Colorado State vs Nevada: Game Preview, Hot to Watch, Odds, Predicition

The Rams head into conference play

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Can the Rams show anything positive?

WEEK 6: Colorado State Rams (0-4, 0-0 MW) vs. Nevada Wolf Pack (2-3, 0-1 MW)

WHEN: Friday, October 7th — 8:30 p.m. MST / 7:30 p.m. PST

WHERE: Mackay Stadium; Reno, NV (27,000)

WEATHER: Clear Sky, 67 degrees

TV: Fox Sports 1

STREAMING: Fans can sign up to receive a free one-week trial of Fubo, which includes Fox Sports 1, by following this link.

RADIO: K99-FM 99.1 / ESPN 1600 AM (Colorado)

SERIES RECORD: This will be the 18th matchup between these two schools. Colorado State leads 12-5 in the series.

LAST MEETING: Nevada won the previous matchup 52-10 last year in Fort Collins

WEBSITES: CSURams.com, the official Colorado State athletics website | NevadaWolfPack.com, the official Nevada athletics website

GAME NOTES (PDF): Colorado State | Nevada

ODDS: Nevada -3.5

OVER/UNDER: 44.5

SP+ PROJECTION: Nevada by 7.5

FEI PROJECTION: Nevada by 5.8

PARKER FLEMING PROJECTION: Nevada 64.32% win probability (28.58 to 23.52)

FNL 🛫🛬 RNO#Stalwart x #RamGrit 🐏 pic.twitter.com/lrrztqmaEr

— Colorado State Football (@CSUFootball) October 7, 2022

Whew! The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for Colorado State. One of the worst performing teams in the nation got a chance to reset and now can turn their attention to conference play. They head to Nevada to give head coach Jay Norvell his first shot at his old team.

Statistically, the two teams are similar. But Nevada has two wins on their record thanks to two victories over two bad teams in Texas State and New Mexico State. 6’9″ Nate Cox is the leading QB, although he splits time with Oklahoma State transfer Shane Illingworth. Toa Taua is the leading ball carrier and Jamaal Bell is the Wolf Pack’s leading receiver.

Ken Wilson is in his first season as a head coach. He had previously been an assistant coach at Nevada for 19 seasons in two different splits. He is taking over for Norvell and was brought in to continue the culture of the program that was headed in a good direction.

Now onto some keys to victory for the Rams.

Three Keys to a colorado state victory

1. Come together on the offensive line.

You ever have that one song you listen to on repeat? That’s exactly what this key is for the Rams. The offensive line has had defensive coordinators salivating, as they’ve been absolutely horrible allowing an NCAA leading 25 sacks through four games.

Now they’ll most likely have their fifth different starting group in five games. Dontae Keys and Dante Bivens are both expected back in the lineup and George Miki-Han will be given the start at center. The two players who have been consistent have been Jacob Gardner (LT) and Gray Davis (RG).

2. Seize the oppportunities given.

Their are five redshirt or true freshman getting starts and 16 total freshman on the two deep this week against Nevada for Colorado State. Either RS-freshman Clay Millen or true freshman Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi will get the start this week. True freshman Justus Ross-Simmons and Louis Brown will get the start at receiver. RS-freshman Tanner Arkin will start at TE. And RS-freshman George Miki-Han will get the start at center.

These freshman along with the others who rotate in need to take the opportunities in front of them and run with them. This CSU team is looking for any sort of spark. Fowler-Nicolosi has risen up the depth chart due to his elusiveness. Ross-Simmons and Brown have risen due to attrition, same with Miki-Han. Arkin has been a starter all season. No matter who it is, someone needs to step up and make consistent plays to get this team on track.

Conference slate starts in…

𝟮𝟰 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀.#Stalwart x #RamGrit 🐏 pic.twitter.com/67H77OwJrN

— Colorado State Football (@CSUFootball) October 7, 2022

3. Force the action on defense.

Nevada hasn’t had much success on offense similar to Colorado State. However, they’ve done very well in not turning the ball over. The Wolf Pack have only thrown one interception and lost two fumbles (on five total fumbles). The Rams have forced five turnovers all year and adding more to that total will allow the offense to settle in some.

Jack Howell, Mohamed Kamara, CJ Onyechi, and Dequan Jackson have been the bright spots on defense for the Rams this year so far. Now more than ever, others will have to step up. The Rams need to show they won’t lay down. The hardest part of the schedule is over and it’s a clean slate to finish conference play strong.

what will happen

Bad college football is still fun to watch. Maybe not so much when your team is the one losing. But the week off has allowed Colorado State to reset emotionally and physically. It also allowed them to head into conference play with a fresh slate. The Rams will use that to their advantage and show something for the first time this year.

Final Score: Colorado State 27, Nevada 21