Colorado State football opens Mountain West Conference play for the final time Friday night at San Diego State, and the Rams are still looking for remedies to fix their ailing offense.
The Rams (1-3) have made a second change in as many weeks to try to jump start an offense that is next to last in the Mountain West in points per game. A week after replacing veteran quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi with Jackson Brousseau, CSU head coach Jay Norvell is handing play-calling duties over to associate head coach Matt Mumme.
The quarterback change did not produce results last week. The Rams lost to Washington State 20-3 in their third of three straight games at Canvas Stadium. It was the first time the Rams failed to score a touchdown in a home game since 2010.
With eight conference games ahead, Norvell said the Rams understand what they need to do. Now they need to execute on the field.
“We’re excited to start our conference play,” Norvell said. “I think we know about our football team. I think we understand our strengths and weaknesses. I think we are making the proper adjustments as a staff to move forward and really accentuate the strengths of the players that are playing for us.”
The Rams hope that Mumme’s play calling and Brousseau’s experience with a game under his belt will jump-start the offense. Norvell noted the lack of production from the wide receivers and the inability to score from a running back room that has had success gaining yards as other areas he hopes to see improvement.
Running backs Lloyd Avant (7.0), Justin Marshall (5.3) and Jalen Dupree (5.0) are all averaging more than five yards per carry. However, those three have combined to score only three touchdowns. Dupree’s came in the season opener at Washington, while Avant’s two came in the team’s lone win against Northern Colorado.
Norvell said finding consistency in the running game is an important task beginning this week.
“Coach (Jeremy) Moses is trying to get all those guys involved,” Norvell said. “We have some packages where we have two running backs on the field and we’ll use those, and trying to find a place to get them all involved, that’s not easy. I think they have the ability to stay fresher and play more physical as we rotate them.”
Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell walks on the sideline during a game at Washington Aug. 30 in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)Norvell also wants to get more production out of his wide receivers as well. Last week, Jordan Ross returned after missing a game and caught two passes for 18 yards. The Rams were without tight end Jaxxon Warren for a second straight week, but Norvell praised the play of Rocky Beers, who scored a pair of touchdowns against UTSA two weeks ago.
While the play of the receivers falls partly on the decisions of the quarterback, Norvell hopes that unit can benefit from Mumme taking over the play calling as well.
“We have to get them better,” Norvell said of the receivers. “That’s our job. I think we can find some ways to get them open. We can help them formationally and with motion and different things. But that’s something that’s definitely an adjustment we’re looking at. We’ve got to find ways to help them schematically.”
While the quarterback change from Fowler-Nicolosi to Brousseau didn’t produce the results the Rams were looking for last week, they hope the switch to Mumme as the play caller will also giving the running backs and receivers more opportunities for success.
Scouting the Aztecs
San Diego State enters Friday night’s conference opener with a 3-1 record and is coming off back-to-back wins over California (34-0) and Northern Illinois (6-3).
The Aztecs are led offensively by quarterback Jayden Denegal, who has passed for 636 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Lucky Sutton leads the ground attack with 337 yards and three touchdowns, while Jordan Napier leads the receivers with 290 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, Owen Chambliss leads the team in tackles with 39 to go along with three tackles for loss and two sacks. Chris Johnson has a pair of interceptions and a forced fumble.
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San Diego State leads the all-time series between the two teams, 22-15. CSU won the last meeting between them, 22-19, in 2023 at Canvas Stadium. The Rams haven’t won in San Diego since 2016.
Injury report
With the beginning of conference play this week, teams are required to submit injury reports to the Mountain West office. The first report for the Rams’ game against the Aztecs was released Wednesday night.
It lists five players out for the season for CSU: defensive back Jayden Cortell; receiver Stephon Daily; defensive linemen Gabe Jones and Mukendi Wa-Kelonji; and offensive lineman Tanner Morley.
Morley is the newest addition to the list of Rams out for the season. The veteran and most experienced lineman on the team had to leave last week’s game against Washington State.
Rams listed who will miss this game include: linebackers Jacob Ellis and Jaseim Mitchell; defensive back Dylan Phelps; receiver Petey Tucker; and Warren, for a third straight game.
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