CSU defense planning to put foot down against UTSA

FORT COLLINS – Mike Bobo knew his young, inexperienced defense would need to learn on the fly.

And there’s no doubt that they were thrown into the fire in Week 1 against the University of Colorado. Not only did they struggle to make stops when needed, but they faced the daunting task of trying to clean up the mess of the Colorado State offense.

In order for a defense to play at peak performance, the offense has to sustain long drives. That doesn’t necessarily mean putting points on the board every possession, but it does mean being able to move the chains and win the field position battle. It’s complementary football that the most successful teams figure out at any level.

So, having to trot out after five consecutive three-and-outs meant the Rams defense not only had little time to regroup, but that they were going to wear out in a hurry.

Kevin Davis, arguably the defense’s most valuable player against the Buffaloes, recorded 19 tackles in the contest. He made it clear that their performance was unacceptable and that they’ve made a point to correct what went wrong ahead of the Rams home opener against UTSA.

“There were a lot of maturity mistakes I think,” said Davis. “It was little things we could have done pre-snap or during the play that we practice over and over again.”

Even though the season is in its infancy, Davis recognizes the importance of Saturday.

“0-2 is something we absolutely don’t want to do,” the senior linebacker said. “So, there’s pressure for us as a young group to step up, make plays and make stops this week.”

One glaring problem that Davis and the defense must address is how to handle a dual-threat quarterback more effectively. CU quarterback Sefo Liufau gashed the Rams through the air and on the ground. And though similar, Davis believes UTSA quarterback Dalton Sturm possesses his own unique skillset.

“Sefo isn’t the fastest guy, but he made those reads correctly and we paid for it,” said Davis.  “UTSA has a lot faster quarterback (Sturm), so we have to make sure we correct those mistakes.”

The run-pass option will also test the Rams defensive line, which according to junior defense lineman Jakob Buys, got a little ahead of themselves in week 1. Buys, who notched the only sack for CSU, believes the Roadrunners will take a page out of CU’s book from a week ago.

“I know they’re watching that CU film right now thinking, ‘They couldn’t stop it this past week, we’re going to try and do it again,” said Buys. “So we have to be able to do our role and stop them.”

A major theme on defense for CSU has been for the linemen to maintain their gap assignments. That improves with time, game experience, but maybe most importantly, trust.

“Trust grows once we start doing our job,” said Buys. “Once everybody starts trusting everyone more, I believe, everyone’s going to be more relaxed in the game.”

CSU may be 10-point favorites over UTSA, but they know they have an uphill battle ahead of them. Junior safety Jake Schlager said that they need to learn from the mistakes against CU, however, they can’t overlook the Roadrunners.

“It’s preparing for UTSA while you’re fixing yourself,” said Schlager. “You can’t focus on one thing or the other. If you look past a team, that’s how you get beat.”