Colorado State eager to show off for home fans
Rams hope to have offensive outburst vs. MTSU
As the visiting coach of the Nevada Wolf Pack, firstyear Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell was 1-1 in trips to Canvas Stadium.
Most recently, he was opposite the CSU sideline in last year’s season finale for the Rams, coaching the Wolf Pack to a 52-10 victory.
Fast forward nine months and Norvell will coach on the home side of Canvas Stadium for the first time Saturday against Middle Tennessee and he couldn’t be more excited about his home debut — and his team’s first home game of the season.
The Rams and Blue Raiders will kick off at 2 p.m. Saturday.
“Overall this is a great opportunity for us to come home, show our fans how hard we have been working and really start our home season out with a bang,” Norvell said. “So I couldn’t be happier to be coming home to Canvas. We are really excited about getting another opportunity to play.
“I’m really excited to play in front of our fans. I’ve played in this stadium before, but never as the home team, so I’m excited about that.”
For some Rams, it will be their first home game at Canvas Stadium. Players like quarterback Clay Millen, running back Avery Morrow and wide receiver Tory Horton will make their CSU home debuts Saturday.
They aren’t the only ones, just some of the more notable. All three were on the Nevada team with Norvell that took that win in Fort Collins last season.
Several Rams will be making their final home debuts. Defensive lineman Devin Phillips and linebacker Dequan Jackson, both graduate students, will suit up for their final Canvas season openers.
Whether it is their first start at home or their last, the Rams are eager to show off in front of what is expected to be a large crowd.
“The fans,” senior defensive lineman Mohamed Kamara said of what he likes most about home games. “It’s easier for your family to come, they are in the front rows and stuff like that. The fans are amazing. Our fans are just there, they just give us energy. Making a big play, they’re roaring.”
Home field advantage isn’t something the Rams have had lately. After going 4-2 in the first season Canvas was open, they are only 6-13 since, including a 1-5 record a year ago.
The word is out. With a new coach and new players — along with some familiar faces — the Rams want big crowds, and they want to win in front of them.
“I think we have a great stadium, and when fans show up, they bring great energy,” redshirt freshman tight end Tanner Arkin said. “We have to show them we’ve been working hard and get all the fans to keep coming toward the end of the season.”
After a season-opening loss on the road last weekend, Norvell wants the fans who show up Saturday to see how far the team has come, not only since that loss last week, but since he took over following a 3-9 season a year ago for the Rams.
“We’ve been working really hard and it’s a process,” Norvell said. “One game doesn’t make a season. They call it a season for a reason, and it is what you do with the things that happen to you and how you can improve and get better.” the ball around. Their coach has been there a long time, done a good job with the program. They were a bowl participant last year.”
Redshirt senior quarterback Chase Cunningham has returned from an injury that kept him out of the last five games a year ago. Against JMU, the former walk-on passed for 110 yards and a touchdown.
His favorite target last week, and the team’s top returning receiver, was redshirt senior Yusuf Ali. Ali caught eight passes for 60 yards and a touchdown last week.
Middle Tennessee was unable to get any kind of a running game going against JMU. As a team, they ran 28 times for 12 yards. Redshirt senior Darius Bracy, who spent five years at Central Michigan, had four carries for 14 yards.
“Defensively, they are a 4-2-5 team, a lot of blitz, a lot of pressure,” Norvell said. “They got a lot of turnovers last year. We are going to have to do an excellent job of protecting the football and protecting the quarterback in this game. They have really good defensive players, really veteran kids up front and really athletic in the back end. They kind of play a highpressure scheme.”
Last week, the Middle Tennessee defense gave up 548 yards to JMU. Centeio passed for 287 yards and six touchdowns and the Dukes rushed for another 261 yards.
Redshirt senior defensive end Jordan Ferguson had nine tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, a pass break-up and a blocked kick against JMU last week. He is seventh in school history with 14 career sacks.
Cornerback Teldrick Ross had 11 tackles against the Dukes last week. Safety Diedrick Stanley had six.
Last season, the Blue Raiders shared the national lead for defensive touchdowns (six) with Nevada and Ohio State.
They are looking for a win just as much as the Rams are, but for both teams, Saturday’s contest will feature two teams more on the same level than the opponents they faced last weekend.
“We are not going to take them for granted,” Kamara said. “We are going to play hard-nosed football, like how they are going to play.”