I BELIEVE I CAN FLY

On to conference play this week, where our Colorado State Rams play in state rivals, the Air Force Falcons. This Falcon team is the opposite of its military brethren in that they don't attack you from the air, but will use a fierce ground game to try and run you over. Their triple option offense is executed to perfection. Air Force is traditionally a very technical sound football team, so Colorado State will have to cut down on the mental errors to win. Falcons QB Conner Dietz is more of a threat to run than pass. Dietz will read the defensive end and will keep the ball if the DE decides to crash. If the DE stays at home, he hands it off to the fullback. Then Dietz reads the outside linebacker. If he crashes on the QB then he pitches it to stealthy Cody Getz. If the OLB stays at home, he cuts it up and runs it downfield. The Falcons will still show an occasional wishbone, but that formation hasn't been as prevalent for them as in years past. The Falcons use a lot of shifts and motions to cause confusion for the defense before the snap.

MONDAY AND FRUSTRATED

Chuckie Keeton murdering us all over the field.

What's happening here? Weren't we supposed to be at least 3-1 at this point? Instead I see the same mistakes that have been made in every game dating back to the beginning of 2009.... um 2008... err, it's been happening for so long it's almost becoming tradition. I know we'll get some comments "it's gonna take time to build. Be patient." Honestly, I've been patient for about 6 years and my patience is running low.

UTAH STATE v CSU RAMS: CLASSIC MATCH-UP

It's that classic matchup. Two historically agricultural schools square off and the winner gets bragging rights over who has better turf enhancement for grazing leaner and more fertile cows. And football bragging rights too.

Utah State is coming off a tough loss to Big Ten power Wisconsin, 16-14 on the road in Madison. They beat rival Utah 27-20 in overtime in week 2. USU has playmakers and are led by QB Chuckie Keeton. Keeton is a dual threat QB, the team’s second leading rusher with 164 yards and 701 yards passing. Chuckie's leadership for a sophomore isn't Child's Play. (Pun Intended). Keeton doesn't have a strong arm so all his big plays are roll outs and passes to crossing receivers. Their rushing attack was supposed to suffer when Michael Smith and Robert Turbin graduated, but senior Kerwynn Williams has been an effective, patient runner. Seniors Matt Austin and Chuck Jacobs are the teams leading WRs. Jacobs is more of the possession type of receiver while Austin is the big play guy. They also use a heavy dose of their tight end Kellen Bartlett.

IS THE CURSE BACK?

Another game, another "is our defense going to show up?" Traveling to San Jose to play the Spartans was a perfecting "turn it around" game for the Rams, so I thought. After getting pounded by North Dakota State, SJSU was going to be a tough task but a winnable game, not so much. Having a week where coaches would get in the faces our Rams to focus back on the season at hand instead of basking in a week one win over a sorry CU Buffs team (who by the way got smoked by Fresno State 69-14), didn't happen. Instead, I am thrown back into my four year Steve Fairchild coma. I thought I was cured!

This is Where We Stand, This is Where We Fight, This is Where We Die

Looking at the Rams schedule in August, CSU had some historically weaker opponents at the beginning of the season. If they could make it past CU in the opener, 4-0 was not unrealistic. The Rams dominated the Buffs, NDSU smoked us at Hughes and now we travel to Sparta face a strong San Jose State team. To Victory!

BRINGING BACK SOME CRITICISM

We’ve been relatively optimistic regarding the “Bold New Era” of Rams football and I for one, am sick of it. I know everyone is going to say, “It takes time” or “Temper your expectations,” but I’m not trying to hear that noise, son. We just got beat by an FCS team. And no, I don’t care that they were FCS Champs last year. There is a reason they have divisions in college football. CSU is supposed to be better, but we make the same stupid plays we’ve always made. Watching the Rams play against NDSU reminded me of past Ram teams, like the ones that went 9-27, and as a result gave me a mild drinking problem. Here’s a list of things that annoyed me the most in NDSU game.

RAMS GET RUN DOWN BY BISON

The Bison certainly brought what we expected into Hughes Stadium on Saturday. A well coached team full of good athletes. CSU brought a calamity of errors and a disappointing loss was the result. The only upside of losing a game to an FCS opponent is that they happen to be the Champions of the FCS and much higher ranked than CSU. So the Bison did what they were expected to do which was beat us. The Rams didn't hold up their end of the deal which was to make it a close game.

Time of Possession - NDSU 39:52 CSU 20:08
CSU Penalties: 9 - 101 yards
CSU Third Down Conversions: 1-10
CSU Red Zone Chances: 0

ROCK THE VOTE NDSU

Apparently North Dakota State is not only a good football team, but very influential in local elections. 8 NDSU football players including Aireal Boyd, Josh Colville, Demetrius Gray, Samuel Ojuri, Brendin Pierre, Antonio Rodgers, Bryan Shepherd and Marcus Williams were passionate about their right to vote and were accused of voter fraud tied to general election ballot measures. This is a misdemeanor. When the news first broke I didn't think this was a big deal. Who hasn't stuffed the ballot to have pizza on the school menu over cafeteria sloppy joe's? But after further examination it appears that this was a legitimate election. It answers my questions on how Mitt Romney became the GOP candidate.

'It Takes Time' - A CU CULTURE OF LOSING

I'm a regular reader of the Denver Post and it's message boards. Mainly because I have nothing better to do during the day and partly because CSU football is my addiction. I happen to come across an article from Terry Frei, sometimes good, most of the time a bit mindless but he's making the very same point for the John Embree - the CU Boulder Coach, that was made for Coach Fairchild. The attitude that it takes time to win and build a program is completely ridiculous to me. The fact is if you can't get your players to play well, you will suck indefinitely. And now CSU with Coach Mac has that 'Win Now' or Winning Attitude (or whatever you want to call it) and this culture of losing will no longer be tolerated. 

BATTLE AGAINST THE BISON: GAME PREVIEW

By now, your Showdown hangover has subsided and your resolution to “never drink again” is still intact. It’s Wednesday, people. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The NFL starts tonight and we’re already previewing the Rams home opener against North Dakota State, so you’ll be drinking again before you know it. You’re welcome.

Every team has a “trap” game each season that goes something like … “CSU beats CU, forgets NDSU is actually very good, loses, season in the toilet, no new stadium, blah, blah…" Not going to happen. Coach Mac didn’t come to Fort Collins just to beat CU. He came to beat everyone. The Bison are the defending FCS champs, with a 14-1 record in 2011. They are currently #1 in the polls after thumping Robert Morris 52-0. (Robert Morris is a university, not just one guy).

THE CENTENNIAL TROPHY IS BACK IN FOCO

Yes! What a way to start out the McElwain era. It definitely wasn't the prettiest game but I'll take it. There are so many things to take away from this win over the Buffs.

One: The confidence of this Ram team from last year to this year is completely different. Even when we were down 14-3, you just knew we weren't going to give up. You can just feel the energy from the entire team, even from the coaching staff. Coming out the second half, you could start to see some swagger.