FORT COLLINS – With just a handful of practices remaining, the Colorado State Rams are officially in the dog days of spring ball. But their head coach isn’t excusing a lack of effort and energy. Mike Bobo voiced his frustration with the media following Tuesday’s practice.

“We’ve got to have a better effort from the offense,” Bobo said. “It was totally nonchalant today. It was a poor job by the coaches getting them ready to practice. We went out there and went through the motions. The result was we wasted a day. It was very disappointing when the leadership of your football team is primarily on offense.”

It’s been well-documented that CSU’s offense has dominated the defense through the first three weeks. The two opening scrimmages have also been fairly one-sided, with Nick Stevens going a combined 45-of-60 for 727 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Bobo expected a veteran-led group to come out and put together another solid practice Tuesday. But that wasn’t the case.

“The offense didn’t respond at all,” Bobo explained. “That’s not a championship football team. That’s a team that’s going to be very disappointed this year from what I just saw out there offensively.”

Michael Gallup, Olabisi Johnson and Preston Williams have provided plenty of highlights for the offense thus far in spring ball. Even so, Bobo singled the receivers out for their lackluster performance following the team’s second scrimmage.

“We were complacent at receiver today,” Bobo said. “It’s a bunch of crap.”

Jake Bennett acknowledged the blunt comments from his coach.

“Just like fall camp, I think hitting the same guys the last four weeks, there’s going to be a little bit of an edge,” Bennett said. “Offensively today, we just didn’t have it. Myself and the other seniors have to make sure that this isn’t a thing the rest of spring.”

Aside from Tuesday’s outlier, CSU’s offense looks to be building momentum toward another productive season. But the senior Bennett understands that there’s still work to be done in these last four practices leading up to the Green and Gold game.

“We need to identify guys that we can rely on,” said Bennett. “These last few days, you pick out guys you can trust and see what you can carry over from here to fall camp.”

In the past when the Rams have suffered tough losses, Bobo has mentioned that the team can’t allow one defeat to beat them twice. That mentality applies in this situation, too.

Said running back Izzy Matthews: “You’re bound to get into a lull sometimes and I guess today was just our day. What happened today is behind us. What’s really important is how we approach Thursday and we attack it.”

Other Notes

• In an effort to spark the defense, Bobo inserted receiver Anthony Hawkins at cornerback for Tuesday’s practice. It was one of several position changes as the CSU coaching staff uses experimentation to get the best players on the field.
• Detrich Clark, who could prove to be an x-factor for the Rams, had a standout performance in Saturday’s scrimmage. The speedy senior caught five passes for 91 yards and a touchdown.
• Bobo gave plenty of work to running backs Darius May and Rashaad Boddie, as well. The duo totaled 158 yards on the ground to go with a pair of touchdowns.