Colorado State offense still searching for identity

FORT COLLINS – After week one’s blowout loss to Colorado, Mike Bobo said how challenging it would be early on for his offense to deal with all the changes from last season.

Rashard Higgins and Joel Hansley are gone. Nick Stevens is no longer the starting quarterback. And now, Bobo gave the keys to a true freshman.

It’s not a recipe for an excuse, but it’s a reality.

Just consider that Michael Gallup currently leads CSU receivers with 173 yards. Tanner Gentry of Wyoming, on the other hand, has 388. This could be the week where Xavier Williams, Olabisi Johnson and Elroy Masters Jr. start clicking more with Collin Hill.

“It was tough,” said Johnson of the time the receivers had against the Golden Gophers secondary. “The looks weren’t there that we wanted.”

The running game seems almost as intriguing as the passing game. Through four games, Izzy Matthews leads CSU in rushing yards with 171. It may not necessarily be a fair comparison considering Wyoming primarily features one running back, but Brian Hill currently sits at 463 rushing yards.

Bobo has said routinely that Matthews, Marvin Kinsey Jr. and Dalyn Dawkins will split carries, but at some point, you have to think that one of them will earn the bulk of the carries.

With all the shuffling, it begs the question of when the Rams will establish their identity on offense.

They were definitely a run-first group early to start the season. Once Hill was named the starter, Bobo used a good deal of hurry-up. They started to spread the ball out more.

Against Minnesota, they were more balanced and continued to mix in a quicker pace, particularly after first downs. And it became apparent that Gallup supplanted himself as Hill’s favorite target.

CSU’s offense has progressed immensely from where they were at just four weeks ago. But work still has to be done.

Faton Bauta, who was replaced by Hill against UTSA, now has his own individual package that serves as a change up to the defense. The University of Georgia transfer said that it’s definitely been a change from what he’s used to, but that he’s willing to do whatever is needed to help the team win.

“If Coach thinks it’s still something I can be effective and helpful toward winning games, then that’s a positive and I’m going to go do it as best I can all the time,” said Bauta.

One red flag from last week was the Rams inability to produce positive plays on early downs. Too often, CSU put themselves behind the chains, eventually forcing third-and-long situations.

Bobo has gotten creative, often giving carries out of the backfield to Detrich Clark. The speedster had six carries for 30 yards and a touchdown last week.

Whatever Bobo and the Rams need to do to get into a rhythm offensively, we will see on Saturday. Bauta said a breakout game could be on the horizon and that he’s confident the offense has big-time potential.

“These guys are working to be a pretty real-deal offense,” said Bauta. “I think soon enough, it’s going to take off incredibly. Guys are working and everyone seems to be latching on to what we’re doing – ready to explode almost. It’s headed in the right direction.”