FORT COLLINS, Colo.— Football has dominated the recent headlines, but it’s never too early to start thinking about college basketball season. The Rams, led by Niko Medved, recently released the complete 2019-20 slate.

The first thing that Ram fans need to know about CSU’s upcoming schedule is that it’s deceptively difficult.

Obviously, everyone will look to the Duke game in early November—and yes, facing the Blue Devils will be a tough task. But, realistically, CSU won’t be expected to do much in that game. So aside from the experience of playing an elite program early in the season, the game is mostly a chance for a team full of newcomers to get some run.

When CSU returns from Duke, though, that is when the Rams really need to find a way to top some talented mid-majors. In the months of November and December, CSU will face the top two teams from both the Summit League and the WAC.

Omaha finished second in the Summit last year with a conference record of 13-3. Directly after a massive road game, the Mavericks could be a sneaky tough opponent. However, both of Omaha’s leading scorers from last season graduated, so it’s tough to say whether this year’s squad will be able to match the production of a team that averaged 78.8 points per game last season.

Along with Omaha, the Rams will have to face the Summit League champs from 2018-19, South Dakota State. Led by head coach T.J. Otzelberger, the Jackrabbits went 24-9 and nearly made the NCAA Tournament.

Luckily for CSU, South Dakota State won’t have Mike Daum—the three-time Summit Player of the Year is now playing professionally overseas. The Jackrabbits don’t have guard David Jenkins Jr. either, as he transferred to UNLV this offseason, following Otzelberger to Sin City. Even with the turnover, it would be foolish to sleep on a team that’s won 20+ games in back-to-back seasons.

Part of the Cayman Islands Classic (Nov. 25-27), the Rams will face New Mexico State in the opening game. The Aggies have qualified for the NCAA Tournament in four of the past five seasons and are 2-2 against CSU in the last four meetings.

Last season, NMSU gave the Rams a 20-point beatdown at Moby Arena (88-68). The Aggies will definitely be a challenge again this year, with the team’s three leading scorers from 2018-19 all returning.

Depending on the outcome against NMSU, CSU will either play Loyola Chicago or South Florida the subsequent day. The day after that, the Rams have the potential to play a variety of opponents.

Following a home game against a sneaky good Utah Valley program, the Rams, like all teams in the Mountain West, will play a pair of league games in the first week of December. With the conference tournament taking place one week earlier than usual, the league had to improvise to fit all the league games in.

As a result, CSU will play San Diego State at home on Dec. 4 and Boise State on the road on Dec. 7. The draw is tough—considering each of these teams were picked to finish near the top of the league—it’s not ideal to have to face them just one month into the regular season.

The benefit of playing conference games after the non-conference slate is it allows teams to grow and come together before having to play the most important matchups of the regular season. Playing two important league games before New Year’s means that the Rams will need to be executing at a high level much sooner than in previous years.

Finally, CSU will conclude the non-conference portion of the schedule by hosting Colorado (Dec. 13), traveling to Tulsa (Dec. 21) and hosting Doane (Dec. 28). If you had to Google “Doane”, you’re not alone. The Mustangs are a Division II program based in Nebraska.

The most important of the three final out of conference matchups is the Rocky Mountain Showdown. The Rams will be looking for revenge after losing by six in Boulder last year. The Buffs will be dangerous, though, with McKinley Wright and Tyler Bey coming back. Wright is one of the most dangerous scorers in the country and Bey is essentially good for a double-double every game. Even at home, beating CU will be no easy task.

Kicking off conference action, the Rams will take on the Nevada Wolfpack in Reno on New Year’s Day. Nevada will be looking to reinvent itself with head coach Steve Alford after losing Eric Musselman to Arkansas. Jordan Caroline and the Martin bros have moved on to the NBA as well, but the roster is still stacked.

Coming off a pair of winnable games in Wyoming and San Jose State, CSU will play the most important eight-game stretch of the entire season—five of which will be at Moby Arena. Between Jan. 15 and Feb. 12, the Rams will face New Mexico, Fresno State, Nevada, UNLV and Utah State at home. They will also play Air Force, Utah State and Fresno State on the road.

If CSU is going to have any shot of finishing near the top of the conference, winning at least four of the eight games listed above will be paramount. All conference games matter, but this stretch has the potential of destroying the season if the Rams aren’t able to respond well.

Utah State and Fresno State are two of the frontrunners for the league title, and these teams account for half of the Rams’ games between mid-January and mid-February. Not to mention, UNM and UNLV are expected to be much improved. And Air Force always plays CSU tough.

Keeping in mind that it’s still August and we really don’t know much about any of the teams, the Rams are in position to be much better than they were last year. The staff has done an excellent job on the recruiting trail and some of the bad apples from the 2018-19 squad are no longer on the roster. The schedule, however, is not doing CSU any favors.

2019-20 schedule:

Nov. 1 vs. Denver (8-22, 3-13), finished 9th in Summit.

Nov. 5 at Duke (32-6, 14-4), finished 3rd in ACC.

Nov. 8 vs. Omaha (21-11, 13-3), finished 2nd in Summit.

Nov. 13 at Loyola Marymount (22-12, 8-8), finished 5th in WCC.

Nov. 16 vs. Arkansas St. (13-9, 7-11), finished 9th in Sun Belt.

Nov. 25 vs. New Mexico St. (30-5, 15-1), finished 1st in WAC. *

Nov. 26 vs. Loyola Chicago (20-14, 12-6) or South Florida (24-14, 8-10)*

Nov. 27 vs. Washington St. (11-21, 4-14) | Nebraska (19-7, 6-14) | Old Dominion (26-9, 13-5) | George Mason (18-15, 11-7)*

Dec. 1 vs. Utah Valley  (25-10, 12-4), finished 2nd in WAC.

Dec. 4 vs. San Diego St. (21-13, 11-7), finished 4th in MWC.

Dec. 7 at Boise St. (13-20, 7-11), finished 7th in MWC.

Dec. 10 vs. South Dakota St. (24-9, 14-2), finished 1st in Summit.

Dec. 13 vs. Colorado (23-13, 10-8), finished 4th in PAC-12.

Dec. 21 at Tulsa (18-14, 8-10), finished 7th in AAC.

Dec. 28 vs. Doane (9-21, 5-15), finished 10th in Great Plains Athletic Conference

Jan. 1 at Nevada (29-5, 15-3), finished 1st in MWC.

Jan. 4 vs. Wyoming (8-14, 4-14), finished 10th in MWC.

Jan. 11 at San Jose St. (4-27, 1-17), finished 11th in MWC.

Jan. 15 vs. New Mexico (14-18, 7-11), finished 7th in MWC.

Jan. 18 at Air Force (14-18, 6-10), finished 6th in MWC.

Jan. 22 vs. Fresno St. (23-9, 13-5), finished 3rd in MWC.

Jan. 25 at Utah St. (28-7, 15-3), finished 1st in MWC.

Jan. 29 vs. Nevada

Feb. 1 vs. UNLV

Feb. 5 at Fresno St.

Feb. 12 vs. Utah St.

Feb. 15 at Wyoming

Feb. 19 at UNLV

Feb. 22 vs. San Jose St.

Feb. 26 at San Diego St.

Feb. 29 vs. Air Force.