2010 Colorado State Rams Football Preview

2009 Results: 3-9, No Bowl

Head Coach: Steve Fairchild (3rd year @ Colorado State, 10-15 Overall)

Home Venue: Hughes Stadium (34,400), Fort Collins, Colorado

2009 was a disappointing year for CSU. After Head Coach Steve Fairchild led the Rams to a bowl victory in his first year replacing legend Sonny Lubick, Colorado State fell off in spectacular fashion, failing to win a single game in conference play! What made their collapse even worse was the promise that came with a 3-0 start that included a win at archrival Colorado. Can Fairchild get his team back on track this fall?

OFFENSE

Colorado State will enter 2010 with the most inexperienced offense in the entire conference, as only four starters return. The one major positive for the Rams is at tailback, where seniors Leonard Mason (766 yards, 2 TDs in 2009) and John Mosure (650 yards, 7 TDs) should provide another strong season toting the rock. Even better, former elite UCLA recruit Ray Carter is eligible this season, giving the Rams three strong tailbacks.

Unfortunately, that’s where the good news ends. CSU lost four starters with three or more years of starting experience on the offensive line from last season, one of the biggest talent drains in the entire country! To make matters worse, true freshman Pete Thomas enrolled early and appears to have the inside track on the starting position. With fellow frosh Nico Rainieri as his only competition, the Rams are guaranteed to have a freshman quarterback starting behind a gutted line and that’s not a formula for success.

With so much concern about the quality of the O-Line and youthfulness at quarterback, it is easy to overlook the fact that the Rams also have no wideout on the roster that had more than 17 catches last season. In fact, their top returning pass catcher is senior fullback Zac Pauga, who had 25 grabs in 2009! With the only hope for a consistent attack coming from a great tailback triumvirate that has to operate behind a diminished line, it looks like a long season offensively for the Rams.

DEFENSE

Things are much brighter on the defensive side of the football, where seven starters are back. Up front, they have a deep unit that has the drawback of being somewhat undersized. However, this group did a good job against the run last season and I see no reason for regression with more experience and a talented sophomore class ready to contribute.

The run defense is solidified with the presence of 2nd Team All-MWC linebacker Mychal Sisson (91 tackles, 6 sacks in 2009), who is the top player of a group that will receive a boost from the return of senior Ricky Brewer, who was a tackling machine before being suspended for the 2009 season. The Rams will do well against the run.

But pass defense is another matter entirely. While junior safety Elijah-Blu Smith (74 tackles, 3 INT) is one of the league’s better defensive backs, they have a big hole to fill at cornerback as departed senior Nick Oppenneer led the team in picks while finishing 3rd in tackles. While the Rams should get some help from a strong front seven, teams will definitely attack through the air first.

However, even with the concerns in the secondary, this is an improved defense from 2009 and should definitely hold opponents to lesser production than last season’s average of nearly 30 points per game.

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SCHEDULE

The Rams have a tricky schedule. They open up with their yearly grudge match with Colorado in Denver before traveling to Nevada to face a very good Wolfpack squad. While their final two non-conference games (Idaho and at Miami of Ohio) are definitely winnable contests, they don’t have an off week all season and must open up MWC play with TCU, Air Force and Utah in their first four league games! With the looming possibility of a slow start, this schedule is pretty tough for Fairchild’s team.

OUTLOOK

The Rams are facing a complete rebuilding job on offense in 2010. They have next to no experience at quarterback, wide receiver or the O-Line and they’re going to be starting a ton of underclassmen at the skill positions. Simply put, their tailbacks won’t gain a lot of yards if the opponent is stacking the box and blowing up a so-so line and that is going to prevent this group from being a great offensive team. That puts a lot of pressure on their defense to perform at a high level and while I think that they’re a much-improved group, they’re probably still nowhere near good enough to carry an offense that is expected to take some time to get its footing in the early going. With a tough first eight games, it looks like 2010 will be another losing campaign in Fort Collins.

PREDICTED RESULT: 4-8 (2-6 Mountain West)