Road victory at Minnesota would be signature win for Bobo

Don’t tell Mike Bobo that his Rams aren’t looking to make a statement Saturday. Even with virtually everything against them, Colorado State looks to beat Minnesota in what would be a signature win for Bobo and the Rams.

“We’ve got to come close to playing a complete game this week,” the Rams head coach said during his Monday press conference.

At first glance, it doesn’t look all that promising for the green and gold.

A true freshman will be making his first career road start and first start against an FBS school. It will be the first true road game for the Rams. The Golden Gophers’ 44 points per game average doesn’t exactly match up well with an inexperienced defense.

The list goes on.

But keep in mind that when these two met a year ago, CSU had a great chance to win before eventually losing in overtime.

And while Bobo said this year is different, he mentioned that Collin Hill will have to produce in order for the offense to have any sort of effectiveness.

“He’s got to play with poise and confidence,” said Bobo. “He’s got to focus on his assignments, recognize his coverage keys and run checks and feel comfortable in the game plan. They’re bigger, they’re faster, but he’s got to understand what he’s got to do and he’s got to play within himself.”

The head coach also noted that his quarterback needs to move on from negative plays, something that Nick Stevens failed to do Week 1 against the University of Colorado.

Said Bobo: “There’s going to be some bad plays into this game. They’re going to make some plays, whether it’s pressure on the quarterback or tighter coverage. This is where a young quarterback has to play within himself and we can’t turn a bad play into a catastrophe. There’s going to be some growing pains.”

Losing to Minnesota would put the Rams at 2-2 and still in position to make a bowl game. Winning, on the other hand, would almost be a perfect storm.

Consider that when Jim McElwain was leading the Rams, CSU went on the road in his second season and stunned Boston College. Remember also that in his three seasons in Fort Collins, McElwain beat CU twice.

Bobo has a smaller sample size, but to this point, he’s 0-3 against schools from Power 5 conferences.

Now that CSU likely has their quarterback of the future in Collin Hill and, of course, the highly anticipated on-campus stadium ready for next season, a road win against a traditionally solid Minnesota team would be huge.

Getting to know the Golden Gophers:

• Their record sits at 2-0 after coming off a bye week. Minnesota has beaten Oregon State and Indiana State.
• They’re averaging more than 200 yards per game through the air and on the ground.
• Quarterback Mitch Leidner is 33 of 56 for 425 yards and four touchdowns to start the 2016 season.
• They boast a pair of running backs in Rodney Smith (99.5 yards per game average) and Kobe McCrary (90.0) that have the potential to go over the century mark in yards rushing.
• Their defensive line ranks 23rd in FBS with just 99.0 rushing yards allowed per game.