What We Saw: Same Passion, Different Result

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FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Keep together and keep pushing.

At 1-5 through the first half of the season, Colorado State's football team has had plenty of struggles. A week ago, the Rams were able to exorcise some of those demons in a win. While they sustained the same type of passion in a loss to Utah State on Saturday night, they couldn't sustain any offense.

It was a reversal of emotions in the locker room.

"It's tough. It's a tough loss," CSU head coach Jay Norvell said. "We had a lot of guys play extremely hard. We did a lot of things really well defensively. If you can hold anybody in the teens, you have to be winning games. We're obviously struggling with some of our personnel, and we have to do a better job putting them in position.

"Those kids are hurting in there. We have to keep them up, we have to keep them going and get them to bounce back. We have a big challenge ahead of us the second half of the season. We've got a lot of work to do. We've got to keep continuing to improve and understanding what we're doing and fighting for execution. As we get some players back healthy, we should see improvement, and that's what we're looking for these next six games."

Nobody is talking about anything other than improving. After a series of roster defections, the players feel they have closed the ranks and created stronger bonds. It's execution which lacks, not effort. It's lineup continuity, too.

"I think it's just all the different guys. We've had starters leave, we've had young guys," running back Avery Morrow said. "The offense is just having its ups and downs and I think we're still trying to find our way. We're getting close. There's obvious improvement, we've just got to be better. The biggest frustration is just not being able to finish drives. We have an amazing defense which continues to create turnovers and it's like we can't capitalize. We just have to be better."

Against the Wall

For the second consecutive week Colorado State generated 10-plus penalties in a game, hitting 10 in the loss. For a team with no margin of error, the flags are generating plenty of them.

"We have to play with more composure. We'll continue to press for that discipline," Norvell said. "We have a second half of the season where we can really see what we're made of."

Morrow admits it has become deflating at times for an offense struggling to sustain drives. Positive plays are being erased, and drives are beginning behind the chains from the start. It's become too much to overcome.

To him, it's a lot of things, things which much be addressed.
"You just have to be dialed in and you have to know the situation," he said. "We've had a lot of unsportsmanlike conducts, and we have to keep our composure. We've had a lot of offsides on the offensive side. We have to get better with the snap count. I don't know why it keeps happening. We just have to get better."

Some Firsts

It's not just been playing with young players, but also those with limited experience. In the game, a few of them made a few plays when they had their chance.

Dane Olson had his first catch, but his biggest play came on special teams when he blocked a punt to put the offense in prime position. The blocked punt was the first in three seasons for the program.

Also in the game Peter Montini and Mekhi Fox also had their first catches for the Rams. Louis Brown, a true freshman, led the team with four receptions for 52 yards in the game, and Gary Williams, who led the team in touchdown receptions a year ago, had his first catch of the season. Defensively, Cam Bariteau recovered his first fumble.

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