, for sure."

Addazio said he's now developed a mindset where he won't allow anything to get him down, and Tuesday's announcement was the ultimate test. Fingers crossed, it will be the last time, but even Jackson said he's not convinced this will be "the last blow we take."

The term sudden change will be thrown around a lot this year in college football, and not just because of turnovers. So the team looked for positives amid the clutter. The downside is there is no game, and it looks like Fresno State will have one under its belt. The bright side, Colorado State now has a full week to prepare and will have visual proof of what the Bulldogs' new staff has installed.

The not knowing is hard, but controlling what they can is the key. And for Ajayi, that means being ready. For anything.

"I mean, you never know. Anything can happen with everything that's going on," Ajayi said. "I'm preparing for it, but I'm preparing like I'm going to have a full season."

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