3 takeaways: CSU shows improvement but comes up short in near upset of San Jose State

Colorado State fell 28-16 to San Jose State in a frustrating game that ultimately got away from the Rams Saturday night. 

CSU racked up penalties, failed to execute in the Red Zone, and at times struggled to protect the quarterback as the Spartans produced nine sacks and 14 tackles for loss on the night. 

We already covered all of that in the postgame column, so instead of repeating all of the same points, let’s focus on some of the other takeaways from the game.

Came out swinging

CSU struck first with a three-play, 75-yard scoring drive that was capped off by a 56-yard rushing touchdown from Avery Morrow on the first possession of the game.

It was the first time all season that the Rams were able to produce a touchdown on their opening offensive series, which was great to see after struggling with slow starts most of the fall. 

Coming out with a big strike had to be big for this young team’s confidence following one of their worst performances of the season the week before at Boise State. Facing a defense with as much talent and experience as SJSU, going three-and-out on the first drive would have felt a lot like missing your first big put of the weekend after having already shanked a few the weekend before. That doubt just creeps into your mind, like, ‘here we go again’. 

Even with SJSU responding after the initial drive and forcing three consecutive punts, having that early success and being able to see that you can move the ball was huge for a team that has been forced to throw a ton of freshmen into the deep end before they were really ready. 

As challenging as this game was at times, it felt like CSU played with a confidence that you don’t typically see teams possess after losing the way the Rams have over the first couple months of the season. They may have made many of the same mistakes that have plagued them all fall, but they certainly didn’t have the attitude of a team that was going to lay down and just take a beating. 

That tone was set on the opening drive. 

Balance is key 

CSU had its most balanced offensive game of the year, finishing with 334 yards through the air and 135 yards on the ground. 

While we had seen spurts of success with the aerial attack in the non-conference slate and the running game had been effective in three of the first four Mountain West games, this was really the first time in 2022 that we got to see the Rams use both methods to drive the field and create explosive plays. 

Morrow’s run in the first quarter and really the first drive in general was what got everything started but what was great to see was that it wasn’t a one-and-done scenario. The Rams produced eight plays of 20 yards or more in this one, and they had a handful more that went for between 15 and 19 yards. They were able to move the ball in all four quarters too, which is also something that CSU had not done prior to Saturday night. 

Clearly the goal will be to finish these drives more frequently — scoring on 44% of your Red Zone opportunities is unacceptable at any level — but the reality of the situation is that the Rams are also somewhat limited with what they can call when the field gets condensed. CSU is playing its third-string center, a freshman walk-on, who is doing his best but trying to win one-on-one matchups in the trenches against all-conference talent. SJSU essentially rode its front seven to a conference championship in 2020 and all of those guys are still there wreaking havoc for the Spartan defense today. It’s a tough freaking matchup.

They definitely have to find a way to produce more than 3 points on four trips into plus territory, I’m not saying that you should simply accept the results and shrug. Red Zone efficiency was one of the biggest key differences in this game and it’s been a problem all season. All I’m saying is that solutions are not necessarily as simple as one might think. There aren’t any magic play calls that help you out when you are in the tightest part of the field and getting blown up in the interior as soon as the ball is snapped. 

There is still much room for improvement. But at the very least it was nice to see the offense start to resemble the explosive and dangerous groups that Jay Norvell and Co. had at Nevada. 

Keep the faith 

The ‘L’ in the win-loss column is ultimately what matters most. You can play woulda, coulda, shoulda until everyone is blue in the face, but as Herm Edwards famously stated, you play to win the game, and the Rams didn’t get it done.

Having said that, and having covered everything that made the fans want to pull out their hair while watching on Saturday night, since the beginning of the season one of the biggest goals for the Rams has been to finish better than they started. November has been a hellacious month for this program for years and the expectation of finishing strong, no matter what might have happened previously, was laid out to the team from day one. 

CSU did not do enough to earn a victory against the Spartans in this one. There were just too many missed opportunities to put points on the board, and way too many penalties to get away with against a team as experienced as Brent Brennan’s. 

The silver lining though is that it was not a repeat of the week before. The Rams moved the ball with a balanced approach, performed significantly better on third down, and they gave themselves a chance to win by controlling possession and not forcing the defense on the field all game long. 

These next three weeks may not mean much in terms of the final standings, but they are a huge opportunity for an up-and-coming team to continue to grow together and potentially even create some positive momentum going into the offseason. 

It didn’t happen overnight for Sonny Lubick back in the day, nor did things go perfectly for Jim McElwain in the first half of his tenure. Sometimes you have to experience doing it wrong and then a whole bunch more frustration before you are ultimately able to figure it out and get it right. 

Building a winner takes time. Don’t lose your faith in what’s possible in the coming years.