PRINT EDITION

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Have a strong opinion about something happening on campus or in Fort Collins? Want to respond to an article written on The Collegian? Write a Letter to the Editor by following the guidelines here.

Print Edition

Letter to the editor submissions

Have a strong opinion about something happening on campus or in Fort Collins? Want to respond to an article written on The Collegian? Write a Letter to the Editor by following the guidelines here.

CSU football heads to Fresno State without star running back

Junior Guerrero

October 23, 2019

After a much-needed bye week, the Rams head to Fresno, California, looking to salvage what’s left of their 2019-20 season.

As a whole, this season has been a disappointing one for the Rams.

The team dealt with injuries, mental mistakes and poor execution all season long, which shows in their 2-5 record. However, the good news is that they have the opportunity to play football this week and take a step in the right direction after limping into their bye week.

In their last outing, the Rams came out victorious in a road battle against New Mexico. This was the Rams’ first win in four weeks, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. This win allowed the Rams to gain confidence and momentum heading into their week off.

During their bye week, the Rams were able to regroup, string together some good practices and put together a game plan to attack the Bulldogs. Execution will be the main focus heading into the game this weekend.

Coach Mike Bobo can put together the greatest game plan we’ve ever seen, but without execution, it is all for nothing.

Nate Craig-Myers(4) catches a pass from Patrick O'Brien(12) during the Homecoming game against San Diego State. CSU loses 24-10 — Nate Craig-Myers (4) catches a pass from Patrick O’Brien (12) during the Homecoming game against San Diego State. Colorado State lost 24-10. (Devin Cornelius | Collegian)

Coming into the game, Fresno State holds an overall 3-3 record and a 1-1 record in the Mountain West Conference. The Bulldogs are fresh off a lopsided 56-27 home victory against University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

The Bulldogs present a unique challenge offensively for the Rams. They average almost 34 points per game and do it in a balanced manner. The Bulldogs like to throw the ball, but they love to run the ball.

In their victory last weekend against UNLV, the Bulldogs put up 260 yards rushing and six rushing touchdowns. This includes three different rushers with at least a touchdown. This isn’t the best news for the Rams, who have been giving up over an average of 220 yards per game this season.

The Bulldogs are a dynamic team that will be looking to expose the Rams’ lacking rushing defense. If the Rams’ interior defense can’t keep the run game under control, Saturday could be a long day for those wearing green and gold.

“Fresno is a balanced attack with both the run and the pass,” Bobo said. “We got to do a good job at reading formations and keeping our eyes in the right place.”

If the Rams are going to win this game, they will need to play sound football and have other players step up in key positions. As of Tuesday, the suspension of Marvin Kinsey Jr. was announced. The suspension has come at a time when the Rams need Kinsey’s presence against a talented Fresno State team.

This isn’t the first time Kinsey has been suspended for violating team rules. The running back was suspended in 2017 in the first half of the New Mexico Bowl and again in 2018 for the Rams’ home opener against the University of Hawaii.

Kinsey violated team rules and is suspended indefinitely. “The only comment I have on Kinsey is that he’s suspended indefinitely,” Bobo said.

Although he leads the team with seven fumbles, Kinsey is an explosive player with big-play potential when the ball is in his hands. The Rams’ rotation at running back will now feature junior Marcus McElroy along with freshman Jaylen Thomas and Christian Hunter.

This is the time to see what this team is really made of and how they’ll respond to more adversity.

Junior Guerrero can be reach at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @juniorg45.

About the Contributor

Devin Cornelius, Digital Managing Editor

Devin Cornelius is the digital managing editor for The Collegian. He is a fifth-year computer science major from Austin, Texas. He moved to Colorado State University and started working for The Collegian in 2017 as a photographer. His passion for photography began in high school, so finding a photography job in college was one of his top priorities. He primarily takes sports photos, volleyball being his favorite to shoot. Having been on The Collegian staff for 4 1/2 years, he’s watched the paper evolve from a daily to a weekly paper, and being involved in this transition is interesting and exciting. Although Cornelius is a computer science major, his time at The Collegian has been the most fulfilling experience in his college career — he has loved every second. From working 12-hour days to taking photos in Las Vegas for the Mountain West Conference, he cannot think of a better place to work. Working as a photographer for The Collegian pushed him outside of his comfort zone, taking him places that he never expected and making him the photographer he is today. As the digital managing editor, Cornelius oversees the photos, graphics and social media of The Collegian along with other small tech things. Working on the editorial staff with Katrina Leibee and Serena Bettis has been super fun and extremely rewarding, and together they have been pushing The Collegian toward being an alt-weekly. Outside of The Collegian, he enjoys playing volleyball, rugby, tumbling and a variety of video games. When in Austin, you can find him out on the lake, wake surfing, wake boarding and tubing. You can expect that Cornelius and the rest of The Collegian staff will do their best to provide you with interesting and exciting content.

Comments (0)

When commenting on The Collegian’s website, please be respectful of others and their viewpoints. The Collegian reviews all comments and reserves the right to reject comments from the website. Comments including any of the following will not be accepted. 1. No language attacking a protected group, including slurs or other profane language directed at a person’s race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social class, age, physical or mental disability, ethnicity or nationality. 2. No factually inaccurate information, including misleading statements or incorrect data. 3. No abusive language or harassment of Collegian writers, editors or other commenters. 4. No threatening language that includes but is not limited to language inciting violence against an individual or group of people. 5. No links.

Share your thoughts...

All The Rocky Mountain Collegian Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest