Colorado State (0-2) vs. Arkansas (1-0)
Saturday, 5:30 p.m., Canvas Stadium
Broadcast — TV: CBS Sports Network; Radio: 102.9 FM
Series — Arkansas leads 3-0
About Arkansas — The Razorbacks began the Chad Morris era with a 55-20 win over Eastern Illinois. QB Ty Storey came off the bench and gave the offense a spark, throwing for 291 yards and three TDs. The Razorbacks swarmed on defense, collecting five fumbles and eight tackles for loss.
About CSU — The defensive struggles continued for a second week as Colorado just missed 600 yards of total offense. In Arkansas, the Rams face another offense that plays with tempo and gets the ball in space. For the first time this season, the defense has game film on its opponent.
Outlook — Just a hunch, but CSU will play better this week, and the offense has to find a way to create some pressure. But probably not enough to beat Arkansas. Prediction: Arkansas 41, CSU 21.
FORT COLLINS — This just doesn’t happen often.
Teams from the SEC just don’t come out west for non-conference games. Especially not to play a school from the Group of 5. But it’s happening Saturday.
Arkansas becomes just the second team from the powerhouse conference to visit Fort Collins — Mississippi State made the trip in 1981 — the first to see Colorado State’s new digs, Canvas Stadium (5:30 p.m.; CBSSN). With that in mind, Colorado State coach Mike Bobo asked his team to do the obvious: Enjoy the moment.
“I’m jacked for that opportunity for us to go out and play ball and have a chance to win this ball game,” Bobo said this week. “That’s the No. 1 goal. If I don’t believe that, then our players aren’t going to believe that. We’re obviously excited they’re coming to town, the SEC coming to Fort Collins, but we’re playing to win the ball game. That’s the expectation.”
This is the stuff of little kid dreams, throwing a ball in the back yard and running as fast as one can to catch the ball, be the hero in the game being played in a youngster’s mind. There was no pressure, just glory to be had, and that type of enthusiasm can get lost as the player grows older.
Why not recapture it.
“I think a lot of us get caught up in the grind of things and how this is a business, but at the end of the day, it’s football,” slot receiver Brenden Fulton said. “We all started this when we were little kids having fun. Most of us came out here and we were the best player at our high school and we were ‘that guy.’ Coach Bobo emphasized this last time before the game, he said, ‘Close your eyes and think about a time when football was simpler and you were having fun and playing loose.’
“I think that’s really important to take a step back from playing tight, that I have this assignment and this assignment and this assignment. Remember you have skills and you can ball a little bit.”
If only it were that simple. If only the Rams had shown a little more the first two weeks of the season.
Colorado State is a team still searching. The Rams are looking for signs a defense will emerge, one that can actually force a third-down play before expecting to get a stop. One that doesn’t allow more than 40 points a game and 600 yards of total offense.
The switch to John Jancek’s 4-3 system has not gone well, but at least this week the Rams have game film of the opponent. That film will show a team that likes to play with tempo and found a rhythm when Ty Storey entered the game at quarterback, engineering an offense that pulled away from Eastern Illinois in a 55-20 victory.
Linebacker Josh Watson said it doesn’t have to be the same ol’, same ol’.
“Every game is an opportunity to change the narrative of your season,” he said. “This is another opportunity for that. You have to take advantage of every opportunity you get in life.”
Colorado State’s offense isn’t exactly proven yet, either. There was a rush of points at the end of the Hawaii loss, but not much to be seen from the Colorado loss. A run game still hasn’t developed, leaning way too much on a passing attack.
Fulton remembers Bobo’s message from the week before, and he knows it helped him play looser. That same message is being emphasized once again, and his teammates are starting to echo the sentiment.
Why not enjoy the moment, maybe even the spoils? Be that kid, live the dream.
“He said, what an opportunity we have this week to silence critics,” Fulton said. “We know the skill we have on this team, and what an opportunity we have to turn everything around and basically shock the world this week.”
Mike Brohard: 970-635-3633, mbrohard@reporter-herald.com and twitter.com/mbrohard