3 takeaways: Colorado State underwhelms against Wyoming

DENVER — There’s not a delicate way to put it, Colorado State got its ass kicked up in Wyoming over the weekend.

 The Cowboys ran all over the Rams in the 31-17 victory, finishing the day with 385 yards on the ground and 477 yards of total offense. Whatever they wanted to do on offense, they did it. And they were just as stout defensively, especially in the second half when they forced a couple of key turnovers to seal the victory. 

“Wyoming played a great football game today, they played better than we did,” Steve Addazio said postgame. “They were more physical than we were. I give a lot of credit to them, they played their best game of the year. I don’t feel like we played very well, that’s my responsibility.”

CSU’s second-year head continued, explaining that Wyoming was more prepared and it showed with how the game played out. Because of that, he said that he needs to go back and reevaluate everything that the team did in preparation for the Border War. 

“I don’t feel like we played anywhere near to our capability,” Addazio said. “And when that happens, there’s only one person to blame and that’s the head coach. And that’s me. So I take full responsibility for that.”

Here are the takeaways from Saturday’s disappointing showing from the Green & Gold. 

CSU desperately needs Dequan Jackson on the field 

Addazio said it himself, you’re not gonna win when you give up nearly 400 rushing yards. 

“How many times have you guys heard me talk about that? Right? What have I said here time and time again, you’ve got to stop the run, and you got to be able to run it. And obviously, we didn’t get that done today.”

Obviously Saturday’s defensive performance was surprising. Stopping the run has been a strength for the Rams for most of the season. Not to mention that Wyoming’s offense had been dead in the water for a month. You never would have guessed that if this was the only time you watched these two teams though. 

While it’s not an excuse for allowing 385 yards on the ground, including runs of 43, 55 and 87 yards in the loss, it should be noted that the Rams were without their leading linebacker Dequan Jackson. After getting injured late in the Boise State game, Jackson was non-contact in practice throughout the week. He tried to suit up and tough it out but after the first series it was clear that he wasn’t physically able to go. 

Jackson averaged about 9.5 tackles per game over the first eight weeks of the season — most of which came in defense against the run — so not having him definitely put CSU at a disadvantage. Losing Bam Amina against the ‘Pokes’ in the first half didn’t help the cause either. Hopefully CSU can get some of these guys back for the Air Force game, otherwise it’s probably going to be a long night for the Ram Faithful. 

Wyoming was constantly able to get to the the second and third levels of the Rams defense, which is a big reason why the safeties were the leading tacklers on Saturday. If that happens  against the Falcons, the Rams aren’t going to have a shot.

Rams must keep throwing in the Red Zone 

It’s not as if the Rams couldn’t do anything offensively against Wyoming. They drove on the Cowboys quite a few times but a missed chip shot field goal and a couple of interceptions in the second half prevented CSU from scoring more. If the coaches take away anything from this game, though, it needs to be that they have to keep throwing in the Red Zone.

If Trey McBride is schemed up one on one, he should always be getting targeted. However, if he’s getting doubled, then get the ball to Dante Wright, or Gary Williams, or Cameron Butler. Shoot, even David Bailey has proven to be a reliable pass catcher out of the backfield. The point is CSU has a plethora of playmakers, so not everything needs to be a run up the gut out of a jumbo set. 

Both of CSU’s Red Zone touchdowns were passes from Todd Centeio to Dante Wright on Saturday. It would be great to see more of that over the final three weeks of the season. 

This game meant more to Wyoming 

I’m not saying that this was a game that didn’t matter to CSU. Wyoming certainly looked like they wanted it more though. And honestly, that’s been the case for most of the last decade. 

Having attended the last nine CSU-WYO games in person, I will confidently state that the atmosphere up in Laramie is significantly more intense than it is in Fort Collins. From the players on the field to the fans in the stands, it’s abundantly clear exactly how much winning the Border War means to the Wyoming Cowboys and their supporters. It’s the most important game of the year and it shows. 

I’m not sure if it stems from a sense of superiority or maybe it’s because the younger generations care more about the rivalry with Colorado, whatever it is, I’m pretty tired of watching the Rams get punked by the Cowboys. Wyoming has rarely had more talent over the years but they play with a chip on their shoulders. They might even cross the line every now and then, maybe pick up a personal foul or two, but the edge that they bring to this rivalry is palpable. 

Following the game an extremely emotional Trey McBride held back tears as he explained just how much the Border War means to him and how devastating it was to lose his final opportunity against Wyoming.

“This game means a lot,” McBride said. “Being from Colorado, playing this game means a lot. So seeing those guys storm the field, man, it hurts. It’s just frustrating because I know I’ll never have a chance to play these guys again. So that’s what hurts the most, you know, I wanted to keep that boot in Fort Collins. It just hurts.”

When asked if the game meant as much to his teammates as it meant to him, McBride responded that he truly hopes so. “This game means the world to the state of Colorado. To Colorado State University, this game just means a lot. It’s just devastating and frustrating that we came up short today.”

I’m sure there were other players in the locker room that cared about beating Wyoming as much as the McBride brothers. Again, I’m not saying it didn’t matter to CSU. That wouldn’t be fair. But I do hope that in future seasons we see the Rams come out with more intensity in this rivalry game. Everyone on that field should be as passionate as No. 85. It’s the longest continuous series played west of the Mississippi River, it’s time that the Rams played like it.