Colorado State University Athletics
Monday Presser: Rams Looking for One Fell Swoop
10/14/2024 1:19:00 PM | Football
Team seeing some depth develop
A glorious opportunity awaits.
Saturday's game at Air Force is a chance to end more than one streak for Colorado State's football team. That also makes it a chance to do something no one on the current roster has ever accomplished in their career.
Lay claim to a win over the Falcons.
Colorado State has dropped seven consecutive decisions in the trophy game and hasn't won in Colorado Springs since 2002, a run of nine games. Throw in other rivalries, the Rams have dropped their last eight matchups.
Some of that was inherited by CSU coach Jay Norvell, but the demons of the past are less of a concern than the matter at hand.
"We understand that it's a rivalry game. We understand the opponent," Norvell said at his weekly press conference on Monday. "They're here on the Front Range with us. that's part of it, absolutely, but this is a new season. We're a different team, they're a different team. We have to beat this team Saturday night and do the things we need to do.
"I think the maturity of our team matters. We have not played very well here in the second half of the season over the last few years, and we want to change that. We want to be the more focused team, we want to be the hungrier team, we want to be the team that does the things it's supposed to do down the stretch to win."
They are different teams, particularly the Falcons, who enter the game an uncharacteristic 1-5 overall, 0-3 in Mountain West play. It is a program which has won 40 games the past four full seasons and hasn't had a losing mark since 2018.
Center Jacob Gardner transferred from Nevada with an Air Force loss in his bags. Most definitely yes, he said, he'd like to check that off his list.
"I'd like to win this one. Air Force is always a really tough game, and it's a game where we have to get up on them first, can't be playing catch-up with them," he said. "They like to hold the ball, and we need to make our possessions count. I think going in that's something we want to do is hold the ball and be able to run the clock."
Injury Bug
When it comes to some key players, the team is playing a waiting game. With Tory Horton. With Nuer Gatkuoth. Even Justin Marshall. Marshall wasn't able to finish the game with San Jose State, nor could Horton. Gatkuoth sat out after playing his first game the week before.
"Nuer, we're going to continue to watch him. Hopefully we can get him back," Norvell said. "Tory's situation, he had an MRI and we're still getting some feedback on that to see where he's at. We're not sure where his status is at this point."
In short, Gatkuoth and Horton are big question marks. So is Marshall.
The running back room has remained productive in large part due to the play of Avery Morrow, but even he had to sit a couple of series after taking a blow to the midsection. Jalen Dupree made his debut and looked good as Keegan Holles hasn't been available for three weeks.
He does expect offensive lineman Alex Foster, who started the first three games of the year at left guard, to be available to play. Tanner Morley has started the past three games and has performed well, which is part of a positive development Norvell has seen. Younger players, such as Morley, Dupree, Gabe Kirschke, Kenyon Agurs, Kennedy McDonald and the young wideouts, have taken advantage of their chances.
Here and There
Morrow rushed for 100 yards for a third consecutive week, but he did not deliver donuts to the offensive lineman. Center Jacob Gardner clarified the donut mark is 150 yards for Morrow. … This is the first time in four seasons the Rams will not play Front Range Rivals Air Force and Wyoming in successive weeks. … This is just the fifth time in the past 24 seasons CSU and Air Force will meet before Oct. 20. The last time the two did so was 2015, a CSU win in Fort Collins. … Jordon Noyes was named the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week after his 58-yard field goal against San Jose State.
Saturday's game at Air Force is a chance to end more than one streak for Colorado State's football team. That also makes it a chance to do something no one on the current roster has ever accomplished in their career.
Lay claim to a win over the Falcons.
Colorado State has dropped seven consecutive decisions in the trophy game and hasn't won in Colorado Springs since 2002, a run of nine games. Throw in other rivalries, the Rams have dropped their last eight matchups.
Some of that was inherited by CSU coach Jay Norvell, but the demons of the past are less of a concern than the matter at hand.
"We understand that it's a rivalry game. We understand the opponent," Norvell said at his weekly press conference on Monday. "They're here on the Front Range with us. that's part of it, absolutely, but this is a new season. We're a different team, they're a different team. We have to beat this team Saturday night and do the things we need to do.
"I think the maturity of our team matters. We have not played very well here in the second half of the season over the last few years, and we want to change that. We want to be the more focused team, we want to be the hungrier team, we want to be the team that does the things it's supposed to do down the stretch to win."
They are different teams, particularly the Falcons, who enter the game an uncharacteristic 1-5 overall, 0-3 in Mountain West play. It is a program which has won 40 games the past four full seasons and hasn't had a losing mark since 2018.
Center Jacob Gardner transferred from Nevada with an Air Force loss in his bags. Most definitely yes, he said, he'd like to check that off his list.
"I'd like to win this one. Air Force is always a really tough game, and it's a game where we have to get up on them first, can't be playing catch-up with them," he said. "They like to hold the ball, and we need to make our possessions count. I think going in that's something we want to do is hold the ball and be able to run the clock."
Injury Bug
When it comes to some key players, the team is playing a waiting game. With Tory Horton. With Nuer Gatkuoth. Even Justin Marshall. Marshall wasn't able to finish the game with San Jose State, nor could Horton. Gatkuoth sat out after playing his first game the week before.
"Nuer, we're going to continue to watch him. Hopefully we can get him back," Norvell said. "Tory's situation, he had an MRI and we're still getting some feedback on that to see where he's at. We're not sure where his status is at this point."
In short, Gatkuoth and Horton are big question marks. So is Marshall.
The running back room has remained productive in large part due to the play of Avery Morrow, but even he had to sit a couple of series after taking a blow to the midsection. Jalen Dupree made his debut and looked good as Keegan Holles hasn't been available for three weeks.
He does expect offensive lineman Alex Foster, who started the first three games of the year at left guard, to be available to play. Tanner Morley has started the past three games and has performed well, which is part of a positive development Norvell has seen. Younger players, such as Morley, Dupree, Gabe Kirschke, Kenyon Agurs, Kennedy McDonald and the young wideouts, have taken advantage of their chances.
Here and There
Morrow rushed for 100 yards for a third consecutive week, but he did not deliver donuts to the offensive lineman. Center Jacob Gardner clarified the donut mark is 150 yards for Morrow. … This is the first time in four seasons the Rams will not play Front Range Rivals Air Force and Wyoming in successive weeks. … This is just the fifth time in the past 24 seasons CSU and Air Force will meet before Oct. 20. The last time the two did so was 2015, a CSU win in Fort Collins. … Jordon Noyes was named the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week after his 58-yard field goal against San Jose State.
Players Mentioned
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