3 takeaways: Despite the final outcome, the Rams showed signs of improvement in a 24-14 loss at No. 5 Iowa

DENVER — Close but no cigar. 

Colorado State (1-3) had an opportunity to upset No. 5 Iowa (4-0) on Saturday. The Rams led by a touchdown at halftime and genuinely looked like the better team for parts of the matchup. Unfortunately it was a game of two halves and the depth of Hawkeyes, along with a couple of untimely mistakes really hurt CSU’s chances at an upset. 

Here are the takeaways from the game. 

The front seven is as good as advertised

Coming into the season we heard repeatedly that the depth of the defensive line and linebacking corps would be the strength of the defense. They didn’t look the part against South Dakota State in Week 1 but since that disappointing showing the unit has been absolutely tremendous, especially over the last two games. 

After creating a ton of pressure and shutting down Bryant Koback (RB) in the upset over Toledo last weekend, the defense was just as dominant against the run against Iowa. CSU held the Hawkeyes to 54 total rushing yards on 32 carries (1.7 yards per carry). Iowa’s starting running back, Tyler Goodson, who came into the game with at least one touchdown in every game this season, was held scoreless and almost completely neutralized in the process. 

The secondary remains inconsistent for CSU. Robert Floyd, a true freshman that walked onto the program was able to come up with a really impressive interception. The group as a whole also gave up a few too many big plays in the end. But with what we’ve seen from the defense as a whole in recent games, there’s definitely reason to believe the Rams can be competitive against Mountain West competition. Iowa’s offensive line is as talented as any group in the country and the Rams pushed them for four quarters. That’s really encouraging.

CSU desperately needs more weapons outside of Trey McBride

As encouraging as the defense has been, it’s fair to bring up that the lack of offensive success outside of Trey McBride (TE) and David Bailey (RB) has been concerning. Losing Bailey early in this game was brutal, as it hurt CSU’s chances to lean on the ground game against Iowa like they did against Toledo. CSU’s struggles to establish a receiving threat outside of McBride have been a consistent issue all season though. 

Although less statistically productive than previous weeks, McBride was solid against the Hawkeyes. He led the Rams with six catches on 12 targets and 59 yards. Aside from No. 85 and a couple of flash plays from E.J. Scott (WR), however, the Rams didn’t do much through the air.

At this point it’s unclear whether CSU will have Dante Wright (WR) back for Homecoming weekend following the bye week. Whether it’s him, Scott or someone else, the Rams have to establish more consistent receiving targets, though, because no matter how talented McBride is he can’t win by himself. 

The Rams are improving

Nobody should be satisfied with a 1-3 start. It’s really as simple as that. CSU has now lost at least two, if not three games that were winnable. As frustrating as the slow start has been, though, it would be wrong to say the Rams have not shown significant improvement as a team this year. 

Now, don’t get me wrong — moral victories only carry so much weight — so if the progress we’ve seen doesn’t ultimately translate to more success in conference play then we’ll have to take a long, hard look at the program as a whole. Nobody gave the Rams a chance to be competitive in this game though. And they really didn’t give CSU a chance against Toledo either. 

If we’re going to be critical of the low moments, we have to bring that same energy for the good ones, and while Saturday was not perfect it was definitely a positive moment for the program. Strong showings against elite teams can be transformative games for a team trying to establish its identity. At least give this group a chance to build off of the progress before jumping ship. 

We have enough reasons to be cynical in the world. Enjoy the little things when you have a reasonable opportunity to. Trust me, it’s a much more enjoyable way to consume sports.