Offense on blistering pace
FORT COLLINS» He can hear the chatter on the sidelines.
No matter what happened the previous drive, the Colorado State players for whom coach Mike Bobo is calling plays believe they will score the next time they’re on the field.
And the time after that. And so on. He’s not to their level yet, but he’s getting there.
“I’m confident because our players are confident,” Bobo said. “Our players have a feeling they can score at any time, and that’s always good. To be honest, I don’t have that feeling every time. I talk to them about having that feeling and that belief, but sometimes as a coach, you know every play and know who you’re going against, where you’ve got some trouble matching up personnel-wise, and then if you have a play called and it’s not the exact look, it might not have a chance to succeed.
“But these guys, they believe that they can have success no matter what somebody is in or how they’re playing them. That’s always good that your players believe, so that gives me confidence.”
So do the numbers. The Rams are averaging 520.7 yards per game, which sits ninth in the country. CSU has surpassed 600 yards of total offense in three of the past five games and is on pace to set school records, many of which came during the 2014 season.
Every series, the Rams think they can score. Should score, and it’s really not false bravado as they head to New Mexico on Friday (8:15 p.m., ESPN2).
The Rams have 87 drives this season, 82 that were not just taking a knee, getting a turnover at the end of a half or scoring on defense. They’ve produced points on 40 of them, a 48.7 percent clip. It’s even better in conference play, jumping to 58.8 percent (20-of-37).
Even still, the Rams are short of the pace of the scoring mark set in 2013, when the Rams averaged 39 points per contest.
“I would use confidence more than cockiness,” center Jake Bennett said. “Just the amount of confidence that guys have in the schemes and how much practice and time we put in it, the confidence of being able to go out and execute it is pretty high right now. The way our running backs, our quarterback and our wide receivers are playing, it makes our job easy.”
Bobo and the players note they are all in the third season of his system. Two years ago, even the coaches needed a translator, as Bobo and offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Will Friend were on the same page and trying to teach the others. Now, the message is a straight shot from the coaches to the players, from position rooms to the offensive room.
Hawaii gave the Rams a different look at the start than expected. So too did Utah State. Not a big deal, as the Rams built up huge leads in the first quarter.
In those instances, a reservoir of knowledge became an advantage in how to attack.
“It definitely is,” quarterback Nick Stevens said. “Just having the staff here for three years, being in the same system for three years, then having guys with experience all over the field, when we go into our game plans, they go into more detail. We think it will be this, but if it’s this, we can check into something else.
“His confidence in me has definitely instilled a greater level of confidence in myself, and I think allowed me to play a lot better and not feeling timid or gun shy.”