Three Phases: Rams Have Resolve to Regroup

Losing players and losing games, Jay Norvell said the next step for his Colorado State football team is to reassess. What the Rams are, who they have to do it with and what that entails over the course of the next seven Mountain West games.

He stood disappointed about the 45-24 loss to San Diego State and how it happened, some of it before the game took place. The team is without a host of starters from when the season began, including two key members of the defensive line. The linebackers have taken hits and so has the secondary. The offensive line and tight ends, too.

It all adds up, and it did on Friday. But he also believes there are answers his Rams can generate.

"You know, I just told our kids that we have a responsibility to respond the right way, and the circumstances aren't going to change me as a person. And it ain't going to change our kids," Norvell said. "And it ain't going to change our coaching staff. We have a bunch of kids who need to be coached, and we're going to coach them and help them get better.

"But they have to understand that a game like this, it doesn't mean that they're not good players or good people. They lost a football game. They need to learn from it. They need to keep their heads high and move forward. And that's what we'll do."

Offense

The unit is still looking to gain consistency, and in the process, some explosive plays. There were glimpses in both areas, which to Norvell only highlighted the issue.

"We don't have many players who can score on one play. We don't have a Tory Horton kind of player on the roster right now. Because of that, we've got to sustain drives," Norvell said. "They have to be long drives. They have to be mistake free."

The Rams had their two longest scoring drives of the season based off the number of plays, 14 and 15. They were outliers on a night the team was just 4-of-14 on third down. The night featured the longest pass play of the campaign – a 49-yard scoring play between Jackson Brousseau and Armani Winfield – and the longest run – 31 yards by Jalen Dupree. There just haven't been enough of those types of explosives.

"I think we did some good things, but it wasn't good enough clearly and so we need to watch the film and understand where we can get better and how we can get better as an offense," Brousseau said.

Dupree had 103 yards in the game, his first time surpassing the century mark, a positive sign. The other side was Brousseau was sacked four times as the Aztecs generated 8.0 tackles for loss.

Defense

Owen Long continues to pile up tackles, finishing with a career-best 16 in the game, but it was the first outing where the unit truly struggled. The Rams had just a single tackle for loss, coming late in the night.

San Diego State quarterback Jaylen Denegal threw for 256 yards and two scores, most of it coming in the first half when he dotted three deep balls for big gains, including both of his scoring passes. Receiver Jordan Napier had seven catches for 153 yards, and the second half featured a rushing attack which finished with 281 yards as a pair of Aztec backs surpassed 100 yards.

"We kind of fell back a little defensively tonight. We made some mental errors," Norvell said. "Guys kind of went back to some old habits, and we can't do that. We've got to do the things that we're coached to do, and we've got to follow the plan that the coaches put on the field to win."

Special Teams

There was nothing really of note from the units. Bryan Hansen was solid punting, and while Lloyd Avant had a strong kick return, the coverage units gave up two. Isaiah Hankins made the one field goal he was asked to kick.

Just no splash plays, which was the story across the board.

"We've got to get some help on defense. We've got to get a turnover or two on defense for a short field or on special teams," Norvell said. "We have to play complimentary football with the team that we have right now. And we didn't do that tonight."

Now the goal is to regroup, to find a way to turn things around with the roster at hand. Find the solutions which the Rams can make work. The loss stung, but there was resolve in the way Norvell addressed the night, and the same tone came from the players.

They believe they can find solutions. They believe it by looking to their left and right.

"I think there's a lot of guys, a lot of younger guys and a couple older guys from different places, but people look out for each other, and I think that's what's gonna carry us through," safety Jake Jarmolowich said. "Like JB; he obviously was a backup all year. Every day he'd go out there and fight for a spot, come back, some days would be worse than others. Same for me, I'd have some ups and downs, I'd have some lows, and I would look at him and he would have my back, give me a hug, tell me it's OK. And a lot of guys on the team do that."

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results