After winning 8, 10, 7, 7, and 7 games from 2013-2017, Colorado State took an untimely step back, and with a conference on the rise around them, the cliff was bigger than expected, and the Rams tumbled all the way to 3-9.
Things don’t get much better from there, the schedule is tough and just 11 starters return, but year five under Mike Bobo will likely be better than year four.
Offense
All but the #1 back from last year returns, but none were particularly impressive last year. Marvin Kinsey Jr. and Marcus Elroy barely squeaked past four yards per carry, and they will be running behind a line that loses three starters, although they do add a highly touted redshirt freshman in Kavesz Sherard.
At the quarterback spot, KJ Carta-Samuels was benched midway thru last year for Collin Hill. Hill wasn’t particularly impressive (59%, seven-to-seven TD-to-INT ratio, 6.9 YPA), but with the season essentially over, it made sense to let him at least get some experience under his belt. Highly touted Nebraska transfer Patrick O’Brien could challenge for the starting job.
Colorado State has a strong history over attracting talented receivers, and that is no different this year. They get a one time top 50 recruit in the country in Nate Craig-Myers, who is transferring from Auburn after 17 starts and 17.9 YPC in three years there. Warren Jackson (12.7 YPC, four touchdowns) is the top returner, and the depth is great for a Mountain West team, such as Nikko Hall, a young guy that CSU fans are very excited about.
As mentioned earlier, the line must replace some big names, and is really young in the two deep, but this offense should improve after a down year in 2018.
Defense
The defense was….pretty awful last year, giving up 6.8 yards per play. Granted, they had to deal with injuries to guys like LBs Max McDonald and Patrick Moody.
Good for DC John Jancek, most of the key names return, including Ellison Hubbard, Emmanuel Jones, and Rashad Ajayi among others. They also add an awesome transfer from Troy in Tron Folsom, a guy who deserves a lot more credit (eight TFL, seven PBUs last year, a rare combo).
There isn’t much way to go down for the defense, and the D-Line should carry the group to a much improved year.
2019 Outlook
This team is pretty inexperienced, but they are talented and add a ton of interesting transfers, this should be a really fun team to watch.
Me (and my computer) are a lot higher on the Rams than most. The schedule is rough, but the talent is there, and I think a bowl berth isn’t out of the question.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | opp. rank | Proj. Margin |
| 30-Aug | vs. Colorado (denver, co) | 63 | -6.1 |
| 7-Sep | Western Illinois | NR | n/a |
| 14-Sep | at Arkansas | 68 | -8.3 |
| 21-Sep | Toledo | 74 | -1.9 |
| 28-Sep | at Utah State | 73 | -7.9 |
| 5-Oct | San Diego State | 66 | -2.6 |
| 11-Oct | at New Mexico | 117 | 3.9 |
| 26-Oct | at Fresno State | 51 | -11.5 |
| 2-Nov | UNLV | 108 | 5.5 |
| 16-Nov | Air Force | 97 | 2.0 |
| 22-Nov | at Wyoming | 90 | -5.6 |
| 29-Nov | Boise State | 32 | -7.5 |
Average Projected Record: 5.2 wins, 6.8 losses (3.3 wins, 4.7 losses)