Utah State quarterback Myers forces discipline of defense

FORT COLLINS – Marty English may be able to write a novel on how to gameplan for a dual-threat quarterback by the end of the year. Aside from Northern Colorado, the Rams have gone against one every week of the 2016 season.

Saturday night will be no different when Kent Myers and Utah State come to town.

“Offensively, they’ve got a lot of guys back, starting with their quarterback Myers, who did an outstanding job against us last year,” said Mike Bobo. “He’s got the ability to run the ball and be accurate throwing the ball. And they’ve played some very good defenses. We’ve got our work cut out for us this week.”

With the Aggies’ running back situation a bit uncertain at this point, look for Myers to shoulder the load against the Rams. His performance in last season’s matchup indicated that he has no trouble doing just that.

The junior from Texas totaled 328 yards of offense (191 on the ground and 137 through the air) en route to a 33-18 victory for the Aggies.

Bobo explained that with a guy like Myers, the focus is on keeping him under control rather than try to completely stop him.

“You see a guy more comfortable playing the quarterback position,” Bobo said. “I think he got some confidence in our game last year, throwing the ball and running the ball. Anytime you play a guy that’s confident throwing the ball down the field and has the ability to run the ball, and they do a lot with their zone reads and counter reads, he’s a threat. So we’ve got to do a pretty good job against him. He’s going to make some plays but we’ve got to try to contain him.”

Don’t think the CSU defense will just sit back and not even try to get after Myers though. English explained that his group needs to be smart in their pressures and the importance of forcing a quarterback to get the ball out fast.

“We’re just coming in hard from the edges and middle,” said linebacker Evan Colorito. “We want to be as fast as we can, move around a lot and pressure the quarterback. It’s nothing but go, go, go.”

Something else to watch for the Rams defensively is how they react to a turnover from the offense. Bobo discussed how a defense has to put their foot down even after a costly turnover puts them in an inopportune situation.

English spoke to the moment against Wyoming when Marvin Kinsey fumbled, putting the Cowboys in prime position to score. The very next play, they put a touchdown on the board.

That’s where being better after a sudden change comes into play.

“We have to bow our neck in those situations and not let the momentum swing like that,” said English. “And we didn’t get it done.”

On paper, this looks like a good matchup for the Rams’ defense. The Aggies rank last in the Mountain West in both scoring offense and rushing offense. They’re an example of an offense whose role is to avoid turning the ball over and let the defense do the heavy lifting.

But especially after last week’s performance, CSU’s defense can’t afford to relax.