Colorado State University Athletics
Setting the Stage: Middle Tennessee
9/9/2022 2:30:00 PM | Football
Rams look to remained disciplined
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – A little discipline never hurt anybody.
Â
Flags, on the other hand, were one of the banes of the existence of Colorado State's football team the past few years. This season, the Rams are off to a perfect start. As in no penalties in the season opener with Michigan. It was a heck of a leap from the 7.1 flags per game the team averaged and the 68.5 yards per game it cost them.
Â
"I was very pleased with that. I thought there were two really positive things. You play in a big stadium, you play in front of 109,000 people and we didn't have any penalties and we didn't have any major communication problems," Colorado State coach Jay Norvell said. "There were no offsides, false starts or problems with the quarterback communicating and making the play. That was really a positive on both sides of the ball. We're excited. We have to build on that for the future games."
Â
There was a flag thrown against Colorado State, but it was waived off. In short, the offense wasn't playing behind the chains or erasing big plays, and defensively, the Rams were not helping Michigan extend drives.
Â
It wasn't by happenstance this occurred. It was an area of concern Norvell, and his staff targeted by different means during spring and fall camp.
Â
And it paid off. Colorado State is the only team in the country without a penalty.
Â
"We're addressing all these areas. We're seeing progress in some areas. We talked about it in camp," Norvell said. "We track penalties every day. We put guys names on the television screen in the locker room. We really focused and brought the officials in and tried to educate our players on what officials are looking for what fouls, and I think they have a better understanding of how the game gets called and what those officials' responsibilities are. It was an emphasis, and we'll keep emphasizing in practice."
Â
It should also be noted No. 2 is Michigan, with one flag, so the opener for both was extremely clean. Middle Tennessee drew five infractions in its loss to James Madison, which had six.
Â
Air Raid Sirens
Â
Both Colorado State and Middle Tennessee employ the same offense, so advantage defense in Saturday's game, as both will have a decent understanding of the scheme each is facing in the contest.
Â
Both offenses are looking to get uncorked this weekend. Both teams scored one touchdown and Middle Tennessee only had 119 yards of total offense.
Â
"I think there's some familiarity," Norvell said. "We do a lot of things in practice that are similar to what Middle Tennessee does. We've been going against our defense, and it's been great work for us as well on offense to play against speed. We've had super competitive practices. We go good against good, and those snaps are really import to us and it helps us get prepared for the game. It's helped the intensity in practice."
Quarterbacks coach Matt Mumme also sees it as an extra developmental period for his true freshmen quarterbacks for two weeks; Washington State runs the Air Raid as well.
Â
"The opportunity for my young quarterbacks to run the scout team and throw our stuff, so that's a huge advantage for really the next two weeks for us," he said.
Â
Taking a Closer Look
Â
Since his father created the Air Raid offense in the late 1980s, it's been interesting for Mumme to see how the offense is called by other teams. The structure may be the same, but philosophies differ. Naturally, having an architect on hand never hurts.
Â
"Freddie asked me on the plane on the way back Saturday if I'd look at it, and I told him I would. I've already looked at quite a bit of them," Mumme said. "They're pretty much your traditional Air Raid, how my dad first started running it in the early 90s. There's a lot of stuff too that that our defense is going to be able to pick up on and try to attack."
Â
When Mumme says traditional, he's referring to the way plays are called within the system, not so much the plays used. But even a traditional approach can look different from place to place, as Mike Leach has proven at multiple stops.
Â
So, while two similar offenses will take the field for the game, they won't be precisely the same.
Â
"I think Leach is probably as close to the traditionalist of truly calling it exactly how it was come up with in the early 90s, really the mid-80s at Iowa Wesleyan. I think the way he play-names has stayed the same for Leach forever. It's changed for other teams, even Middle Tennessee. The concepts are there, but probably the way they've called it has changed. The pass concepts are pretty much universal. It's more what you do in the run game. Leach just chooses not to run the ball."
Â
Â
Flags, on the other hand, were one of the banes of the existence of Colorado State's football team the past few years. This season, the Rams are off to a perfect start. As in no penalties in the season opener with Michigan. It was a heck of a leap from the 7.1 flags per game the team averaged and the 68.5 yards per game it cost them.
Â
"I was very pleased with that. I thought there were two really positive things. You play in a big stadium, you play in front of 109,000 people and we didn't have any penalties and we didn't have any major communication problems," Colorado State coach Jay Norvell said. "There were no offsides, false starts or problems with the quarterback communicating and making the play. That was really a positive on both sides of the ball. We're excited. We have to build on that for the future games."
Â
There was a flag thrown against Colorado State, but it was waived off. In short, the offense wasn't playing behind the chains or erasing big plays, and defensively, the Rams were not helping Michigan extend drives.
Â
It wasn't by happenstance this occurred. It was an area of concern Norvell, and his staff targeted by different means during spring and fall camp.
Â
And it paid off. Colorado State is the only team in the country without a penalty.
Â
"We're addressing all these areas. We're seeing progress in some areas. We talked about it in camp," Norvell said. "We track penalties every day. We put guys names on the television screen in the locker room. We really focused and brought the officials in and tried to educate our players on what officials are looking for what fouls, and I think they have a better understanding of how the game gets called and what those officials' responsibilities are. It was an emphasis, and we'll keep emphasizing in practice."
Â
It should also be noted No. 2 is Michigan, with one flag, so the opener for both was extremely clean. Middle Tennessee drew five infractions in its loss to James Madison, which had six.
Â
Air Raid Sirens
Â
Both Colorado State and Middle Tennessee employ the same offense, so advantage defense in Saturday's game, as both will have a decent understanding of the scheme each is facing in the contest.
Â
Both offenses are looking to get uncorked this weekend. Both teams scored one touchdown and Middle Tennessee only had 119 yards of total offense.
Â
"I think there's some familiarity," Norvell said. "We do a lot of things in practice that are similar to what Middle Tennessee does. We've been going against our defense, and it's been great work for us as well on offense to play against speed. We've had super competitive practices. We go good against good, and those snaps are really import to us and it helps us get prepared for the game. It's helped the intensity in practice."
Quarterbacks coach Matt Mumme also sees it as an extra developmental period for his true freshmen quarterbacks for two weeks; Washington State runs the Air Raid as well.
Â
"The opportunity for my young quarterbacks to run the scout team and throw our stuff, so that's a huge advantage for really the next two weeks for us," he said.
Â
Taking a Closer Look
Â
Since his father created the Air Raid offense in the late 1980s, it's been interesting for Mumme to see how the offense is called by other teams. The structure may be the same, but philosophies differ. Naturally, having an architect on hand never hurts.
Â
"Freddie asked me on the plane on the way back Saturday if I'd look at it, and I told him I would. I've already looked at quite a bit of them," Mumme said. "They're pretty much your traditional Air Raid, how my dad first started running it in the early 90s. There's a lot of stuff too that that our defense is going to be able to pick up on and try to attack."
Â
When Mumme says traditional, he's referring to the way plays are called within the system, not so much the plays used. But even a traditional approach can look different from place to place, as Mike Leach has proven at multiple stops.
Â
So, while two similar offenses will take the field for the game, they won't be precisely the same.
Â
"I think Leach is probably as close to the traditionalist of truly calling it exactly how it was come up with in the early 90s, really the mid-80s at Iowa Wesleyan. I think the way he play-names has stayed the same for Leach forever. It's changed for other teams, even Middle Tennessee. The concepts are there, but probably the way they've called it has changed. The pass concepts are pretty much universal. It's more what you do in the run game. Leach just chooses not to run the ball."
Â
Thursday, May 14
Monday, May 11
Friday, May 08
Tuesday, April 28