Rams look to put slow start in past

FAYETTEVILLE — It’s been a painful start to the season for Colorado State Coach Mike Bobo, and it goes a lot deeper than the procedure he underwent in mid-August to relieve numbness in his right foot.

Bobo, who was back on the sideline for CSU’s game against Colorado on Friday but limping noticeably, is also hurting because of the Rams’ 0-2 start.

Hawaii won 43-34 at CSU to open the season, with Bobo coaching from the press box,

then Colorado pounded the Rams 45-13 in Denver.

“I know it’s disappointing for people that follow this program, but there’s nobody more disappointed than our coaches and our players,” Bobo said Monday. “We’ve been working

hard to rectify some things, to get ourselves back on track, and that’s not going to be easy.”

CSU plays Arkansas on Saturday night at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colo.

“Obviously, you play to win, and now you’re 0-2,” said Bobo, a former Georgia quarterback and assistant coach. “Not how anybody envisioned or wanted us to start. But that’s football. If you’re in it long enough, these things happen.

“Our mindset is trying to get better this week. We need to improve as a football team really in all three phases. That’s what I’m looking for as a football coach.

“Then with the opportunity we have to play an SEC team at home, our guys are excited about that.”

Slow starts have doomed the Rams in their first two games. They trailed Hawaii 23-7 at halftime — and by as many as 30 points in the third quarter — and fell behind Colorado 28-7 in the second quarter.

“We’ve got to man up,” CSU cornerback V.J. Banks told reporters after the Colorado game. “Stop talking about it,

actually practice hard, be about it and we’ll get results.

“Obviously, what we’re doing now is not giving us any results on the field. We need to practice like we’re supposed to. We’re not doing it now.”

Senior quarterback K.J. Carta-Samuels, a graduate transfer from Washington, said after the Colorado game the Rams have to be mentally tougher.

“It’s not about Xs and Os,” Carta-Samuels told reporters. “We just need to fix our mentality … We need to come out ready to compete and fight.”

Carta-Samuels said the Rams need to be more accountable.

“You have to walk a thin line, because you don’t want to p*** anyone off,” he said. “You don’t want to make anyone mad by saying the wrong thing, but you need to be honest, and you need to get into some guys to just demand better from each other.”

Banks said the Rams can’t be overly sensitive to constructive criticism from their teammates.

“At this point, we’ve all got to be men,” Banks said. “If somebody gets on you, take it. Don’t put your head down, don’t be soft about it.”

The Rams’ biggest fixes need to come on defense.

Colorado outgained CSU 596 to 284 and Bobo said the Buffaloes exploited the Rams on the perimeter with big gains on sweeps and screen passes.

“They did a great job of getting the ball outside on the edges and making play after play,” Bobo said. “You’ve got to get off blocks and win your one-on-one battles, and we did not.”

Carta-Samuels completed 34 of 50 passes for a school-record 537 yards and 5 touchdowns against Hawaii, but Colorado held him to 18-of33 passing for 176 yards and sacked him 3 times.

“K.J. played well,” Bobo

said. “I think he showed tremendous toughness. We got him hit way too many times.

“There were a couple times we got whipped, and that happens. But there were things where we just turned guys free, and he was able to stand in there and still make some throws.”

Redshirt sophomore Collin Hill, who had knee surgery in March after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament, played two series against Colorado and was 1-of-4 passing for 5 yards. It was his first game since 2016, when he also sustained a knee injury.

Bobo said he wanted to get Hill work and that he’ll likely play against Arkansas, but will be on a “pitch count” considering his surgery was five months ago.

“I believe he’s in a good place,” Bobo said. “I think he understands what he’s got to do, and that’s control himself and keep putting himself in position to prepare like a starter.”

Bobo said he didn’t demean his players after the Colorado game.

“It was a challenge, and it wasn’t a beat-down session,” Bobo said of his postgame message. “It was basically, ‘You got your tail whipped, we’ve got to fix ourselves, we’ve got

to listen, we’ve got to take coaching.’

“It’s not about words, it’s about action. If we’ll go to work and if we have action, then we’ll get there.”

Bobo managed a laugh when asked about being back on the sideline against Colorado.

“I was moving fast wasn’t I?” Bobo said. “Physically I’m not where I need to be as far as mobility. But I’m able to move a little bit better every week.”

Bobo was hospitalized for 11 days during preseason practice.

“I had nerve damage and the nerves have not come back yet,” he said. “That’s one of those things that’s going to take a little while. I don’t know when it’s going to happen. I’m kind of going to be hobbled right now, but that’s just the way it is.

“Mentally I’m good. … I’m hoping and praying that these nerves come back sooner rather than later.”

Despite the discomfort, Bobo said he’ll stay on the sidelines the rest of the season.

“That’s where a head coach needs to be,” he said. “Because you’ve got a lot of stuff going on with your offense and defense and special teams.”