Just because there’s no game this Saturday, doesn’t mean the Colorado State Rams aren’t working.
OK, it’s a short week practice wise, with the team just going Tuesday-Thursday, and the practices will be shorter in length. And, many of the stars are being held out for precautionary reasons. But the vast majority of CSU’s players are expected to put in work on the field, in film study and in the weight room.
“Like I told the guys today, it’s an opportunity to get better this week,” Bobo said Tuesday after practice. “By the end of this week, we obviously gotta get healthy. Tough games, physical games, we’ve gotta get our juice back, so to speak. Not that we didn’t have it.
“Good to back off today,” he continued. “Today was more fundamental, not as long out there.”
Any way you slice it, football is a tough sport which takes a toll on any body. Which makes this bye week, placed almost smack-dab in the middle of their 12-game season, beneficial for the Rams. If they use it correctly. Which, it seems, Bobo is.
“We talked a lot during yesterday’s meeting about what this week was about, the structure of the practice schedule, the structure of the weight room,” Bobo explained. “It’s not a punishment, it’s a chance to maybe we get a little stronger, maintain our strength. Extra treatment.”
And when they’re on the field, the coaches are using the practice time not only to prepare for their next opponent in the San Diego State Aztects, but to “self-scout.”
“As a defense you go, ‘What’s hurting us? What kind of explosive plays have hurt us? Is it something we’re doing?’ I think we’ve had three double-passes for explosive plays,” Bobo said of the self-scouting, which they do every week he added.
An interesting, introspective approach from Bobo and Co. which can no doubt help them make personnel decisions even mid-way through the season. If one guy is slumping and his backup is excelling, maybe it’s time to get that backup on the field.
And when they’re done self-scouting, the Rams have to scout their next opponents. Bobo’s already started and he sounded a bit worried about all the things the Aztecs do defensively.
“It’s going to be one of those games, if I had to say right now, it’s going to be hard to move the ball at times,” Bobo said after watching game film of the San Diego State Aztecs. “They’re going to make some plays.”
Injury updates
Now onto the many injury updates. There were a group of players sitting out of practice Tuesday, doing work on the side.
“They’re going to do the fundamentals, the individual, they’ll do the scout work,” Bobo explained of his players who are feeling the effects of seven weeks of football.
“A guy like Jasen Oden, he’s a little banged up,” Bobo continued. “He was limited. The two safeties, KP (Pierre-Louis) and Trent (Matthews) were basically held out of close to everything today. There’s a couple other guys, Fred (Zerblis), Jake Bennett who’s rotating a lot with Kevin O’Brien. Make sure they get work. Make sure we maintain, get better fundamentally, but not risk anything where somebody might get banged up.”
Bobo also said that Rashard Higgins wasn’t a participant in practice today and said he has an “upper extremity” injury. Interesting as he’s been battling a hamstring all year long.
“Truth of the matter, it’s tough to have chemistry when somebody doesn’t practice,” Bobo said. “He’s in a red jersey today because of the ‘upper extremity,’ I think I said that right. I don’t know exactly what it was, I don’t remember. I don’t want to say maybe that’s it. I think he’ll be fine for the game (versus San Diego State on Halloween).”
