Rams Offense Gets Stuck In Neutral And Defense Out To Dry
Air Force Defeats Colorado State For The Fourth Year In A Row
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A Complete Breakdown
The Colorado State defense did its part for as long as it could. They were disciplined, getting off the field on third down and even created a couple of turnovers but the Colorado State offense didn’t help them out. Every time the Rams defense stuffed Air Force, the Rams offense would come out and lay an egg. As the game wore on the defense wore down and they eventually broke.
The offensive breakdown can be pointed to one place, the offensive line. While quarterback Patrick O’Brien took some unnecessary sacks, a few times he was running for his life as the Air Force pass rush blew through a porous Rams line. In the end, Air Force recorded eight sacks. They had 14 all season coming into the game.
Missed Opportunities
The Rams let Air Force hang around for too long. While an Air Force fumble on their opening drive led to a 63 yard scoop and score for linebacker Mohamed Kamara, the Rams were unable to capitalize on solid defensive performance early.
The insult to injury was the 99 yard pick six by Air Force defensive back Zane Lewis as O’Brien was trying to pull Colorado State within a score late in the fourth quarter.
After going up 14-0, the Rams were then outscored 38-7 and likely saw their slim bowl game chances disappear into the cold Fort Collins night.
TWO SIDES OF A QB
Patrick O’Brien was at best, off. While the opening drive of the game was a 14 play gem capped off by nice throwback tight end screen for a touchdown, O’Brien was more off than he was on the rest of the game. He fumbled a few times, took unnecessary sacks and looked to be trying too hard to place the ball rather than throwing it.
In O’Brien’s defense, the pass protection deteriorated as the game went on but O’Brien was able to make some throws late to keep things interesting. In the end, O’Brien did not look like the same quarterback we saw against Fresno State or UNLV.
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