Three Phases: Opener Answers Some Questions

Jay Norvell was more than optimistic heading into the season; the Colorado State head coach was confident in his team heading into his fourth season. But he also knew some of the confidence came with some uncertainty, as some of the talent which had him feeling encouraged hadn't played a ton in their careers, let alone together.

In a nutshell, all of it was proven true by the end of Saturday night's season-opening 38-21 loss to Washington.

The confidence – and concerns – came from the number of transfers expected to play big roles, but also some returners stepping into bigger roles.

"The bottom line is we've got to overcome certain things to win a game like this. Against a good football team, Big 10 team with good players, we've got to overcome some things in the second half and to finish drives and to make it competitive," Norvell said. "And so overall, I'm not discouraged. You know, we've got a lot of character in that locker room. I told our football team, half of our football team this was the first game they've ever played with us."

Offense

Redshirt freshman running back Jalen Dupree was the early spark. Jaxxon Warren, playing his first Division I game as a tight end, caught fire later. A rebuilt offensive line held together well, creating lanes for Dupree on his way to 92 yards rushing and allowing two sacks, one when shifting out of a field goal attempt.

Warren finished with six receptions for 79 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown reception. He produced the only two explosive plays in the passing game, Dupree the three in the running game.

"I felt like we really established a really good starting point going into the rest of the year. We knew we were facing a really tough opponent, but we felt like we matched up really well against them," Warren said. "Simply, I feel like at moments we bit ourselves. We had multiple opportunities that we just didn't capitalize on, but we're going to just keep stacking days. We're just going to keep our heads up and really attack this week and just put on a new show Saturday."

Tahj Bullock showed he can be versatile option. He lined up at running back, receiver and quarterback. He had the first catch of the night as well as the first touchdown, a 2-yard run out of the wildcat.

When the defense forced a turnover late in the first half, the offense was able to produce a touchdown while operating with less than two minutes on the clock. What the unit didn't do was sustain enough drives. The unit had four three-and-outs, three in succession. CSU converted just three of 13 third downs.

Quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi finished just 17-of-32 passing for 180 yards, his interception setting up Washington to turn the tide as he threw into double coverage. The Huskies cashed it in for a field goal, part of a game-ending run of 17 consecutive points. His ability to check plays was a strength, switching the play to a run when Dupree scored late in the opening half, even when the clock was winding down and the team had no timeouts.

"The biggest thing is we've got to find a way to get off the field, especially in the second half on defense. And we didn't sustain. We had too many three-and-outs offensively in the middle of the game and we didn't compliment the defense very well," Norvell said. "That was one of the things I just told the team was I thought we complimented each other in the first half better. The second half we didn't. You know, offense didn't step up and make a big play. Defense couldn't get off the field."

Defense

It became clear early that Tyson Summers' brand of calling a game was going to be more aggressive in nature. And in the first half, the Rams held the Huskies to just two conversions on six third downs. The second half they allowed six of eight.

He won't like the fact the group surrendered 509 yards of total offense, or the 283 rushing yards, 177 to Jonah Coleman who scored two touchdowns. Though the Rams sacked Damon Williams Jr. three times, they also allowed him to scramble for 68 yards, and he was a proficient 18-of-24 passing for 206 yards and a touchdown.

"Obviously we're frustrated and there's plays we wish we had back and sequences we wish we had back, but I think we also all got to see what it could be like, and I'll tell you that's going to be motivation for all of us to improve and get better this week," linebacker Owen Long said. "Every day we're going to find a way to get better.

"We've got Northern Colorado on Saturday and the goal is just going to be to go out there and play better and play smarter and just continue to grow and get better. I think we've seen what this team can be, and that's something that we're going to hang our hats on because I feel so much more motivated now that we've seen it."

Long was a bright spot, especially early. He finished with 13 tackles (11 in the first half). Proving Summers will bring pressure from all angles, cornerback Lemondre Joe had 1.5 of the sacks, with Robert Edmonson getting one of his own.

But one of Washington's scoring drives was good for 90 yards, and the Huskies controlled time of possession, finishing just shy of 37 minutes.

Special Teams

Again, a mixed bag. Lloyd Avant produced a couple of strong returns on kickoffs, but the coverage unit allowed a few to the Huskies. Bryan Hansen handled the punting duties for the first time, averaging 49 yards. Fowler-Nicolosi is still going to be used in the punting game, attempting one and placing UW on it's own 1. He's punted six times in his career, all landing inside the 20.

When the Rams were forced to be aggressive, the idea to send out the field goal unit and then switch to an offensive formation backfired, as Bullock was sacked for a big loss.

The Rams now have a game under their belt as a team. They learned a bit more in the form of a hard lesson. But like their coach, the players are far from discouraged.

"For a lot of us, it's our first time playing together. There's a lot of new faces. It's not an excuse, but I think if we're going to look at this and take the good out of it, I think we've seen what we can be," Long said. "When we do execute at a high level, this can be a special team. You feel it every day when you're in the locker room with them.

"Like I said, it's going to be on us to get back to the drawing board and go figure out how we can get that product out of ourselves more, but I promise you we will go do that, and we are going to find ways to do that. We'll fix some mistakes. The cool thing about football is we're right back at it. It's a new opponent, the game's over with, so it's a whole new slate for next week."

COLORADO STATE FOOTBALL GAME NOTES
Game 1 – Colorado State (21) at Washington (38) – Aug. 31, 2025

TEAM NOTES

Captains: Season: Jacob Ellis, JaQues Evans, Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, Owen Long, Tanner Morley and Mukendi Wa-Kalonji. Evans, Fowler-Nicolosi, Morley and Wa-Kalonji were on the field for the coin flip.
Coin Toss/Result: Washington won the toss; CSU received the opening kickoff.
For Openers: The Rams were looking to snap a skid in first games, as the last time Colorado State won a season opener was back in 2017, beating Oregon State at home. The last time a season-opening win happened in a true road game – not Denver – was 2011 at New Mexico.
Attendance: The crowd at Husky Stadium was announced at 67,778.

PLAYER NOTES

QB Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi

- Finished 17 of 32 passing for 180 yards.
- Closed with one touchdown and one interception.
- Punted for the sixth time in his career, all placed inside the 20.

TE Jaxxon Warren

- Led the team with six receptions, accounting for 79 yards.
- Scored his first career TD on a 27-yard reception in the third quarter.
- Had two explosive plays in the passing game, both on the same drive.

RB Jalen Dupree

-.Led the rushing attack with 92 yards on 15 carries.
- Scored on a 15-yard run late in the second quarter to cash in a turnover.
- He had all three of the Rams' explosive running plays, producing runs of 15, 19 and 20 yards.

LB Owen Long

- Led the team in tackles with 13.
- Named a team captain, he had 11 tackles at halftime, 10 solo stops.
- Was making just his second career start, his first coming in last year's bowl game.

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