Rams Approaching Sum, not One

At some point in the game, he's going to make a play. It could be by design or out of necessity. It's simply going to happen.

Because the numbers say it will. New Mexico sophomore quarterback Devon Dampier has done it every week. It could be via his arm or because of his legs. He's thrown for 1,760 yards, averaging 251.4 per contest had having thrown for at least 260 in four of the seven games as the Lobos are off to a 3-4 start.

The last three are wins, the last one a comeback aided by the 105 yards he rushed for against Utah State. He has 10 rushing touchdowns, and in four games, he has a carry of 20 yards or more. He's going to make a play at some point. Colorado State knows this to be true.

It's what they do about it after that matters.

"Coach has told us we might do our job but he's going to make something out of nothing, so we just have to keep on running," CSU defensive end Mukendi Wa-Kalonji said. "The No. 1 rule this week is to run to the ball because you never know. One of our linebackers may make him stop his feet, and if he jukes him, but if we're running, he doesn't have that opportunity, and everyone will come to the ball. He's still a great athlete, and he may still make something out of that, but we have to keep running to the ball.

"We're expecting him to make a play here or there. Don't let that affect us. Don't let that define the whole game. We define the whole game by keep on playing and keep on hitting him hard, so he doesn't have the chance to run."

His mobility has led him to be sacked just three times this season. His ability to extend plays sometimes creates running lanes for him, others passing lanes as secondaries try to stick with coverage.

He won't give up. Despite throwing three interceptions a week ago, Dampier and the offense kept plugging away, turning an early 17-0 deficit into a 50-45 win. It was the third week in a row the Lobos had put 50 on the board.

Colorado State has 157 points scored all year. The Lobos have 152 the past three games.

"You've just got to do a good job. He likes to run the ball a lot, and that's why we recruit the way we do," Jock said. "We have really fast D-ends and really fast linebackers, and we're trying to keep contain on them. When you have a quarterback who can run and throw the ball, you want to keep him in the pocket as much as you can. I think over the year it's like 53 pressures with one time being on the ground, and two other sacks have been out of bounds. You want to do your best to keep him in the pocket and make him throw the ball as much as possible."
The Rams did hold the edge well against Air Force last week, and it was a combination effort. It was defensive ends doing their job, with help from flowing linebacker and secondary players charging up into the play.

Wa-Kalonji knows defending the Lobos will require the same effort.

"Coach told us right away from the get-go he will see us setting the edge and he will still challenge us to try to make the tackle, run to the sideline," he said. "Coach has made a big emphasis of keeping our outside arm free and make sure he doesn't get around us. Setting the edge is really important this week. We know he's a great athlete, but we know we have to keep him inside so everyone can corral him."

What the CSU defense has been able to do the past two weeks through sound fundamentals will work again this week. The preferred method would be last week's blueprint.

That included a host of tackles for loss, four sacks among them and a trio of turnovers. As CSU coach Jay Norvell noted, the Lobos are more than just one player, featuring a 50-reception target, a quad of runners with more than 250 yards and explosive plays throughout the lineup.

"You've got to be sound, and you have to be disciplined. You can't play plays, you have to play defense, and that's really important," he said. "That you follow your rules, everybody has their responsibility. The thing I'm proud of about the progress we've made as a team is we're playing well fundamentally, and that's really important when you play a team like this that's been hot on offense, they're scoring a bunch of points. We have to play sound, and we have to take advantage of opportunities.

"They have had some issues with turnovers, and we have an opportunity to take the ball away this weekend. Whether that's in the pass game or forcing fumbles, we have to do a great job fundamentally. We've got to be physical on these guys and we have to be disruptive. We're starting to see some disruption from our defense. sacking the quarterback and creating turnovers."

The Rams are taking the same approach, even knowing the Lobos and Dampier will break a play or two.

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