Bobo gives Rams a reality check

FORT COLLINS » While many of them are still considered kids, the players on Colorado State’s football team are treated like young men.

Their coach feels they deserve to be spoken to as such.

“You’ve got to tell them the truth. Where we think we are and where we actually are, there’s a big gap there,” Mike Bobo said, referring to the Rams’ 24 record on the season. “Do I think we want to get there and we’ve got a chance to get there and we have the ability in this room to get there? Yeah, but you’ve got to be honest with them. You have to be honest of what you see on tape, you have to be honest of things you do as a coach. The more you’re honest and transparent with things, the more you’re going to get the trust of coach is right, we’ve got to do it this way.”

He told his team straight out — we’re a bad football team. The record dictates as much, and the fact they’re coming off a win doesn’t mean an abrupt change has taken place.

He does want them to believe it can lead to a gradual shift, a trend the Rams can continue on homecoming this Saturday against New Mexico (2 p.m.) at Canvas Stadium.

Safety Jordan Fogal took the statement for what it was, as well as the intended message.

“You can take it two ways. The truth hurts, so it’s going to hurt, but you have to really see what they mean by that,” Fogal said. “Obviously it’s a motivational tool, and we need to get our act together and that’s obvious. At the same time, we’re not a very good football team, where we should be or where we want to be. You have to look at it from both perspectives, where he’s coming from, what he truly means and take it from there.”

That’s the key. The Rams fully believe they can be a better team than they’ve showed in the first half of the season. Saying it won’t make it change, but playing better can.

No guarantees. Facing the Lobos has been as close to a guarantee as the Rams have had in quite awhile. CSU has won eight consecutive meetings in the series, but it will take some lifting to extend it to nine.

The Lobos are a mixed bag this season. They are scoring a lot of points, and they’re giving up a bunch, too. Colorado State was a mix last week, scoring a lot of points in the first half (28), then giving up even more (30) in the third quarter alone.

That’s not the sign of a consistent team. Which leads back to Bobo’s point, which brought a smile to the face of fullback Adam Prentice.

“The minute we get lackadaisical about stuff, things will start going downhill again,” Prentice said Tuesday. “I think we’ve already had two great days of practice so far, and we’ve got to keep building on it and just keep improving each and every day we have the opportunity to.”

The way the win over San Jose State played out for the Rams was almost helpful. It showed that, when clicking, they can play well. They can also give it away in an instant.

To the players, that proved some progress has been made, but not enough. Not for a team that still insists all the goals of the season are ahead of them, including vying for a Mountain West title.

That’s going to take some heavy lifting. It’s also going to require more consistent and better performances.

No time like the present, either.

“We have to play a full game,” cornerback V.J. Banks said. “We almost blew the game, and that was in the matter of basically eight minutes. It’s a 60minute game. We can play good for 42 like we did last week, then have six to eight where they can almost do enough to win the game.

“We were embarrassed about that quarter. They scored 30 in like eight minutes. That’s embarrassing, no matter who you are.”