Editor’s Note: All opinion content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board.
To become prisoner of a moment often means being shackled by one’s own invisible chains.
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For the Colorado State football universe, that moment came during a second-half meltdown against Colorado.
The energy hit rock bottom, and plummeting with them was common sense. While things now are certainly far from perfect, the collective meltdown from Ram faithful now lies alone in a dark corner, overshadowed by CSU becoming bowl eligible.
“It’s big,” coach Jay Norvell said on what it means to become bowl eligible after CSU beat Nevada. “That’s always a goal that we have. In preparing for this game, we really had bigger fish to fry than just this one game. … If this team continues to prepare the way it has and focus the way it has, there’s some special things we can accomplish.”
“The good thing is we have a lot of season left.” –Jay Norvell, football coach
Through three games, CSU met expectations recordwise. Going 2-1 was the best-case scenario at that point, but 1-2 was the expectation. Although it might not have felt the best, CSU was only beginning to find its offensive identity.
“The good thing is we have a lot of season left,” Norvell said following the loss to CU.
While disappointed, Norvell maintained the belief that every goal the team had was still in front of them, something echoed by every member of the team.
The discourse through three games would have you thinking the season was already over. And when everything prior to the season pointed to this being a turnaround season for CSU, it was not the time to give up hope.
The Rams had continuity and, with that, a year more experience for many of their players.
A big part of that expected turnaround was the offensive line, which was one of the best in the nation a year ago, returning with captain Jacob Gardner.
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In a woeful rushing season, CSU found its diamond in the rough in Justin Marshall, and Norvell adjusted the way his offense functioned. Although Avery Morrow ended up the featured back, the groundwork for CSU to have a good run game was already set.
“We owe it to ourselves and owe it to (the fans) who aren’t the ones on social media giving us as much as they want,” Paddy Turner said in the Monday presser following the CU loss. “(We play for) the ones that stay patient and (have been) been patient for a while. We know that; we feel it more than anyone.”
This patience eventually paid off.
Coaches are often praised for their ability to form an offense based on the personnel they have. Norvell adjusted, but praise didn’t follow. In its place was a collective outcry for CSU to throw the ball more.
With the season Morrow and Marshall have had thus far, it is crazy to think CSU would ever take as many pass attempts as it did a year ago.
CSU is now bowl eligible for the first time since 2017. The Rams are responsible for their own destiny in reaching the Mountain West championship, with games against Wyoming, Fresno State and Utah State.
Winning a MW championship isn’t something CSU has accomplished since 2002, which is — coincidentally — also the last time CSU beat Air Force at the Academy before breaking the streak this season, another feather in Norvell’s cap.
Presently, the vibes could not be higher.
Despite the allure of name, image and likeness deals in college football, Norvell has fostered a culture of loyalty. Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi and Tory Horton each declined six-figure offers to enter the transfer portal to remain loyal to their coach.
Virtually none of the Colorado State football big names from a year ago transferred, with the exceptions of Louis Brown IV and TJ Crandall. Then there’s Justus Ross-Simmons, who was more forced out rather than leaving on his own.
When the emotions of a season are captured, important context is often missed.
With how easy CSU’s conference schedule turned out, the beginning of this season should have been looked at as nothing more than growing pains of a team with a shifting identity, something Norvell echoed after each loss.
With young guys like Caleb Goodie, Jalen Dupree and Fowler-Nicolosi producing on the offensive end and Gabe Kirschke, Dylan Phelps and Nuer Gatkuoth doing well on the defensive end, there is a lot to be hopeful about.
The future is bright in Fort Collins, and CSU has finally returned to national relevance, something that’s been under construction, seemingly as long as the Interstate 25 roadwork.
A lot of that credit has to go to Norvell and his staff for the way they’ve built the team. Time will ultimately tell, but those early-season overreactions remain a reminder that time doesn’t stand still, and CSU isn’t perpetually doomed to irrelevance.
Reach Damon Cook at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @dwcook2001.
