NO GAME FOR RAMS
CSU couldn’t find an opponent
Let’s see: A global pandemic. Spring ball getting kiboshed halfway through drills. Summer camps squashed. The Rocky Mountain Showdown canceled. University investigations. A revised schedule. No to fall football. Yes to fall football. Another revised schedule.
All that since, what, February? And Steve Addazio still hasn’t coached a game for the CSU Rams yet.
He won’t be coaching a game this week, either, after the Mountain West canceled the program’s 2020 opener with New Mexico, a contest that had been slated for Saturday night.
“Let me tell you something, I’m not superstitious,” the Rams’ first- year football coach said with a chuckle Wednesday during a Zoom call with reporters.
“It doesn’t mean I’m not disappointed. Honestly, I’ve got that mindset that there’s nothing that can go down that’s going to put me down. Next up. Let’s go. I’m totally prepared for all of the above.”
Addazio revealed that the Rams tried to find an opponent to replace the Lobos, who had at least eight players and an assistant coach test positive for COVID- 19 last week. But the logistics couldn’t be worked out in time to get an opponent lined up, home or away, for Thursday, Friday or Saturday.
“Unless it’s somebody really local, it’s really hard,” said Addazio, whose Rams had originally been slated to host the UNC Bears at Canvas Stadium on Sept. 19, about two schedules ago. “You’re talking about planes and all the stuff that goes into that. Once that was vetted out, we pretty quickly shifted gears.”
The Rams’ new opener will be next Thursday night at Fresno State. The Bulldogs are slated to host Hawaii on Saturday.
“I think the advantage ( for them) is that Fresno is going to have played a game,” the Rams coach said. “The advantage we have is they don’t know what we’re doing. And we won’t have a short week, we’ll have a regular week.”
Addazio said he planned to scrimmage at game speed on Thursday, give the players Friday off, and begin the usual game- week work for Fresno
State on Saturday.
“It’s disappointing because I think ( the Lobos) had the numbers to play,” Addazio said. “I guess there must have been other stuff going on there. So ( we) just move ahead.”
With fingers crossed. And a rabbit’s foot tucked into one of your pockets.
“I go back to this statement: I’m grateful that we’re coaching football right now and we have a chance to play,” Addazio said. “There are a lot bigger problems out there than New Mexico getting canceled, our game getting canceled.”