“We’re not very good,” says CSU coach Mike Bobo after 3519 loss to Illinois State.
FORT COLL I NS» The older one gets, the more one realizes there are very few things to be counted on in life.
Through five weeks of the season, Colorado State football fans have come to understand it’s almost nothing. Not even wearing orange jerseys on Ag Day. That used to be a guarantee — eight straight games, dating to 2010 — but that came to an end Saturday versus Illinois State, an FCS team out of the Missouri Valley Conference in the form of a 3519 loss at Canvas Stadium.
Colorado State coach Mike Bobo insisted his team had to improve last week, regardless. Instead, the Rams (14) regressed as Illinois State — ranked 15th at its level — controlled both lines of scrimmage throughout.
Bobo called the performance “embarrassing” as he apologized to CSU fans, noting it’s time to start from scratch.
“I just told our team, I said, ‘We’re not very good,’ ” Bobo said. “We’re not as good as we think we are. Next week’s a bye week, and the only thing I’m concerned about is us, not even our opponent. We’re going to figure out what we can do in all three phases, and then we’re going to get the right guys on the field.”
The first square, he put on himself: “We’ve got to coach better, too,” he said.
Rarely pressured, Redbirds’ quarterback Brady Davis didn’t exactly slice through the defense, completing less than 50 percent of his passes. But he did turn 14 completions into 271 yards and two scores.
The second was the dagger that sealed the outcome. On thirdand19, he rolled left and threw back right for a screen to Markel Smith. Safety Jamal Hicks whiffed on the tackle, and Smith went 60 yards down his sideline for the touchdown. It was the sixth touchdown of 50 yards or longer the Rams’ defense has al lowed this year.
A seventh came later when James Robinson scored on a 57yard run in the final three minutes, pushing his day to 184 yards on the ground.
The Redbirds (30) built up their lead to 216 with touchdowns bridging the first and second halves. The Illinois State running game piled up 267 yards in the game, with Robinson scoring on a 2yard run early in the second, then Markel going in from just a couple feet out with 2 seconds remaining in the half.
Illinois State came right back to open the second half with a 12yard strike from Davis to Tylor Petkovich, a play that resulted in a targeting flag on safety Jordan Fogal.
Often, the Rams were caught in personnel changes, or were just plain late getting set before the ball was snapped. Bobo pointed at the quick huddles causing problems, with linebacker Tre Thomas adding the delivery of play calls lacked flow.
“I think we just need better communication,” Bobo said. “We need to communicate better as players, between players and between coaches, and that will help us get lined up better and be in the spots we’re supposed to be in.”