At least one thing was clear after Colorado State football’s week one loss to Texas: the Rams’ best football is yet to come.
CSU played uninspiring football in its 52-0 loss to Texas, leaving much to be desired outside of a few moments. Despite the loss, coach Jay Norvell said he was disappointed but not discouraged with what he saw, leaving optimism for brighter days ahead.
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“I do think that this game is going to teach us lessons that are going to help us down the road,” Norvell said. “And we need to take lessons from this and put it into play for the future.”
Despite a result that left much to be desired, Norvell and his team remain confident in the fact that all of their goals are still in front of them.
After an offseason filled with excitement and hope, Saturday’s game against Northern Colorado becomes imperative for the Rams to get back on the right track.
“Nothing changes — (it’s) one game,” defensive lineman Cam Bariteau said. “Obviously didn’t go how we wanted it to go, but we got to move forward, and we have 11 games ahead of us to do what we set out to be able to accomplish.”
Offense
Justin Marshall might have been the lone star for CSU in Texas, going for 109 yards on 25 attempts. That marked the fourth time in a row — dating back to the 2023 season — that the promising young back went for more than 90 yards on the ground.
Marshall came off the field limping in the fourth quarter, but Norvell said the team was fortunate with how they came out healthwise from the weekend, leaving optimism that Marshall should be able to suit up against UNC.
“Justin being able to run the football — our offensive line did a lot of good things against a really good defense,” Norvell said. “They didn’t let anybody do that to them last year in the running game. And so we have to build on that.”
One of the things that the CSU offensive line has implemented this year is slowing down the pace a little bit in a new scheme.
Not only did it clearly work, with Marshall going over the century mark and the O-line giving up zero sacks, but in the heat and humidity, it also allowed the guys up front to breathe a little.
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“(With) how hot it was out there, that was very nice to have,” offensive lineman Drew Moss said. “But we’ll change things up. We’ll do what we need to for the opponent, but that was very nice to be a little slower.”
Who to watch: Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi
Norvell said the team wanted to play more slowly and keep Texas’ playmakers off the field, something that made the Rams’ offense uncomfortable. That, made obvious by their woes, was far from what was expected to be an explosive offense.
Look for Fowler-Nicolosi and the offense to get things going as they return back to what they know. The Rams had no plays go for more than 20 yards, and Fowler-Nicolosi only finished with 59 passing yards, something that should be drastically different against the Bears.
Defense
For spurts of the game, the CSU defense looked like a very good unit. But for a lot of the game, Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning made things look pretty easy for the Texas offense.
Despite the absence of their Freshman All-American Nuer Gatkuoth, the Rams showed some poise in their pass rush.
James Mitchell had a nice game, recording a tackle-for-loss, and was a key contributor in forcing UT’s only turnover. Some other guys Norvell mentioned by name, like Gabe Kirschke, Kenyon Agurs and Mukendi Wa-Kalonji, showed some promise as well.
“We have to be a very disciplined pass rush, and we have to play with great relentlessness,” Norvell said. “I thought we did some good things. … Our ends were level rushing, they were going speed to power and we closed up the gaps inside.”
Despite the praise, Norvell did mention that some of the younger guys felt like they were a step behind for some of the game, something not out of the ordinary when there are 99,000 fans raining down hostilities onto the field.
That is something the welcoming grasp of Canvas Stadium should help remedy.
“Obviously, it’s better to play at home, but you get to see different environments and different teams and different things they do,” Bariteau said. “So coming home, you have the fans on your side this time.”
Who to watch: The CSU front seven
UNC had 43 attempts on the ground compared to their 28 through the air in their loss to Incarnate Word. With old friend Vann Schield making his return to Canvas, there could be more of the same from UNC.
With a relatively inexperienced front seven for the Rams headed by veteran Chase Wilson, preventing big plays and extended drives will be crucial to success as CSU looks to get the home-opening victory.
Reach Damon Cook at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @dwcook2001.
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