A never-too-early 2017 Colorado State football season preview

Whatever happened in the Potato Bowl, it’s time to move forward. Colorado State will look ahead to a season of the highest expectations since Mike Bobo took the head coaching job two years ago. The Rams should find themselves in a bowl game for the fifth consecutive season.

But simply getting to another bowl game shouldn’t be the goal anymore for a program moving into a much-anticipated on-campus stadium. CSU lost its last three postseason contests, all of which had a different feel.

Not to mention, Bobo and the Rams went 0-3 in rivalry games in 2016. That trend must change in a hurry if CSU wants to be viewed as an upper-echelon program along the Front Range.

2017 Opponents

CSU opens the regular season against Colorado, an opponent Bobo has yet to beat in his first two tries. With much more certainty on both sides of the ball heading into 2017, it would be silly to believe we will see a repeat of 44-7.

The Rams then open up their new stadium with a virtual layup against Abilene Christian on Sep. 9. The fun really begins in week 3 with a trip to Bryant-Denny Stadium, where CSU held their own a few years ago under Jim McElwain. Nonconference play ends with a Sep. 23 tilt against Oregon State.

Through four games, CSU could be 3-1 or they could be 1-3 should they fall to the Buffaloes and the Beavers. Slow starts have been an issue the last two years (2-4 to begin 2015 and 2-3 to begin 2016). The Rams can’t afford another one in 2017 if they want to take the next step as a program.

Conference play seems relatively favorable, at least based on how the Mountain West shook out this season. CSU will host Air Force, Boise State, Nevada and San Jose State. Of those, the Broncos likely present the toughest task, though they weren’t nearly as dominant as conference foes have been accustomed to.

CSU’s 2017 season slate features road trips to Hawaii, New Mexico, Utah State and Wyoming. While three of those four teams were in postseason play with the Rams in 2016, CSU should be thrilled with not having to see Boise State’s blue turf.

Despite the showing against Idaho last week, there is no reason the Rams can’t win eight of their 12 games next year. The possibility of nine or 10 wins comes into play should Bobo’s defense start to catch up with his offense.

Here are five things to watch for now that the offseason is upon us.

Who’s the starting quarterback?

Unless he decides to transfer for his final season, the choice is easy in Nick Stevens. The Rams wouldn’t have enjoyed even close to the turnaround they saw without the play of Stevens, who took on more of a leadership role in his second stint as the starter. He wound up completing 64 percent of his passes for nearly 2,000 yards. Stevens threw 19 touchdowns compared to just five interceptions.

Will the offensive line take a step back?

Offensive coordinator Will Friend loses a major piece in Fred Zerblis, but returns three starters, including Jake Bennett. The group blocked three running backs to 500-plus yard seasons. Dalyn Dawkins led the pack with 919 rushing yards in 2016.

What can Michael Gallup do for an encore?

It’s fun to think what Gallup could do in green and gold for an entire four years. He should return for a senior season in which he won’t be CSU’s best kept secret like he was this year. Stevens’ favorite target finished with 76 catches for 1,272 yards and 14 touchdowns. Gallup put up video game numbers down the stretch, averaging 140 yards the last five games.

Who replaces Kevin Davis as the defensive leader?

Bobo may look to guys like Jake Schlager, Kevin Nutt and Evan Colorito to fill the void left by Davis. Keep in mind that this young defense should improve just by having one full year of experience under their belts.

How much does CSU’s defense change schematically?

The Rams gave up an unsightly 30 points per game in 2016 and that includes a shutout of Fresno State in early November. If the CSU offense comes anywhere close to where they were in the back half of 2016 next season, the defense should take on a ‘bend, but don’t break’ approach. There were way too many big plays for opponents, as evidenced in the Idaho game. It will be intriguing to see how Bobo and defensive coordinator Marty English address that.