Setting the Stage: Defense Working on Cleaning Up

While a lot has gone well – namely eight turnovers created – there are parts of the game Colorado State's defense is trying to clean up.

Explosive plays, being one. The Rams allowed 12 explosive plays to Southern Utah, seven in the season opener with Wyoming. With No. 11 BYU coming to Canvas Stadium, armed with an offense which has playmakers at all the key positions, it becomes a point of emphasis.

Cornerback CJ Blocker said it wasn't just one things, but a few things leading to those plays, and not all of the issues arise simultaneously.

"It's really just the small details. We've seen a lot of success, but there's also a lot of bad that we can clean up," Blocker said. "Which is a good thing. We've still got success, but really just cleaning up the details and the small work.

"It's not too big of a thing, but it's small changes that can go a long way. So (defensive coordinator Tyson Summers) really just harping on us being perfect and just cleaning up our technique."

Blocker knows what can happen if as a player you do the little things correctly, and all he has to do is point to the two interceptions he's collected, one in each game.

Four turnovers a game isn't common, so it isn't a category which can be counted upon – though Blocker believes it is a pace the Rams can sustain if they do things correctly. His goal now – a pick a game.

"If you just do the right things, you stay levelheaded. Just keep pressing on and work hard every single day," he said. "I think for me, my philosophy is just empty the tank every single day. And then on game day it's gonna be easy. So really just being my own coach, in a sense, and just instilling myself with the attitude, the intangibles to go out and just compete how I know I can."

The defense is aware of what it is out to fix, and Blocker, for one, doesn't think any of the assignments require a great deal of effort to correct.

It's a good attitude to take, but his head coach doesn't see it so cut and dry. Possible, yes.

"I don't think anything's easy about football. I think that sometimes people say, ah, it's an easy fix," Mora said. "There's no such thing as an easy fix because the next week someone's going to do something different to you, but they are things that we certainly can correct if we put the right focus on them, and we concentrate on it, and we do it right, and we are consistently doing it right, then we can get it fixed. But it may be simple, but it's not easy."

Not Yet Special

Consistency has been a theme for both the offensive and defensive units. Mora hasn't forgotten the special teams units, a group he wants to see make improvement.

"Pretty average right now. We're not covering kickoffs well enough, we're not punting well enough," he said. "We're capable of it and it's a process that we're going through.

"We're finding the right guys to cover kicks. You saw we put Jaden Hernandez out there last week in the second half and he went down and created some problems for the other team, but those are things we'll get better at.

"Get the right people out there with the right attitude, understand our scheme a little bit better. We work hard, as you guys know, on special teams, so I have a lot of confidence in our scheme. I have great confidence in coach (Kyle) Krantz and coach (Jackson) Mitchell, and I think our players want to be really good, they just have to keep learning."

Nathan Sutcliffe is averaging 42.0 yards per punt, and Kali Nguma made all three of his field goals last week after missing from beyond 50 in the opener. Jackson Harper is averaging 14.5 yards per punt return, thanks to a 30-yarder last week which set up a touchdown in the flurry of closing points in the first half.

The stress of importance on the units comes down to one thing for Mora.

"You're talking about huge chunks of yardage on every special team you play or points on every single special team you play. There is no second down on special teams, right?" he said. "You get one down to do it or not do it, so that's why we spend so much time. But if you can get a takeaway on special teams and take a possession away from your opponent, that's always something that's going to help you win a game."

Me Time

The football season is long, and many of the coaches try to find a way to get a little exercise in during the day. On Tuesday's quarterbacks coach Matt Mitchell can be seen taking a mile loop around the facility then quickly back to the office for film breakdown.

"I try to get a run in a few times a week. I was probably on a more consistent schedule in training camp," he said. "Now that game planning has hit, not quite as much exercise as I got in fall camp, but yeah, I try to get a run in here."

It serves a couple of purposes. One, he gets the heart rate up. Two, he can clear his brain a bit, think about what just happened at practice … or just nothing at all and get lost in the music coming through his ear buds.

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