Learn from it, grow from it and move on.
After allowing 59 points in a Week 4 loss against UTSA in which the Roadrunners got anything and everything they wanted on offense, the Colorado State defense will be under close watch as the team returns to Canvas Stadium for its first Pac-12 game against Oregon State on Saturday, Oct. 3.
CSU allowed 542 total yards of offense to UTSA and 35 unanswered points between the 9:03 mark of the first quarter and the 6:48 mark of the second quarter this past weekend. While the Rams’ offense was able to get the ball rolling in the second half and put up 45 points of its own in the game, there was no overcoming the hole they dug themselves into.
“We gave up 100 points in the last two games,” head coach Jim Mora said in a press conference Monday. “That might be some kind of world record. We (have) got to get that fixed, and we’re going to work as hard as we can to get it fixed — coaches and players together.”
As the team rallies to bounce back strong, a 2-2 OSU team that has been playing above early-season expectations so far is on its way to Fort Collins. After two losses to start the year against ranked opponents in Houston and Texas Tech, they’ve bounced back strong with blowout wins over Montana and the University of Texas at El-Paso; the Beavers will have some positive momentum as they walk into Canvas Stadium for CSU’s Homecoming & Family Weekend game.
“It’s about the challenge of going out and playing a good football team and trying to play our best and help our players play their best,” Mora said. “A coach’s job is to help their players play their best. We have to support them; we have to be demanding, and that doesn’t mean coddle them. … They have to know that your job is to help them go out and perform at their best.”
OSU is led by sophomore quarterback Braden Atkinson, who has been on a heater in the early part of the season. Atkinson is third in the nation in passing yards at 1,421, to pair with an 11-to-2 touchdown-to-reception ratio.
Both the Rams and Beavers are in a very similar boat programwise: Both squads are entering conference play with a 2-2 record, 2-10 records last season to bounce back from and are led by a new head coach.
The Rams, however, continue to home in on Mora’s resounding message: Focus on themselves.
“Told the whole team last night: The No. 1 thing that you do in a situation like this is be your own toughest critic,” Mora said. “And you figure out what you can do better before you ever think about what the guy next to you is supposed to be doing. I think that builds trust.”
With lots to change, especially on the defensive end, CSU can start fresh and begin their conference run with a new foot forward.
“We have a great opportunity this week to come back to Canvas and play in front of a good crowd,” Mora said. “But the preparation that we put in during the week is critical. That’s where you move forward as a football team, and then when it translates to good play on Saturday, your confidence level increases.”
However, an uncertainty from last week is still looming in the air: quarterback Hauss Hejny. Hejny was sidelined for the entirety of CSU’s loss against UTSA after sustaining a hamstring in Week 3’s BYU loss. If Hejny misses another week, K’saan Farrar will most likely be in place for another start and will hope to follow up his 344-yard, two-touchdown game.
“I wish I could answer that question for you because that would help me and everyone else,” Mora said when asked about Hejny’s progression. “He has made progress because he’s doing everything humanly possible to — along with Casey Carter, our head athletic trainer, and the rest of his staff — get ready. … If he’s ready to go on Saturday, then he’ll play. If he’s not, we have a guy now that has two starts under his belt in K’saan.”
The defense — specifically tackling issues — have been a main concern the past week. Defensive coordinator Tyson Summers’ unit has forced 10 turnovers this season but continues to allow opposing offenses to force scoring drives at will. Stopping excessive scoring will be a point of emphasis for Mora, Summers and the entire CSU staff before facing an OSU team averaging 32.3 points per game.
“You (have) got to talk about the specifics,” Mora said regarding the tackling issues. “That’s how you have to coach. … That’s what I believe defense is about (to) me personally, and that’s what this defense is going to be about. And there will be no question about that.”
NOw on a two-game losing streak, the Rams will enter conference play Saturday needing to ensure they don’t dig themselves a hole too big to climb out of. Facing the most adversity of the Mora era so far, a Homecoming game with an expected attendance of near 39,000 — according to reporting by the Coloradoan’s Kevin Lytle — may be enough to juice the team back into a winning mentality.
“Every week there’s a new challenge,” Mora said. “But it’s also opportunities to find a way, and to reach back into your database of times that you’ve been in that situation and find what worked and what didn’t work and figure out a way through it — and that’s what we’re doing.”
Reach Devin Imsirpasic at sports@collegian.com or on social media @DImsirpasic.
