Colorado State Rams head coach Mike Bobo has a simple plan to win games; keep the ball off the ground. It’s a straightforward enough idea, but one which is extremely hard to do consistently. The truth is that turnovers are often the one stat that can decide the game.
Not letting the ball hit the ground is exactly what Colorado State football is doing well right now. Whether it is a short drop-off to the running back in the flat, or deep post routes; balls are being caught. The Rams look pretty polished through the air in practice and coach Bobo confirmed that they did well in scrimmage saying, “I thought, if you look at that scrimmage as a whole, I thought we did a very good job of executing and playing fast.
He continued, “We did not force a ball at the quarterback position. A lot of times you might have no picks or no interceptions but several could have been picked. There really weren’t any that had a chance to get picked, which I thought was nice. We’ll take care of the ball and get it to our playmakers. Win the turnover battle and we will have a chance to win every game.”
Here it straight from the coach here:
Let’s look at the situation thus far. CSU had four good days of practice with the intensity high and then we hit a slump. The first day of pads and the team wasn’t hitting Bobo’s expectations. Coach Bobo literally went horse he was yelling so much. The players responded the rest of the week and coach Bobo’s demeanor was much more agreeable. They entered into their first scrimmage which was held at Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium in the hot summer sun. Bobo seemed pleased with what he saw but still wasn’t willing to name a starting QB. He did comment that the defense did need to step it up saying that, “A lot of it is attitude and effort,” and “Overall I would have to give the nod to the offense.”
Intensity is going to be the name of the game as the Rams ramp up for this season. That intensity on defense should turn into turn overs; balls on the ground in a good way.
The Rams practices are fast-paced and certain parts of the team — quarterback, receiver, running back and the defensive backfield — are really coming along. This CSU squad has great hands all over the field and Bobo has commented that the offensive line is blocking well, too. Bobo has got to be very happy to have these guys being consistent this far into his first head coaching gig.
Of course, this team is still a work in progress with most of Bobo’s criticism going to the defense. He makes comments about individuals on the defense standing out in his mind but it appears the defensive line is in need of a little work in the pass-rush game.
In today’s post game interview Bobo said this about the linebackers, “I thought we went a little backwards on Saturday…Effort was good. It was assignments, we called a blitz, they didn’t run a blitz…The things I talked about, alignment, assignment and playing hard. I thought we were playing hard at running to the ball but the alignment and assignment piece of the scrimmage wasn’t there”
Hear it from Bobo himself here:
These players have plenty of time to improve and get a chip on their shoulder. If they listen to Bobo and dig in they have a good chance at being very competitive. There is talent showing up all over the field, Bobo just needs to keep them excited and chip off a few rough edges.
If the Nick Stevens-led offense can keep away from balls on the ground — both in terms of fumbles as well as drops — and the defense can force balls on the ground, the Rams will win more games than they lose.
