Colorado State at San Diego State: Keys for a Rams Victory
The Rams will be looking to play for the first time in three weeks.
Contact/Follow @J0shFr3d & @MWCwire
Can the Rams actually play this week?
WEEK 11: Colorado State Rams (1-2, 1-2 Mountain West) vs. San Diego State Aztecs (3-3, 3-2 Mountain West)
WHEN: Saturday, December 5 — 5:00 PM MT/4:00 PM PT
WHERE: Dignity Health Care Sports Park; Carson, California (27,000)
TV: CBS Sports Network
STREAM: Get a one-week trial of FuboTV.
RADIO: CSU Rams Radio
ODDS (via ESPN): San Diego State -8.5
Three Keys to a Rams Victory
1. Front Seven Pressure
The Rams have one of the top teams in the nation when it comes to the pass rush and have improved their rushing defense by a large margin. In 2019 CSU finished 104th in rushing defense and this year they are currently ranked 14th in the nation in rushing defense.
The havoc the front seven creates isn’t just confined to the rushing defense. The Rams rank 3rd in the nation in sacks per game with 4.33 sacks per game. Sure you can discount that by saying the Rams have only played three games so far this season. But you can’t discount the amount of backfield havoc the Rams are causing overall as they also rank 2nd in the nation in tackles for loss, averaging 10.3 per game.
2. A More Involved Passing Game
Dante Wright and Trey McBride account for 69.6% (32/46) of the Rams receptions this season. Nate Craig-Myers and E.J. Scott are the only other Rams with more than one reception. The Rams need more people to step up in the passing game.
Offensive coordinator Joey Lynch has an explosive offense waiting in the wings. The Rams now need to do their part to show that. Other receivers need to step up because opportunities will arise as defenses start to key in on Dante and Trey.
𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝗭𝗼𝗻𝗲 🤝 @mcbtrey
Add it to the list of things we love to see. @canvasfamily | #RamClash 🤜🤛 pic.twitter.com/MpPDap4uGt
— Colorado State Football (@CSUFootball) November 10, 2020
3. Special Teams Need To Be A Little More Special
The Rams special teams were absolutely atrocious against Boise State in their last game. Three blocks kicks (2 punts, 1 field goal) were returned for touchdowns. We can always play what ifs, but if those didn’t happen the game would’ve been a much different story for Colorado State.
Hopefully the Rams took their time off to work on their special teams. And if it happens again, make the necessary changes to stop it from continuing. They have one of the best punters in the NCAA in Ryan Stonehouse. He’ll shake off the previous game, but the coaching staff needs to help him out.
Prediction
The Rams will be itching to play for the first time in three weeks. It’ll almost be like the season started over again and they finally get to tackle someone else. This game will be tough. San Diego State is a very strong defensive team. The Rams haven’t had much success running the ball, but they’ll still need to make the attempt.
This game is going to come down to both teams passing games. Expect the Rams to stack the box and force the Aztecs to beat them deep. The Rams will put everything into this game to salvage something from this weird season.
Colorado State 24, San Diego State 17
