Hammerhead Dad
Active member
This in from the Fort Collins newspaper this morning. Good luck today Hornets! Make us proud.
September 6, 2008
CSU must keep guard up to avoid getting stung
BY KELLY LYELL
[email protected]
Last year, it was Appalachian State beating Michigan. Last week, Cal Poly knocked off San Diego State.
Although teams from the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I) are supposed to be superior to those in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA), that's not always the case. And, for a relatively young CSU football team still trying to find its way under a new coach, that makes today's home opener against Sacramento State a bit scary.
"They're in the spotlight where we'd like to be if we had that chance, and we'd like to at least gain some respect from them," Sacramento State linebacker Mike Brannon said. "We look at it like nothing's impossible. If (Appalachian State and Cal Poly) can do it, we can do it."
The Hornets (1-0) certainly can. And first-year Colorado State University coach Steve Fairchild has been reminding his team not to take Sac State lightly all week.
"They're certainly a talented team," Fairchild said Thursday. "They have a lot of guys that could play for anybody."
The Hornets have two linebackers - Brannon and Cyrus Mulitalo - who not only are four-year starters but also are finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award, given each year to the top defensive player at an FCS school. And they have a pair of sophomore running backs - Bryan Hilliard and Evander Wilkins - who each went for more than 100 yards in a season-opening 45-13 win over Humboldt State. Sac State quarterback Jason Smith, a sophomore in his second season as the starter, completed 11 of 16 passes for 129 yards and two TDs.
Although Fairchild and his staff generally were pleased with their team's showing in a 38-17 loss Sunday to the University of Colorado, he expects to see significant improvement today in his home debut. The Rams, Fairchild said, need to establish a physical ground game, led by senior running backs Gartrell Johnson and Kyle Bell, and avoid getting into the third-and-long situations they found themselves in for much of the opener.
Defensively, CSU needs to put more pressure on the quarterback, avoid pass protection breakdowns that led to two of CU's three passes that went for 15 or more yards and execute better in third-down situations to stop drives like the 18-play one in the third quarter that the Buffs used to wear the Rams down, defensive coordinator Larry Kerr said.
"We're not a finished product," Kerr said. "There's definitely some areas for improvement all across the board. But the foundation we laid with effort and physicalness and running to the football, it's a great foundation. Now, we have to build on it."
September 6, 2008
CSU must keep guard up to avoid getting stung
BY KELLY LYELL
[email protected]
Last year, it was Appalachian State beating Michigan. Last week, Cal Poly knocked off San Diego State.
Although teams from the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I) are supposed to be superior to those in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA), that's not always the case. And, for a relatively young CSU football team still trying to find its way under a new coach, that makes today's home opener against Sacramento State a bit scary.
"They're in the spotlight where we'd like to be if we had that chance, and we'd like to at least gain some respect from them," Sacramento State linebacker Mike Brannon said. "We look at it like nothing's impossible. If (Appalachian State and Cal Poly) can do it, we can do it."
The Hornets (1-0) certainly can. And first-year Colorado State University coach Steve Fairchild has been reminding his team not to take Sac State lightly all week.
"They're certainly a talented team," Fairchild said Thursday. "They have a lot of guys that could play for anybody."
The Hornets have two linebackers - Brannon and Cyrus Mulitalo - who not only are four-year starters but also are finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award, given each year to the top defensive player at an FCS school. And they have a pair of sophomore running backs - Bryan Hilliard and Evander Wilkins - who each went for more than 100 yards in a season-opening 45-13 win over Humboldt State. Sac State quarterback Jason Smith, a sophomore in his second season as the starter, completed 11 of 16 passes for 129 yards and two TDs.
Although Fairchild and his staff generally were pleased with their team's showing in a 38-17 loss Sunday to the University of Colorado, he expects to see significant improvement today in his home debut. The Rams, Fairchild said, need to establish a physical ground game, led by senior running backs Gartrell Johnson and Kyle Bell, and avoid getting into the third-and-long situations they found themselves in for much of the opener.
Defensively, CSU needs to put more pressure on the quarterback, avoid pass protection breakdowns that led to two of CU's three passes that went for 15 or more yards and execute better in third-down situations to stop drives like the 18-play one in the third quarter that the Buffs used to wear the Rams down, defensive coordinator Larry Kerr said.
"We're not a finished product," Kerr said. "There's definitely some areas for improvement all across the board. But the foundation we laid with effort and physicalness and running to the football, it's a great foundation. Now, we have to build on it."
