The first step left a mark, but the second must be sharper.
Colorado State football’s trip to Seattle left some room for improvement, but it also left belief in its next game against Northern Colorado. In certain individual matchups against Washington, the Rams were simply outmatched. The Huskies’ supposed strong recruitment came to light, but head coach Jay Norvell walked away from the opener convinced that his team has what he called “championship DNA” in its locker room.
“We’re going to see Northern Colorado’s best effort this Saturday. This is going to be the best they play all year. And we need to play our best, and that’s what our goal is.” –Jay Norvell, CSU football head coach
“I really do (think that),” Norvell said. “We have high character, we have courage, we have physicality and we need to build on that. And I think the question now is, ‘Can we prepare at that level? Can we respond at that level and do the things we need to do day to day, week to week, over the course of this season, to have the kind of outputs that we want as a program?’”
UW’s 38-21 win reminded the Rams how thin the margin is against an elite quarterback. Demond Williams Jr. extended plays, found space outside the pocket and wore CSU down late.
Norvell admitted it was the kind of challenge that is impossible to fully replicate in practice.
“You know, we had good schemes planned, but that guy, he’s just different,” Norvell said. “He’s really got good speed. We fought them hard for three quarters, and we kind of wore down at the end there in the fourth quarter. But I think we can build on many things that we learned.”
The film session to start the week pointed out three areas Norvell circled for improvement before Saturday’s Ag Day clash with UNC at Canvas Stadium: the running game, defensive containment and special teams.
Jalen Dupree looked like the engine for the ground game against UW, so he’s expected to lead the backfield again while Justin Marshall and Lloyd Avant bring a little juice alongside the bruiser.
“We’ve really worked hard to build explosives into our running game,” Norvell said. “We want to see more explosive plays in the running game, and so that’s something that we really want to see respond this week.”
On defense, one emphasis is on keeping quarterbacks in the pocket.
Williams Jr. repeatedly slipped contain in key moments, turning broken plays into momentum swings. Fortunately for the Rams, it seems unlikely another quarterback on their schedule will be as talented as the Huskies’ signal caller.
“We want to make the quarterback have a bad day defensively, and we didn’t quite do that,” Norvell said. “We lost contain a couple times defensively and let Williams out in key plays, and we need to make it harder for that guy.”
But special teams also came up short.
Though punter Bryan Hansen had a strong day, Norvell said CSU’s average drive start wasn’t where it needed to be. With designated special teams coordinator Tommy Perry, the bar for execution on special teams seems to be pretty high for the Rams. It might’ve just been too early with too many unfamiliar faces to pull off a fake field goal in the first game of the year.
Not everything from Seattle was discouraging, though.
The Rams flashed individual performances that should translate well into week two. Tight end Jaxxon Warren caught six passes for 79 yards and a touchdown off 11 targets in just his first career start at CSU. Whether or not it was due to settling for softer coverage on the inside to avoid UW’s cornerbacks, Warren and Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi seemed to be on the same page.
Owen Long‘s efforts on the field contributed what Norvell called “the most he’s ever played,” with the linebacker racking up a team-high 13 total tackles.
“I mean, (Long) was involved in almost every play in the first half,” Norvell said. “He was throwing his body in there, making quick reads, quick decisions. And the responsibility he has as a captain to be an example — he was. It was a really good performance by Owen.”
Fowler-Nicolosi, on the other hand, left an up-and-down impression, completing 17-of-32 passes for 180 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He ran the two-minute drill efficiently before halftime — something Norvell said the staff has hammered in practice — but came up short near the end of the game when CSU was trailing. Some of his throws appeared to come off his back foot, and it remains to be seen if that continues.
“There’s a lot of examples of (running a two-minute drill poorly),” Norvell said. “You could watch college football games all over the country, and you could see people not handle the two-minute drill very well. And I thought Brayden handled it really amazingly.”
Perhaps the most surprising bright spot was the offensive line. Reshuffled with new faces, the unit held up against one of the most physical fronts CSU will see all season.
“We really protected the quarterback well,” Norvell said. “Brayden kind of ran out of bounds late in the game, so they really didn’t get to him in the course of the game. That’s a credit to our line.”
The wide receivers, however, were quiet.
CSU’s attack leaned on Warren in the middle of the field, and Norvell admitted he needs to do more schematically to free his outside threats.
“We won’t see two corners like that the rest of the year,” Norvell said. “They’re both close to 6’4″ (and) can run. Those are NFL players. Probably I could have done a better job doing some things to free them up as far as motions and that were concerned. But we’re going to get those guys more involved this week.”
That chance comes against UNC, a team the Rams have never dropped a game to.
In addition to possible redemption from week one, the Bears will make the trip to Canvas for CSU’s Ag Day tradition. The Rams will once again wear orange jerseys in honor of the university’s agricultural roots.
“It’s a great sense of pride for our program and our university, and we’re really, really excited to come home,” Norvell said. “It should have a great, great crowd.”
The celebration will extend to honoring Ram legends. Former coach Sonny Lubick, NFL standouts Joey Porter and Al “Bubba” Baker and quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt are among those being recognized.
CSU is 10-3 at Canvas over the past two seasons, and Norvell said he wants that mentality ingrained in his current roster.
“Canvas, to me, is the jewel of the Rockies,” Norvell said. “When it’s filled with students and fans and we’re playing great football, it’s a special place. And I told our football team, ‘I don’t want to lose in this stadium.’”
The Rams showed toughness against a reimagined UW. To Norvell, the challenge now is turning that grit into growth.
“There’s a certain way that you have to prepare, and you have to have respect for your opponent,” Norvell said. “We’re going to see Northern Colorado’s best effort this Saturday. This is going to be the best they play all year. And we need to play our best, and that’s what our goal is.”
Reach Michael Hovey at sports@collegian.com or on social media @michaelfhovey.
