College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Colorado State Rams season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Colorado State Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2019 Record: 4-8 overall, 3-5 in Mountain West
Head Coach: Steve Addazio, 1st year
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 97
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 109
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 97
Obviously, no one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: Colorado State Rams Offense 3 Things To Know
– There’s a whole lot to like about what’s already in place for new head coach Steve Addazio and offensive coordinator Joey Lynch. The Rams finished second in the Mountain West in total offense thanks to a high-powered passing game that pushed out 305 yards a game.
However, it’s Steve Addazio – there has to be a running game, and there will be. That starts with getting bulkier up front.
Losing 325-pound left tackle TJ Storment to TCU and starting guard Nouredin Nouili to Nebraska stings – two starters are expected back. This group is used to working mostly in pass protection, but the adjustment to pounding away a bit more shouldn’t be an issue under the coaching staff. Now the running backs have to show up.
CFN in 60 Video: Colorado State Rams Preview
– Leading rusher Marvin Kinsey is done after running for 703 yards and six scores, but 230-pound senior Marcus McElroy is a terrific fit for what the new coaching staff wants to do. The second-leading rusher came up with 370 yards and three scores, and 215-pound sophomore Jaylen Thomas can thump away, too. The running backs will be fine, but …
– The pieces are in place to keep the passing attack from being ignored. It’s not that Addazio isn’t going to want to throw, and his Boston College teams upped the tempo over the years, so early on the new staff has to crank up the fantastic receiving corps.
Warren Jackson led the way with 77 catches for 1,119 yards and eight scores, and he’s got the pieces around him to do even more. Auburn transfer Nate Craig-Myers got his feet wet last year, sophomore Dante Wright is a deep threat, and Trey McBride and the tight ends are going to be terrific.
Former Nebraska transfer Patrick O’Brien threw for over 2,800 yards with 13 touchdowns and seven picks, but he’ll have to hold off the more mobile Todd Centeio, a transfer from Temple who’ll be eligible to roll right away.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Colorado State Rams Defense 3 Things To Know
4. College Football News Preview 2020: Colorado State Rams Defense 3 Things To Know
– Defense was occasionally option under former head man Mike Bobo, but last year’s version was fantastic at getting into the backfield and led the Mountain West in pass defense.
Leading tackler Jamal Hicks is done at one safety spot, but senior Logan Stewart and his 76 tackles return to the other gig. Overall, the interceptions weren’t there in the secondary – just six picks on the season – but it made a whole lot of plays.
– There’s terrific upside on the defensive line with three starters back, plenty of size, a potentially good rotation, and two good pass rushers in Ellison Hubbard on the inside and Manny Jones outside. Throw in the addition of Miami transfer Scott Patchan, and the line should be a plus.
– A little bit of the potential depth is gone from the linebacking corps with three transfers, but the combination of Cam-Ron Carter and Dequan Jackson should combine for over 150 tackles. They can move and they’ll get in on everything, but Tron Folsom has to be replaced, and the backups need to emerge.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Top Colorado State Rams Players
College Football News Preview 2020: Top Colorado State Rams Players
Best Colorado State Rams Offensive Player
WR Warren Jackson, Sr.
The 6-6, 219-pounder was solid in his first two years as a part of the receiver rotation, and then he ripped it up as a junior with 77 catches for 1,119 yards and eight scores. He did that in ten games – missing two weeks after his 12-catch day against Toledo – and he returned all back full to be the steady matchup nightmare in his Mountain West season.
2. TE Trey McBride, Jr.
3. WR Dante Wright, Soph.
4. QB Patrick O’Brien, Sr.
5. C Scott Brooks, Sr.
Best Colorado State Rams Defensive Player
S Logan Stewart, Sr.
The 6-1, 210-pound former JUCO transfer came to Colorado State as a walk-on and turned into a star, making 76 tackles with two picks. He’s got the size, the hitting ability, and the energy to be a steady tackler for the Rams with good willingness against the run. He didn’t earn all-star honors, but that might change this year – he’ll likely lead the team in tackles.
2. P Ryan Stonehouse, Sr.
3. DE Manny Jones, Sr.
4. LB Dequan Jackson, Jr.
5. DT Ellison Hubbard, Sr.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Colorado State Rams Keys To The Season
College Football News Preview 2020: Colorado State Rams Keys To The Season
Biggest Key To The Colorado State Rams Offense
Convert to power as soon as possible. Boston College ran the ball 659 times last year for 3,291 yards and averaged five yards per carry. Under Steve Addazio, the team never ran fewer than 500 times in his seven seasons and went over 550 in each of the last four years.
Colorado State ran 395 times last season, and hasn’t run the ball more than 550 times since 2013.
There will be balance, and the great receiving corps won’t be ignored, but the faster the offense can start hammering out 200-yard games on a regular basis, the better.
Biggest Key To The Colorado State Rams Defense
Force a whole lot more takeaways. The pass rush in place, the hitters are there, and there’s enough experience to start doing a whole lot more for a defense that wasn’t all that bad. However, the takeaways came in bunched.
The Ram D only forced 13 turnovers last year. That was bad, but 11 of them came in four games – there were just two takeaways in the other eight outings. The team will be good, but not good enough to overcome a -11 turnover margin again.
Key Colorado State Rams Player To A Successful Season
RB Marcus McElroy, Sr.
At Boston College, now-CSU head coach Steve Addazio liked to get the ball to his 250-pound power back AJ Dillon over and over and over again. And then he got him the ball again. He’ll be looking for his AJ Dillon on the Rams right away.
The bulked-up McElroy ran for 370 yards and three touchdowns as a 218-pound back in the rotation. Bigger, stronger, and ready to be given every shot to be the new guy’s workhorse, this could be his offense to take over.
Key Game To The Colorado State Rams Season
Wyoming, Oct. 31
The first seven games of the season are against teams that didn’t go bowling. Colorado State won’t win all of them, but if this is going to be any sort of a decent season, it has to take down a bunch of them. At the very least, in Mountain West play, it’ll be the favorite against Fresno State, New Mexico, and at UNLV to start things off.
Wyoming is the measuring-stick moment. The Rams have lost four straight to the Cowboys, but the home date might mean everything considering the finishing kick of at San Diego State, at Air Force, Utah State, at Boise State.
– Colorado State Rams Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2019 Colorado State Fun Stats
– Rushing Yards Per Game: Opponents 195.8 – Colorado State 132.2
– Field Goals: Opponents 15-of-15 – Colorado State 14-of-24
– 4th Quarter Scoring: Opponents 124 – Colorado State 69
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Colorado State Rams Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
1. College Football News Preview 2020: Colorado State Rams Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
The Rams have a potentially fantastic team for Steve Addazio to take over.
After a big start, the program never seemed to have any sustained positive luck under former head man Mike Bobo going 7-17 over the last two seasons after three straight 7-6 campaigns. However, the pieces are there to come up with an interesting run.
And that includes the schedule.
Including Pac-12 games against Colorado and at Oregon State, and the road game at Vanderbilt, there isn’t a sure-thing loss on the slate until November kicks in, and then things get sketchy with all the Mountain West big-boy games.
But with a strong group of offensive skill parts returning, and a pass rush on the other side that’s going to be great again, anything less than a bowl appearance will be okay.
However …
Set The Colorado State Rams Regular Season Win Total At … 6
Bet at BetMGM Win Total Line: 6.5
Pump the brakes here a wee bit.
Yes, there’s a lot to like about this Ram team, and Addazio is a good enough coach to make the program a thing again, but don’t just assume wins over Colorado or at Oregon State or at Vanderbilt. If CSU can get just one victory over that group, consider it a plus.
Also, home dates with Fresno State, Wyoming and Utah State are going to be nasty.
There’s no one on the slate the Rams can’t beat, but other than Northern Colorado and possibly New Mexico, there’s no game on the slate that wouldn’t be a stunning loss.
