Rams run well but defense destroyed by Boise's explosiveness

Explosive plays blow up defenses and destroy teams’ chances of winning.

For Boise State, those explosive plays were far too much for the Colorado State Rams defense to handle. In the first half alone, Boise enjoyed three scoring plays of 50-plus yards, two passes and a run, and they rode those massive gains to the 27-10 lead at the break. Kevin-Pierre Louis was burned by the halfback pass from Shane Williams-Rhodes to Thomas Sperbeck, Jeremy McNichols ran away from every Ram on his score and Sperbeck made linebacker Kiel Robinson look silly before taking the ball to the house.

There was also a 21-yard run by Devan Demas and a 35-yard pass play from Brett Rypien to Chaz Anderson just before halftime to set up the 35-yard field goal for five explosive plays in the half.

In the second half, Rypien found McNichols for a 40-yard gain, which was the Broncos’ sixth and final explosive play of the day as Boise State cruised to the 41-10 victory over the Rams.

“That is the difference in the game,” senior safety Pierre-Louis said after the loss of those explosive plays. “If you look at the score and you take those three big plays away, then it’s really like 14-10. Those big plays are coming off of missing tackles, the little things.”

Meanwhile, Colorado State’s offense did wonderfully on the ground against the second-best run defense in the NCAA. While Boise State allows a mere 58 yards per game rushing, CSU gained 96 in the first half of play alone, but then finished with 105 after a sub-par second half.

In all, six players rushed for positive gains – including backup quarterback Coleman Key who came in for an extended period of time during the first and second quarters as he spun out of a sack for a 14-yard gain – but Jasen Oden Jr. was the story. He was rough, tough and battered opponents through the hole for the hard-fought yards. Oden ended the game with19 rushes for 52 of CSU’s 105 yards, but it was far from enough to win.

Running the ball effectively is great, especially when drives end in touchdowns. But Colorado State could manage only one, mere touchdown on the day, when Key connected with Joe Hansley in the second quarter. Changing quarterbacks twice seemed to disrupt the passing game rhythm for the Rams and even with the successful running attack, playing with a one-dimensional offensive attack against the top offensive team in the Mountain West won’t work.

“They had their explosive plays, we had ours that could’ve been there, we didn’t make them,” senior receiver Joe Hansley said after the defeat. “We struggle finishing off drives. A lot of that’s a mindset and a mentality that when you get down on that end of the field, you’ve got to be confident you’re going to score…It’s pretty frustrating.”

“Frustrating,” was a word heard from multiple players and head coach Mike Bobo seemed a bit frustrated after the loss, too.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow when you get beat handily in all three phases,” Bobo said after the loss.

“We give up three huge plays in the first half, defensively, which was not good,” Bobo continued. “But I thought we withstood it, a little bit. We got it back to within 14 points. And then to let them get a field goal at the end of the half was not good to go up 17. We started the second half off great on defense to get the interception. But we didn’t do anything with it, we didn’t seize the momentum.”

Colorado State has to seize the day and take that momentum when it presents itself. They have to eliminate the explosive plays which are blowing up the defense while resulting in massive touchdowns. And the Rams need to not only run well, but pass with consistency as well.

There’s no easy fix, it seems, after Saturday’s 41-10 loss. All three phases of the game need work, even when there are bright spots like the run-game’s effectiveness.

“Right now, we’re struggling in all three areas,” Bobo explained Saturday night. “But there’s a lot of season left to play. I expect those guys and those coaches to come back ready to work Monday.”

At 2-4, it’s not the first half of the season Bobo, the players nor the fans expected. But, with massive turnover come bumps in the road, especially early on. There’s hope the Rams can turn things around, from players and coaches alike, and they get a chance next Sunday during Homecoming when the Air Force Academy Falcons come to town.