Cait Mckinzie
Colorado State University football running back Lloyd Avant (25) runs the ball down the field while wide receiver Lavon Brown (8) helps hold back University of Wyoming's defense Oct. 25. Avant contributed 14 rushing yards to CSU's game total of 94 rushing yards.
Colorado State football has been in the eye of the storm, seeking peace and connection to help reset the team.
Dealing with injuries, the departure of former head coach Jay Norvell and the loss of former starting quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, the Rams have still been expected to come out and produce wins, aiming for bowl eligibility and a conference championship.
Yet the program finds itself sitting near the bottom of the Mountain West.
“Whenever you look at (the Rebels) and you see a team that’s 6-2, and they beat UCLA earlier in the year, I think those holes are hard to find. So we’ll continue to go through it, you know, last week was really about us. We’ll start kind of being a little bit more in-depth with our game plan. Hopefully we’ll find some (holes).” –Tyson Summers, CSU football interim head coach
And in the midst of the chaos, CSU had its second bye week, giving players a chance to reset and spend time with family. Meanwhile, interim head coach Tyson Summers pushed to bring the team together.
“I need to be able to build some one-on-one relationships with those guys,” Summers said. “I’m trying to get in front of the team as much as I can in the mornings. … Our team meeting to start the day is about culture, and I want the offensive guys to be able to hear how I see that.”
As the team’s former defensive coordinator, Summers focused on building that bond with the offense when he stepped up, wanting to understand the ins and outs of each of his players.
And less than a week after being named head coach, the Rams went into one of their biggest games of the season: Border War. Not only was it the only game against Wyoming of the season, but it was also the last time the two would match up under the same conference, making the outcome all the more important.
CSU went on to have a scoreless four quarters, marking it the first game this year that the team couldn’t put any points on the board.
“I think (it gave the) ability for us to get back to the organizational flow that we wanted to have with our offense and our defense and our special teams,” Summers said. “Trying to build up confidence in our guys is a huge piece of it, and trying to build up trust as we make some of these adjustments. And I think it gave us a chance to do that. We spent a lot of time the last two weeks talking about reset.”
One of the biggest adjustments Summers introduced was promoting linebackers coach Grant Chestnut to offensive coordinator, replacing Norvell’s choice of Matt Mumme.
Like Summers, it’s been a priority to get Chestnut in front of the offensive unit, familiarizing them with not only himself but his methods and explaining the “why” behind things, as Summers put it.
This is the Rams’ third play-caller this season, but this change is far from the final adjustment of the year.
“I’m (going to) change it a little bit more this week, too,” Summers said. “We’ll keep trying to change and adjust and adapt to the things that we feel like give us the best chance to win and prepare the best to be able to do that. … And I thought the kids, the guys, did a great job of adapting to that and buying into that, … and they’ve had a great attitude.”
After the bye week reset, the Rams’ next opponent is the 6-2 UNLV. Despite the Rebels’ quarterback still recovering from illness, CSU will have its work cut out in preventing high-rushing stints.
And if the Rams fail and tally another loss, they will lose their bowl eligibility for the season.
“We’ve talked to our team a lot the last couple of days about being able to take what we’ve done on the field and how we’ve practiced and how we’ve tried to evolve into some things, and then being able to translate that into some points,” Summers said. “I think that we’ve made a ton of progress in the last two weeks.”
Historically, CSU’s record against the Rebels at home has gone in its favor, as the Rams haven’t lost since 2002. But CSU is running out of chances to turn the tables, as this will be its second-to-last home game.
The Rams will face UNLV at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Canvas Stadium.
“Whenever you look at (the Rebels) and you see a team that’s 6-2, and they beat UCLA earlier in the year, I think those holes are hard to find,” Summers said. “So we’ll continue to go through it, you know, last week was really about us. We’ll start kind of being a little bit more in-depth with our game plan. Hopefully we’ll find some (holes).”
Reach Sophie Webb at sports@collegian.com or on social media @sophgwebb.
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