Ram Pride (Colorado State - NCAA 08)

[Ironhead]

Rams look to get back on track

Junior running back Kyle Bell needs to take Colorado State on his back after missing the entire 2006 season to a torn ACL.

The last several seasons for Colorado State have fans in Fort Collins scratching their heads. After having successful season after successful season from 1993-2003 the team has gone 14-19 over the last three seasons, which included losing the last seven games of the season last year. So how to do the Rams get their groove back? It’s going to have to start in the trenches. Over the years the Rams have been the most successful when they have been able to run the ball and then run the ball some more. Last year’s anemic ground game will get a huge shot in the arm with the return of tailback Kyle Bell (6’2”, 232 lbs). Bell is a tough as nails north-south runner that is going to pick up yards after contact. Leading the way for him will be fullback Tim LeBlanc (5’10”, 238 lbs) who many publications list as the most talented lead blocker in the MWC. The offensive line has seen better days but is still a better as a run blocking unit than they are at pass blocking. The man in charge of keeping defenses honest when they think about adding that 8th man to the box will be senior quarterback Caleb Hanie (6’2”, 236 lbs). Hanie is not a gunslinger by any means but makes good decisions with the football. His main target all season long will be senior tight end Kory Sperry (6’6”, 260 lbs). Sperry moves well for a big man and is absolutely clutch when it comes to making the big catch over the middle of the field. The Rams do not have the speed required to stretch the field at the wideout position but both receivers work well to find open space on the field. The concept of defense returned to Fort Collins last season after finishing 115th in the NCAA in 2005. The defense should be solid in 2007 as well as the Rams still have one of the most talented, if not undersized defensive lines in the MWC. The play of the linebackers will be key this season as both outside linebackers graduated last season. A pair of sophomores will be stepping into the starting roles to show what they are made of. The secondary is about average but cornerback Darryl Williams (5’9”, 180 lbs) should get some consideration for First Team MWC honors at the end of the season.

2007 Schedule
Strength of Schedule: B+

Week 01: at Colorado
Week 02: #16 Cal
Week 03: BYE
Week 04: at Houston
Week 05: at #22 TCU
Week 06: San Diego State
Week 07: Air Force
Week 08: at UNLV
Week 09: Utah
Week 10: at BYU
Week 11: at New Mexico
Week 12: Georgia Southern
Week 13: Wyoming
Week 14: BYE

Preseason Top 25
01. USC
02. Michigan
03. LSU
04. Florida
05. Texas
06. West Virginia
07. Wisconsin
08. Oklahoma
09. Virginia Tech
10. Arkansas
11. Louisville
12. Ohio State
13. Auburn
14. Nebraska
15. Tennessee
16. Cal
17. Penn State
18. Georgia
19. UCLA
20. Rutgers
21. Florida State
22. TCU
23. Boise State
24. Texas A&M
25. Boston College

[Ironhead]

2007 Roster

Starters in bold
Redshirting players highlighted in red

#	Pos	Name			HGT	WGHT	YR	OVR	
16	QB	Caleb Hanie		6'2"	236	SR	83 
15	QB	Billy Faris		6'3"	212	JR*	77	
18	QB	Grant Stucker		6'2"	201	SO*	76
9	QB	T.J. Borkcy		6'4"	185	FR	67	
------------------------------------------------------------------	
34	HB	Kyle Bell		6'2"	232	JR*	87   [CAPTAIN]	
5	HB	Gartrell Johnson	6'0"	230	JR*	81	
20	HB	Alex Square		5'9"	170	SO*	76	
12	HB	Michael Myers		6'1"	208	JR*	76	
------------------------------------------------------------------
47	FB	Tim LeBlanc		5'10"	238	SR	85
42	FB	Kyle VanHorn		6'0"	246	SR	83	
------------------------------------------------------------------
7	WR	Johnny Walker		6'0"	190	SR*	84	
82	WR	Luke Roberts		6'2"	206	SR*	83	
27	WR	George Hill		5'11"	184	SR*	79	
87	WR	Damon Morton		5'11"	176	SR	78	
31	WR	Dion Morton		5'10"	162	SO	74
84	WR	Rashaun Greer		6'1"	202	SO*	72
86	WR	Chaz Miles		6'2"	198	SO*	71
------------------------------------------------------------------
80	TE	Kory Sperry		6'6"	260	SR	89   [IP]
88	TE	Chris Kawulok		6'3"	244	JR*	82	
89	TE	Kevin McPeek		6'6"	245	JR*	81	
------------------------------------------------------------------
70	LT	Marvin Arnold		6'4"	294	SR	75	
53	LT	Cole Pemberton		6'7"	318	SO*	74	
------------------------------------------------------------------
55	LG	Scott Benedict		6'4"	294	SO*	74	
74	LG	Shelley Smith		6'4"	282	SO*	71	
------------------------------------------------------------------
64	C	Nick Allotta		6'3"	305	SR*	84
54	C	Tyler McDermott		6'2"	270	FR	74
57	C	Tim Walter		6'6"	277	SO*	69
------------------------------------------------------------------
60	RG	Adrian Martinez		6'4"	300	SO*	72
66	RG	Guy Miller		6'3"	296	FR*	71
------------------------------------------------------------------
75	RT	Dane Stratton		6'5"	298	JR*	79
52	RT	Brian Lepak		6'5"	298	FR*	72
------------------------------------------------------------------
44	LE	Bob Vomhof		6'3"	247	SR*	79
93	LE	Wade Landers		6'6"	252	JR	77
99	LE	Eric Peitz		6'6"	245	FR	72
98	LE	Eugene Daniels		6'3"	240	FR	72
------------------------------------------------------------------
97	DT	Blake Smith		6'2"	257	SR*	88   [IP]
45	DT	Matt Rupp		6'3"	272	JR*	84
95	DT	Erik Sandie		6'2"	299	SR*	78	
58	DT	Joey Madrid		6'2"	295	SR*	75	
96	DT	Devin McWilliams	6'1"	320	JR	71
62	DT	James Morehead		6'6"	310	SO*	66	
------------------------------------------------------------------
59	RE	Jesse Nading		6'5"	263	SR*	89   [IP]	
91	RE	Tommie Hill		6'6"	225	JR*	84
94	RE	Leo Davis		6'4"	240	FR	68	
------------------------------------------------------------------
34	LOLB	Sedric Patterson	6'1"	231	SO*	75	
56	LOLB	Ricky Brewer		6'2"	216	FR*	67	
50	LOLB	Michael Kawulok		6'2"	205	FR	54	
------------------------------------------------------------------
51	MLB	Jeff Horinek		6'3"	238	JR*	83
38	MLB	Nathan Pauly		6'1"	205	SR*	76
49	MLB	Curtis Cornelson	6'1"	235	JR	74	
43	MLB	Matt Hendrick		6'2"	235	SO*	64	
------------------------------------------------------------------
42	ROLB	Jake Pottorff		6'4"	244	SO*	74
46	ROLB	Luke Diehl		6'2"	208	FR	66	
48	ROLB	John Clark		6'3"	225	JR	66	
------------------------------------------------------------------
39	CB	Darryl Williams		5'9"	180	SR*	87	
29	CB	Joey Rucks		5'10"	190	SR	77	
17	CB	Jermaine Walters	5'11"	200	SR	77	
41	CB	DeAngelo Wilkinson	5'10"	181	FR*	72	
30	CB	Elijah Blu Smith	5'11"	190	FR	57	
------------------------------------------------------------------
20	FS	Klint Kubiak		6'0"	201	JR	81	
10	FS	Zac Bryson		6'1"	215	SR	74
36	FS	Jarrad McKay		6'0"	185	FR	69	
------------------------------------------------------------------
13	SS	Mike Pagnotta		6'0"	203	JR*	71	
15	SS	Jake Galusha		5'10"	200	JR*	70	
28	SS	Zach Donaldson		6'1"	195	FR	66
26	SS	Mychal Sisson		5'10"	193	FR	62
------------------------------------------------------------------
4	K	Durrell Chamorro	6'1"	191	SO*	69
37	K	Jason Smith		6'2"	201	JR*	52
------------------------------------------------------------------
8	P	Jimmie Kaylor		6'3"	197	SR*	84

[Ironhead]

2007 Recruiting

Pipeline States: Colorado, California


Pressing Needs:

Wide Receiver
My four best wide receivers are all graduating this season and there is not a proven guy who will be able to step up in 2008. It looks as though the passing game will suffer next season, but I need to make sure I have some talent to groom for 2009.

Cornerback
Same situation that I face at wideout except it's worse. Both starters and the nickel corner will graduate and there is an even larger void to fill. I will have to start a true freshman at corner next year.

Looking further out:

Fullback
I was kind of cruel and redshirted my backup senior fullback knowing full well that he wouldn't see the field this year and that he would be invaluable to me next year. I need to pick up a fullback this year that can be ready to step into the starting role in 2009.

Safety
I'm not really happy with the players we have at safety right now. My current safeties are geared more towards run defense. With the problems I see coming up at cornerback I need some guys back there that can provide good deep support.

O-Line
This unit is pretty young and I won't have any pressing needs to fill for a couple of seasons. I would like to start grabbing a little more beef to put on the line though.

Running Back
I should be set here for next year but diminutive HB Alex Square is not a workhorse that can step into the starting role. I will need to start getting another big back ready for 2009.


Targets (TOTAL 25 of 35):

**** Prospects:
WR Chris Means - 6'5", 213 lbs (Fort Lupton, CO)
WR Damien Hayden - 5'11", 193 lbs (Thornton, CO)
CB Jermaine Ruud - 5'11", 183 lbs (Garden Grove, CA)

*** Prospects:
QB Rodney Wright - 6'4", 180 lbs (Columbine, CO)
FB Aaron Neal - 6'2", 243 lbs (Tracy, CA)
HB Jeremy Parker - 6'1", 206 lbs (Cottonwood Creek, UT)

** Prospects:
WR David West - 5'11", 170 lbs (The Pinery, CO)
SS Mike Dixon - 5'11", 198 lbs (Southglenn, CO)
OLB Jason Mullins - 6'4", 231 lbs (Cimarron Hills, CO)
OLB Jay Cole - 6'1", 232 lbs (Casa de Oro, CA)
ATH Antonio Suttton - 6'0", 231 lbs (Fountain, CO)
G Titus Martin - 6'2", 306 lbs (Sheridan, CO)
DT Matt Mueller - 6'4", 265 lbs (Cottonwood Creek, UT)
CB Chase Brooks - 5'9", 160 lbs (Lindon, UT)
CB Junior Williams - 6'0", 172 lbs (Holbrook, AZ)
T Jared Poland - 6'3", 336 lbs (Midwest City, OK)
TE Justin Torres - 6'4", 229 lbs (Alamosa, CO)
OLB Jason Brigham - 5'10", 194 lbs (London, KY)
QB Brian Watts - 6"2, 210 lbs (Cimarron Hills, CO)
DT Scott Seymour - 6'1", 291 lbs (Grantsville, UT)

* Prospects:
G Seth Joseph - 6'2", 296 lbs (Ken Caryl, CO)
T Charles Moore - 6'8", 295 lbs (Buhl, ID)
T David Garrison - 6'4", 322 lbs (Steamboat Springs, CO)
T David Smith - 6'6", 337 lbs (Southlake, TX)
DT Tyrone Brown - 6'7", 322 lbs (Lindon, UT)

[Ironhead]

In a tightly contested matchup Colorado did just enough to hold off their bitter rival Colorado State to walk away with a 21-17 win. Neither offense shined in this game while both defenses turned in solid games. Colorado State's defense held starting tailback Hugh Charles to only 30 yards on 17 carries. The difference in the game was Colorado State inability to pick up some key 3rd down conversions when they had managed to get beyond the 50 yard line.

Game Balls: CSU MLB Jeff Horinek - Had an incredibly active day on defense racking up 12 tackles and 1 sack. CSU DT Blake Smith - Met the quarterback in the backfield twice. CSU FS Klint Kubiak - Jumped a pass in the 3rd quarter and took it to the house to bring the Rams within striking distance. CU QB Cody Hawkins - Played well and finished 18-28 for 223, 1 TD and 2 INTs. Added 38 yards and a 1 TD on the ground on 9 runs. CU OLB Jake Duren - Much like Horinek was everywhere in the running game. Finished with 10 tackles and a sack.

GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE

78 YD TD Pass from Hanie to Hill

20 YD TD Pass from Hawkins to Sprague

[DeToxRox]

Fantastic! Keep it up.

[Blade6119]

Love the format, really nice on the eyes

[MizzouRah]

That's the best layout I've ever seen for a console dynasty.

Seems like a lot of work, hope you keep up as I'll be following.

[MJ4H]

UN

BEE

LEE

VU

BUL

[Ironhead]

Week 2 Preview

#21 Cal (0-1) vs Colorado State (0-1)

	Corso Picks:	Herbstreit Picks:

This week pits two teams against each other that are licking their wounds following tough losses against good competition. While most teams in the Top 25 played complete fluff opponents Cal took a much more difficult route and matched up against Tennesse, losing 34-31. The Bears' offense is a pro style system built around speed. The big playmaker is All-American wideout DeSean Jackson (6'0", 166 lbs). Jackson is an incredible explosive player both on offense and in the return game. He will create huge mismatch problems all game long. The man throwing him the ball is junior quarterback Nate Longshore (6'5", 233 lbs). Longshore is no threat in the running game, but the defense will have to worries about his big, accurate arm all game long. The man responsible for moving the chains on the ground with Marshawn Lynch moving on to the No Fun League is junior tailback Justin Forsett (5'8", 186 lbs). Forsett isn't going to bowl anyone over but he is an elusive runner with homerun play potential. The offensive line is big, strong, talented and is a huge matchup issue with Colorado State's undersized defensive line. Cal is not as stacked on defense as they are on offense but they will still make Colorado State earn every inch on the field. Given that Colorado State has more of an "up the gut" running style the most interesting matchup is in the middle. The interior of Colorado State's is going to have to find a way to neutralize senior defensive tackle Matt Malele (6'1", 335 lbs). Malele is a big boy on that line and will play a huge role in how successful the Rams are on the ground. If the ground game doesn't get going early look for Colorado State to try and pick on sophomore cornerback Jesse Brooks (5'11", 184 lbs). It will be difficult because at all time he should have help from All-American free safety Thomas DeCoud (6'2", 195 lbs). As big as a win in this game would be for the Rams I just see the Cal offense being too much to handle. Prediction: Cal 40 - Colorado State 17

[Ironhead]

A four quarter defensive battle turned into a four period overtime shootout at Fort Collins with the Golden Bears able to dig into the well just one more time than the Rams. The Rams looked like they had a good chance to take the game in regular time until a botched screen play gave Cal excellent field position to start the 4th quarter. Both offenses stood tall in overtime, with CSU quarterback Caleb Hanie and Cal RB Justin Forsett playing heroics. Hanie, who was battered and beaten all game long behind a very young offensive line, stood tall in the pocket and came through in the clutch in overtime. With the Rams looking down and out Hanie twice came up with a big play, converting a 3rd and 15 for a TD and a 4th and 7 needing a TD to stay in the game. The Rams defense contained RB Justin Forsett for most of the game, but the kid ran the ball hard down near the goalline and wriggled his team into the endzone. Can't say I didn't want this one badly, but I have to tip my cap to Cal.

Game Balls: CSU QB Caleb Hanie - Finished 20 of 35 for 277 yards with 3 TDs and 2 picks. Was absolutely abused by Cal's defensive line, getting sacked 10 times, but kept his head high and almost lead his team to an upset. Cal HB Justin Forsett - Finished the game with 82 yards on 29 carries and 3 TDs. Turned his game up another notch when it counted. Cal QB Nate Longshore - Finished 21 of 30 for 186, 2 TDs and 1 pick. CSU TE Kory Sperry - 8 receptions for 100 yards and 1 TD on a 4th and 7 must score play in overtime. Cal WR DeSean Jackson - 6 receptions for 81 yards and 1 TD. The TD was an absolute toe dragger on the endline of the endzone that was originally ruled out of bounds. The call was overturned on review. (note: because the game originally call the play an incompletion it didn't save the replay, and therefore I could not make a highlight of it). Cal Offensive & Defense Line - Dominated my offensive line with 10 sacks, and the offensive line didn't allow a sack all game.

GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE

56 YD Pass from Hanie to Bell

Botched Screen to Start the 4th Quarter

15 YD TD Pass from Hanie to Hill on 3rd & 15

Game Winning TD Run by Forsett in 4th OT

[Ironhead]

No game this week so it is a perfect time for… Recruiting Update Things looked a little scary after the first week of the season. I thought I pissed off a couple of the recruits I wanted that were already a notch above our general program level. In general I just wasn’t sure I was making the right choices but things are really looking up after the second week. Hot Prospects CB Jermaine Ruud (****, #234 Ranked Prospect) Garden Grove, CA 5’11”, 183 lbs Scholarship Offered Excellent physical ability. Plays with sound technique in both man and zone coverage. Impressive instincts for a youngster. Would easily be the #1 corner next season with both starters and the nickel corner graduating. Things Working in our Favor: Early playing time is incredibly important to him, and he will get a hell of a lot of it at CSU. It sounds like his dad is a huge college football fan and will be a guiding hand in where his son plays ball. Should set up some time for Coach Lubick to talk to Jermaine’s father when they visit. Things working against us: A big talent in a big state with a lot of big schools. Has narrowed his top 5 teams down to Texas A&M, UCLA, USC, Colorado State and Cal. Current Scheduled Visits: CSU (Wk 6), UCLA (Wk 11), Texas A&M (Wk 13), USC (Wk 14) WR Chris Means (****, #250 Ranked Prospect) Fort Lupton, CO 6’5”, 213 lbs Scholarship Offered Lanky receiver with above average timed speed. Soft hands and good body control going up for the catch.. Runs good routes. Has not learned how to use his natural size advantage in press coverage – can get tangled up with the corner. Has a tendency to take plays off when not involved in the flow of the offense. Things Working in our Favor: Right now we are just heads and shoulders above anyone else as far as his interest goes. We are the only college to offer him a scholarship so far – it might just be that no one else has be actively pursuing him…yet. Things working against us: Nothing so far. Current Scheduled Visits: CSU (Wk 7) QB Rodney Wright (***, #740 Ranked Prospect) Columbine, CO 6’4”, 180 lbs Scholarship Offered Jack of all trades, master of none. Good fit for an option oriented offense. Good timed speed – more of an athlete than a quarterback. Can make the short throws with good touch – needs to work on his velocity and accuracy on the intermediate passes. Will never be a threat to launch the ball downfield. Things working in our favor: Location, location, location. Grew up as Colorado State was having many successful season so he is familiar with the program and is confident that we are committed to excellence. Was able to convince him that coach Lubick’s experience is second to none and that he should consider it more heavily into his final decision. Things working against us: Nothing so far. Kansas State has also offered him a scholarship but we seem to be the college that has his attention right now. Current Scheduled Visits: CSU (Wk 7 – want to have him at the Air Force rivalry game. It is an interstate rivalry and he sounds like a Colorado guy through and through). HB Jeremy Parker (***, #412 Ranked Prospect) Cottonwood Creek, UT 6’1”, 206 lbs Scholarship Offered Elusive back with a mix of power. Has good burst and change of direction through the line but lacks top end speed. Has moves on moves – very difficult to tackle in open space. Could do a better job securing the ball. Not much more than an emergency checkdown in the passing game. Things working in our favor: Academics are important to him as well as playing for a well known coach. Things working against us: He has been impressed by what we have to offer so far but we haven’t swept him away yet. I get the feeling that he would rather play for a team in a BCS conference. Despite the fact that academics are important to him he is coming to college to play football above all else. Current Scheduled Visits: CSU (Wk 9 – I want him at the Utah game because they are one of the top two teams in the MWC. I need to show that while we aren’t a BCS conference the competition is still very good. FB Aaron Neal (***, #462 Ranked Prospect) Tracy, CA 6’2”, 243 lbs Scholarship Offered Good fullback for an option system. Moves well for a big man and runs with the football like a tailback. Ideally could spend more time in the weight room. For a back of his size would like to see him run the ball with more authority. In general an average blocker in the run game but when he does line his man up he can deliver crushing lead blocks. Things working in our favor: We score high in many of his key concerns – academics, program stability and early playing time. Things working against us: Going up against the heaviest hitter of them all – USC. We are about neck and neck with USC right now. He is also interested in Kansas State, UCLA, Oregon and Nebraska. Current Scheduled Visits: CSU (Wk 6 – Need to get in front of this kid and hammer our message home before he gets swept up by USC), Kansas State (Wk 6), Oregon (Wk 10), USC (Wk 14). Other Prospects WR David West (**, 5’11” 170 lbs, Scholarship offered) – Above average speed. Projects as slot receiver. CB Junior Williams (**, 6’0” 172 lbs, Scholarship offered) – Not a physical wonderkid but could be a good nickel corner with good coaching OLB Jason Mullins (**, 6’4” 231 lbs, Scholarship offered) – Good wrap up tackler for a youngster. Despite size projects as more of a weakside linebacker. OLB Stephen Arnold (**, 6’5” 210 lbs, Scholarship offered) – Excellent speed at linebacker with good instincts diagnosing plays. Displays the ability to cover in man to man. Could possibly play strong safety. Visting week 13 during the Wyoming game. TE Justin Torres (**, 6’4 229 lbs, Scholarship offered) – Local kid, doesn’t seem to excel at much. We’ll see what we can do with him. Visting week 12 during the Georgia Southern game. CB Chase Brooks (**, 5’9” 160 lbs, Scholarship offered) – Quick little guy with adequate cover skills. Will not add anything in run support. DT Matt Mueller (**, 6’4” 265 lbs, Scholarship offered) – Not crazy about the kid, but we need bodies in the middle and he wants to play for us. OT Charles Moore (*, 6’8” 295 lbs) – I get a real sleeper feeling from this kid. I think scouts are selling him short. Has quick feet and is a bully in both the passing and running game. Uses his long arms well to redirect his man. I want to turn up the heat on recruiting him next week. Intentionally dropped from recruiting WR Damien Hayden (****, 5’11” 193 lbs) – Was getting a negative vibe from this kid. I just know because I stopped recruiting him he will somehow end up at Colorado though. Time to prepare for what seems to be shaping up as a must win game against Houston to get this season going.

[BYU 14]

Awesome format, how did you set up the Game summary screen, it is incredibly clean.

[Ironhead]

Most of the text formating is done through excel and turned into images so I don't have to fiddle with board code. It wouldn't be so bad if the board was more friendly with line breaks in HTML. At this point I have most things I want to do saved in templates and it's not too time consuming to just manipulate a template.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Ironhead

Most of the text formating is done through excel and turned into images so I don't have to fiddle with board code. It wouldn't be so bad if the board was more friendly with line breaks in HTML. At this point I have most things I want to do saved in templates and it's not too time consuming to just manipulate a template.

Very nice, I have to tell you if I start a 2008 Dynasty I am stealing your format ideas

[Ironhead]

Week 4 Preview

Colorado State (0-2) vs Houston (1-1)

	Corso Picks:	Herbstreit Picks:

Houston has a much better team than I anticipated. Not many young players are starting on this team - almost all starters have been on the team for four years. Houston's offense passes the ball, and then after that passes the ball some more. The man at the helm of the offense is sophomore quarterback Blake Joseph (6'1", 195 lbs). Joseph stepped in after Kevin Kolb graduated and entered the NFL Draft last and has played well so far. Blake has room to grow as a passer but is good enough to lead the offense right now. The man in the backfield is Anthony Aldrige (5'9", 170 lbs). Aldrige is a darty back who catches the ball well and adds an extra dimension in the passing game. Much like the Rams the Cougars have a trio of good senior wideouts. Not much speed at the position, but Jeron Harvey (6'5", 215 lbs) is a big target on the outside and creates a serious matchup problem for Colorado State's smaller cornerbacks. Look for tight end Mark Hafner (6'3, 230 lbs) to get involved in the passing game as well. The quarterback's blindside will be well protected by a talented left side of the offensive line. Houston's o-line is not particularly big but they are very quick and good at blocking in space on screens. Houston runs a 3-4 defense and has a very talented linebacking corps. The linebackers are very quick and defensive captain Trent Allen (6'2, 244 lbs) is the hammer in the middle. This game will be a big test for an offensive line that gave up 10 sacks last week against Cal. Not all the responsibility is on the line though - quarterback Caleb Hanie will need to do a very good job of reading the defense and adjusting the protection to account for Houston's blitzing linebackers. The cornerbacks and secondary are quick but Colorado State might have some passing success if they can neutralize the pressure from the front 7. Prediction: The Rams defense hangs tough against Houston's passing attack and does just enough on offense to eek out a win. Colorado State 20 - Houston 17

[Ironhead]

Ad equal parts good defense and sloppy offense and what do you get? A lopsided score with a side of turnovers. Houston turned the ball over 5 times (3 lost fumbles, 2 interceptions) and the Rams immediately turned three of those turnovers into defensive touchdowns. On offense the Rams finally saw the Kyle Bell of old as he barreled over tacklers en route to 140 lbs rushing on 19 carries. The offensive line had issues in pass protection again, giving up 6 sacks on only 18 passing attempts. Overall this looks to be a good momentum builder going into the start of conference play and one that Houston will want to forget.

Game Balls: CSU CB Darryl Williams - The senior had an amazing day. Get ready for this: 1 INT for a touchdown and 3 forced fumbles. It doesn't get much better than that. CSU RB Kyle Bell - 140 yards on 19 carries with 1 TD. 101 yards after contact. Put the ball on the ground twice though. CSU DE Jesse Nading and ILB Jeff Horinek - Each chipped in a defensive touchdowns with Johnny on the Spot fumble recoveries. HOU DE Phillip Hunt - Owned his man this game. 8 tackles, 3 sacks and a batted pass.

GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE

Kyle Bell 60 YD TD Run

Luke Roberts 25 YD TD Pass from Hanie

[Ironhead]

Week 5 Preview

Colorado State (1-2) vs #23 TCU (3-1)

	Corso Picks:	Herbstreit Picks:

Week 5 marks the opening of conference play for the Rams as they travel to Fort Worth to take on #23 ranked TCU. The Horned Frogs only loss this early season came by way of a 45-13 beatdown at the hands of Texas. TCU is on a hotstreak on offense after putting up 71 points in their last 2 games. The kid at QB is sophomore Marcus Jackson (6'1", 216 lbs). Jackson is a mobile QB who runs the option well and has a strong enough arm to get the ball downfield. The main cog in the offense is junior RB Aaron Brown (6'1", 196 lbs). Brown is a quick tailback who has the ability to play a little physical. TCU has a fast receiving core that is led by senior wideout Ervin Dickerson (6'1", 200 lbs). There is not an exceptional amount of talent on the offensive line - about par for the MWC and maybe a tad undersized. Where this team really shines is on defense. The team runs a 4-2-5 defense and is very fast. The Horned Frogs defense have two first team all-conference pass rushers in Tommy Blake and Chase Ortiz. Blake, who looks the part to play on Sundays next season, is a converted running back who gets to quarterback with a combination of speed, power and sheer determination. The linebackers are talented, but Colorado State should have some success getting through the softer middle of the defensive line. If TCU has to commit 8 men to stop the run look for the Rams to test the two starting corners with the deep ball. This should be a fun game, but I think TCU will have a little more oomph in the second half of this game and pull away with the win. Prediction: Colorado State 20 - TCU 30

[BYU 14]

I hate TCU, hopefully Bell has another big game for you.

Let my know how OL Shelley Smith does for you if you get a chance. He played for us at Westview.

[Ironhead]

Coloardo State's passing game came to life in the second quarter and the Rams never looked back, winning in pretty comfortable fashion. QB Caleb Hanie had an excellent game, completing 17-27 passes for 286 yards and 2 touchdowns. His big target on the day was senior WR Johnny Walker who hauled in 7 passes for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns. RB Kyle Bell left the game halfway through the second quarter due to an undisclosed injury and did not return. After the game the team advised that he should be ready to play again next week. TCU looked like world beaters on their opening drive. They marched down the field with an excellent mixture of running and passing. Despite moving the ball on drives the rest of the game TCU just never seemed to show the fire they had on their opening drive. It was as if when the Rams dropped 17 points on them in the 2nd quarter they were a bit shocked.

Game Balls: CSU QB Caleb Hanie - By far his best game this year. 17 of 27 for 286 yards, 2 TDs and 0 picks. CSU WR Johnny Walker - Excellent game. 7 receptionsf or 146 yards and 2 touchdowns. In addition to the 2 touchdowns caught two key 3rd down catches. CSU DT Blake Smith - The senior is showing why he is considered an All-Conference player. Added 3 sacks to his yearly total. TCU WR Marcus Brock - Had a nice game with 7 receptions for 106 yards and 1 TD. Caught a short pass, slipped by the corner and took the ball 60 yards for the score. TCU DE Chase Ortiz - Made life miserable for the right tackle all day. 9 tackles, 2 sacks and 1 forced fumble.

GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE

TCU scores on opening drive with a nice run

Johnny Walker 69 YD TD Pass from Caleb Hanie

Johnny Walker 29 YD TD Pass from Caleb Hanie

BYU14: Shelley Smith is currently "providing depth" at left guard. I don't see him getting much playing time this year as he is a liability in pass protection. Based on how my recruiting is going I see myself switching to primarily an option based offense next year. Didn't mean for it to happen that way - just how the cards are playing out. I think Smith will have a much better shot to crack the starting lineup then.

To All: Thanks to everyone who is reading so far. I removed the embeded gameplay videos because all that flash was already causing my computer to freeze up when loading the page. From now on I will just link to the videos.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Ironhead

BYU14: Shelley Smith is currently "providing depth" at left guard. I don't see him getting much playing time this year as he is a liability in pass protection. Based on how my recruiting is going I see myself switching to primarily an option based offense next year. Didn't mean for it to happen that way - just how the cards are playing out. I think Smith will have a much better shot to crack the starting lineup then.

Guess you can blame us since we run the Wing-T, he never had to pass block in High School

Looks like we will get to the BYU/CSU game about the same time, will be interesting to compare notes.

Nice win over TCU!

[Ironhead]

Week 6 Preview

San Diego State (4-0) vs Colorado State (2-2)

	Corso Picks:	Herbstreit Picks:

Prospects in Attendance CB Jermaine Ruud (****, 5'11" 183 lbs - Garden Grove, CA) FB Aaron Neal (***, 6'2" 243 lbs - Tracy, CA) I am trying to pull a renegade mission and steal both of these guys from USC. My ammunition is immediate playing time and both are eating it up. I am still neck and neck with USC to snag either of them but they don't visit USC until Week 14. With a good showing this week I think I have a good chance to get Neal to commit to our program. I think Ruud is unlikely to commit before taking all of his visit. From here on out I will have recruits visiting during every home game with a slew of them in attendance at next weeks rivalry game against Air Force. Game Preview San Diego State is all about offense. They are loaded with weapons and talent on the offensive side of the ball and it starts at quarterback with senior Kevin O'Connell (6'6' 225 lbs). O'Connell has a strong arm and enough mobility to move around in the pocket. In four games he has averaged 325 yards passing with 16 touchdowns and is completing 65% of his passes. He has also added 204 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns on the ground. The man toting the ball is senior Brandon Bornes (6'1" 225 lbs). Bornes has a good good blend of power and speed and is a load to bring down. The offensive line is big and talented and should provide plenty of room to run. San Diego State's wide receiver corps is much like Colorado State's: big, strong great at catching the ball but not speed demons. The Aztecs have about 50 billion tight ends on the roster, all of them talented but the man getting the starting nod is junior Lance Louis. Really not much to write home about on defense. The d-line is a little undersized, especially at left end where starter Brian Stanbra only weighs in at 220 lbs. Look for Colorado State to follow the same gameplan from last week - establish the run early to force San Diego State's pair of fast safeties to cheat up to the line, then try to hit a homerun ball. I have not had a ton of success with play action so far but I get the feeling it could lead to some big plays in this game. This should be a shootout, but I think my defense will be better at putting an end to one or two more scoring drives than San Diego State. Prediction: San Diego State 30 - Colorado State 37

[Ironhead]

In a tight contest Colorado State did just enough to hold off a late game drive by the Aztecs to preserve a 26-24 victory. Both teams were evenly matched throughout the game but Colorado State kicker Durrell Chamorro was able to redeem an earlier missed extra point by hitting a 38 yd field goal to put the Rams ahead for good. The Aztecs ran the ball very well all game but their hot passing attack cooled off in the second half of the game. For the third game in a row Rams running back Kyle Bell missed significant playing time due to injury. An injury report released by the team after the game lists him with a broken finger - he is expected to miss 3 games. QB Caleb Hanie had another fine day at quarterback, completing almost 70% of his passes and adding 2 more touchdowns. An unexpected spark plug this season has been slot receiver George Hill who caught his third touchdown of the season - two of which have been for over 60 yards.

Game Balls: CSU QB Caleb Hanie - Another solid performance despite continued sloppy pass protection. Finished 18-26 for 211, 2 TDs and 1 pick. SDSU HB Brandon Bornes - Ran hard and was tough to bring down. Finished with 125 yards on 23 carries with 1 touchdown. SDSU WR Brett Swain - Had two great touchdown catches on the day. Finished with 4 receptions for 72 yards and 2 TDs. CSU WR George Hill - Great individual effort to take a short pass and turn it into a long touchdown. CSU WR Johnny Walker - Seems to be regaining the great repoire he had with Hanie last season. 7 receptions for 71 yards. CSU CB Darryl Williams - Forget All-Conference honors. This guy might be pushing for a national award if he keeps his play up. 8 tackles, 1 INT, 3 deflections and another forced fumble.

GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE

QB Caleb Hanie hooks up with backup TE Chris Kawulok in the endzone

WR Brett Swain takes a short O'Connell pass to the house

WR Brett Swain scores his second touchdown with a nice one handed snag

WR George Hill eludes two tackles and runs by the defense for the TD

It seems a little unusual to have seven different teams receive a vote for first place in the poll. It makes me wonder what kind of hell would break loose if USC and Michigan were to lose. Strange that LSU was able to beat Florida but yet they didn't get a single first place vote. Nice to see things starting to heat up here after a very dull first couple of weeks in the Top 25.

Recruiting Visit Recap

Both CB Jermaine Ruud and FB Aaron Neal had a great time on their visit to Fort Collins. If I had to put a grade to it I would say it was a B+. Despite their great visit and all of the effort I have put into recruiting both of them neither was willing to give me a commitment right now. I am defo the top dog on their board right now. Just worried what will happen if they visit USC.

[Ironhead]

What started off a closely played game turned into a blowout with Colorado State finishing off rival Air Force Academy by a final score of 48-20. Air Force held a 17-7 lead with under 2 minutes left in the first half but the Rams grabbed the momentum by scoring three times in the final two minutes. The man of the day was absolutely hands down Alex Square. The diminutive running back, listed at a generous 5'9" and 170 lbs, broke off two fine runs from scrimmage. QB Caleb Hanie and slot receiver George Hill continued their good chemistry this season as Hill added another 5 catches and his 4th touchdown grab of the season. On defense the Rams continue to get excellent play from their senior cornerbacks. Darryl Williams sealed his position as an All-American candidate when he returned an interception 100 yards in the 4th quarter. Junior DE Wade Landers added 2 sacks after the 2nd team defense came into the game in the 4th quarter.

Game Balls: CSU HB Alex Square - Provided a spark in the running game that has been missing all season long. 20 carries for 177 yards and 3 touchdowns. CSU QB Caleb Hanie - Continued his fine play and finished 14-22 for 167 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT. CSU WR George Hill - Added another 5 catches for 99 yards and 1 TD to his yearly total. Hill is almost filling a "6th man" role on offense. It seems that whenever the offense needs a lift he comes on the field and makes it happen. CSU CBs Jermaine Walter and Darryl Williams - Walters had an active day on defense, finishing with 8 tackles and 2 INTs. Williams played his usual solid game and had a 100 yd INT return in the 4th quarter.

GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE

HB Alex Square squeezes through the blockers and sprints 27 yards for the TD

HB Alex Square takes the draw play 78 yards to the house

WR George Hill turns a short out pass into a 38 yd TD

Recruiting Update
From a recruiting standpoint the game was huge success as 4 of my top prospects attended the game. All 4 prospects graded the visit as an A-. No one has had the gumption to commit to our program yet though.

[Coffee Warlord]

Lose lose lose! Lose more! Then lose more!

Fuck em up, fuck em up, go CU!

I'm done now.

[Coffee Warlord]

...no, I'm not done. This *is* CSU we're talking about.

DIE!

(Side note, gorgeously presented dynasty. Too bad you picked the worst team possible. )

[Ironhead]

UNLV quarterback Rocky Hinds was a little unsure what color his own jersey was in this one as he heaved up 5 interceptions on the day. The Rams offense kept things short, sweet and to the point as they just looked to not lose this thing. No outstanding games from anyone on either side, but TE Kory Sperry and RB Alex Square put up solid numbers in the win. The Rams defense continues to have great success on the season, especially against the running game.

Game Balls: CSU TE Kory Sperry - Ran mostly short routes in this one to help keep the chains moving just enough. Finished with 8 catches for 67 yards and 1 TD. CSU RB Alex Square - End numbers look more impressive than the actual effort. Finished with 21 carries for 106 yards and 1 TD. 44 of those yards came on a run late in the 4th quarter.

GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE

TE Kory Sperry uses his height to catch a 24 yard TD pass from the slot

Another upset loss for West Virginia and Co. No injuries to their team - they simply haven't lived up to the hype. Should see some movement in the Top 25 next week as there will be five games that involve ranked teams playing each other and a few other games I have upsets potential.

Recruiting Update
Booya! 3 of my top 5 recruits have given soft commitments to our program. Time to convince four star CB Jermaine Ruud (my top recruit) and three star FB Aaron Neal that they don't want to take their visit to USC.

I am still working on the same general group of recruits that I previously reported on. I dropped a few that I just wasn't getting a good feeling from. Two of the more interesting recruits that I started calling are punter Kenny Beck and tackle Jimmy Murphy, both from Louisiana. Beck is listed as a one star prospect and isn't going to boom the ball from endzone to endzone but he does run a 4.22 forty! I don't know, I might try to recruit him and see if he can convert to a different position. Jimmy Murphy is not large enough to play tackle, probably for a year or two (6'3", 239 lbs). He has quick feet and good strength though - I think there could be some kind of possibilty of him moving to fullback. I would like to look at him at possibly tight end and defense end as well.


Coffee Warlord:
Damn shame those Buffs are 3-5 so far this year. The bastards will still probably pull in a better recruiting class than us though.

[Ironhead]

A Utah team that has struggled to win the close games this year finally came out on top. Utah's offense was clicking all game long both through the air and on the ground and they protected the ball well. Colorado State mounted a valiant effort in the fourth quarter led by quarterback Caleb Hanie. The magic ran out in overtime though, as Hanie was sacked and fumbled on the final play of the game. Running back Kyle Bell continues to struggle with injury problems and once again had to the leave the contest early. Despite the loss Colorado State is still on top of the MWC with a 4-1 conference record and a head to head win over UNLV (als with a 4-1 record).

Game Balls: Utah QB Brian Johnson - Guy was freaking money all game long. Finished 21 of 33, 304 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT. Added 54 yards on the ground on the ground on 14 carries. Utah HB Darryl Poston - 17 carries, 85 yards, 2 TDs. Utah DT Gabe Long - The big guy had 2 sacks on a day. CSU QB Caleb Hanie - He made a few bad passes early on but got red hot at the end of the game. Finished 26 of 47 for 334 yards, 3 TDs and 3 picks. In a welcome change the offensive line kept him vertical most of the game as he was only sacked twice. CSU TE Kory Sperry - The senior continued his fine production on offense by adding 5 catches for 125 yards and 1 TD. He did have a few key drops late in the game though. CSU DE Bob Vomhof - He is quietly having a nice season but his play stood out in this one. Ended the day with 4 tackles (2 for loss), 1 sack, 1 int and 1 huge forced fumble late in the 4th quarter when Utah had a chance to put the game away.

Run some extra laps kid: CSU CB Joey Rucks - Yikes he was beaten badly and often in this game. He gave up two of the passing touchdowns playing and several other long gains.

GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE

10 yard TD pass from Hanie to Walker

79 yard TD pass from Hanie to Sperry. Excellent blocking made this one possible.

Great option run by Utah to put them up 30-27.

RB Darryl Poston with an excellent 25 TD scamper in OT

Lots of movement in the rankings this week. USC continues to dominate but they still have games left against Cal and UCLA. Michigan has a tough schedule the next three weeks as they play Michigan State, Wisconsin and Ohio State.

Recruiting Update:
We received our first hard commit!



Despite the fact that the game against Utah was very exciting my recruits in attendance only graded their visit a "C". My most desired prospects have already visited so this won't have that big of an impact.

[BYU 14]

Nice comeback, sucks to lose to the hated School up North though

[Icy]

Wow i missed this dynasty until today and i'm really impressed. The format is incredible nice.

I tried something like that in my "The Latin bulldozer diary" past year but it was too time consumming and i ended tired of it and leaving it not updated.

[Ironhead]

The Rams took a 24-7 lead into the half and never looked back in this one. The victory for this game belongs to the offensive and defensive line. Simply put they were more physical and more determined that their counterparts in this one. The Rams finished the game with 130 yards rushing. All three rushing touchdowns came inside the 10 yard line which has been an area the team has struggled on offense all season. Definitely aiding to that ground attack was the fact that RB Kyle Bell was able to make it though the entire game without injury. For a change this season it was the opposing teams offensive line that was unable to cope with the pass rush. Junior defensive tackle Matt Rupp had a huge game in the middle of the line as he picked up 4 sacks after a relatively quiet season so far. Cornerback Darryl Williams continued building his draft buzz as he picked off two more passes in the game. Special teams were a little sloppy in this one, especially the kicking game. Between the two teams the placekickers were 1 of 5 and also missed an extra point. The one that made it over was a beauty though - a 51 yard frozen rope that skimmed the crossbar and went over. The Rams will go on to face the New Mexico Lobos (4-5) in Albuquerque, NM next week. It doesn't get any easier for BYU as they try to salvage something out of a very disappointing season as they face TCU (5-4).

Game Balls: CSU RB Kyle Bell - Welcome back Healthy Mr. Bell...while it lasts. 24 carries for 125 yards and 3 TDs. CSU DT Matt Rupp - Controlled the middle of the line and surely created some bad blood for when these teams meet next year. Finished the game with 6 tackles, 4 sacks and 1 forced fumble. CSU CB Darryl Williams - Continued his lights out play by picking off another 2 passes and returning 1 for a TD. BYU RB/FB Fui Vakapuna - Did not have a good day on the ground but was a good outlet in the passing game. Added 7 receptions for 73 yards. BYU MLB Markell Steffieri - Had a very good day in the middle. 8 tackles, 1 sack and 1 INT returned for a touchdown.

GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE

CB Darryl Williams jumps a quick pass and takes it 25 yards to the house

PK Durrell Chamorro hits a 51 yarder that scrapes over the crossbar, his longest kick of the season

WR Johnny Walker makes a great adjustment on an overthrown ball for the one handed TD catch

Big upset by Arizona this week. Maybe it will motivate UCLA to play their hearts out against USC. Tons of movement in the lower half of the rankings this week and several close calls for ranked teams.

Recruiting Update:

Oh yeah baby. Say hello to our future #1 corner and the man who will single drastically improve our redzone offense. Both are 4 star prospects (the only ones I went after). I have a couple of 3 star prospects left on the board but after that it is mostly 2 and 1 star players. I am pretty happy with the direction that recruiting has gone so far.


Award Semifinalists Announced
Two Rams are getting some national notice for their great play on defense this season.

Senior DE Jessie Nading is listed 5th in the running for the Lombardi Award. That a little surprising but he has definitely been a key part of the defense so far. Through 9 games he has racked up 41 tackles (14 for loss), 5 sacks, 1 INT and 3 fumble recoveries.

Not surprising that CB Darryl Williams is right near the top of the running for the Thorpe. Just an excellent season so far. 55 tackles, 6 INTs, 7 passes defensed, 4 forced fumbles and 3 defensive touchdowns.


Heisman Watch

• Texas QB Colt McCoy (SO) - 151 of 269, 2380 yards, 27 tds, 9 ints, 488 yards rushing, 4 rushing tds, 156.9 rating
• Michigan RB Mike Hart (SR) - 148 carries, 768 yards, 11 tds, 22 receptions for 544 yards and 6 tds
• Ohio State QB Todd Boeckman (JR) - 196 of 315, 2522 yards, 30 tds, 12 ints, 4 rushing TDs, 153.3 rating
• USC QB John David Booty (SR) - 196 of 300, 2890 yards, 28 tds, 11 ints, 169.7 rating
• Florida RB Kehstahn Moore (JR) - 116 carries for 625 yards, 6 tds, 28 receptions for 476 yards and 9 tds

McFadden is getting screwed if you ask me. He has the 3rd most rushing yards in the nation and 16 rushing tds and Arkansas ranked 5th in the nation.

[BYU 14]

I like my result better 2-6 for the Cougars??? Damn! Have they had a lot of injuires or is Hall just having a bad year?

[Ironhead]

Ugh. Where to start. The protection from the offensive line was terrible. Whenever we had opportunites to take the lead they were squandered. For the second straight week the kicking game has been miserable. But hey, were still leading the glorious MWC. Right? Right?!?!? Ahem. The defense continues to play well but seems to get worn down in the fourth quarter. For the past several games they have held pretty stout in run defense only to give up several 20+ yard carries in the 4th. Still, I don't have many concerns about this unit.

Game Balls: UNM Kendall Briscoe - Sacked Hanie 4 times from his left end position. Ugh. UNM QB Donovan Porterie - The sophomore handled himself very well. Finished 20 of 27 for 254 yards with 1 TD and 2 picks. He has a little mobility but wasn't going anywhere in this game as he had -7 yards on 10 carries. UNM HB Rodney Ferguson - Picked up the yards when they counted and ran hard in the 4th quarter. 107 yards on 19 carries, 1 TD. UNM WR Marcus Smith - The speedy wideout ran a beautiful corner pattern and caught the ball as a diving Darryl Williams couldn't tip the ball away. Finished with 4 receptions for 102 yards and 1 TD. CSU Kory Sperry - Lone bright spot in this one. 8 receptions for 147 yards. He will be missed when he graduates.

Week 12 Sports Illustrated

[Ironhead]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

I like my result better 2-6 for the Cougars??? Damn! Have they had a lot of injuires or is Hall just having a bad year?

No big injuries and Hall isn't doing too bad (236 of 392, 2939 yards, 24 tds and 18 ints) The running game looks pretty bleak though and the team is only averaging about 21 points a game on offense. They lost a couple of close conference games. With a few breaks they could be 4-6 or 5-5. They just got spanked by TCU and now sit at 2-8.

[Ironhead]

Week 12 Game Recap:
Georgia Southern (N/A) vs Colorado State (6-4)

This game was simmed - I didn't want to sit around beating up on a Division IAA team. I have instructed the Athletic Director to schedule only Division IA colleges in the future.

As for the game - it's what you expect. The Rams crushed Georgia Southern 51-7. The game was 35-0 at halftime before the second team was put into the game. QB Caleb Hanie was 12-18 for 151 yards and 4 touchdowns before being pulled for the second team offense. Kyle Bell and Alex Square combined to rush for 204 yards on 26 carries.

Result: Colorado State wins 51-7

Week 13 Sports Illustrated

Next Game: The Border War
Wyoming (4-7) at Colorado State (7-4)

[Ironhead]

Wow, just updated my Xbox 360 connection through my capture card from Composite to S-Video. Based on what I had seen in comparisons online I didn't expect a huge difference in picture quality. The difference is like night and day! Very pumped about this! I feel like I just got a new system all over again!

[Ironhead]

I don't know where to begin. I was already preparing my acceptance speech for the MWC Conference Trophy - we controlled our own destiny and with a win over Wyoming we were good to go.

They socked us in the mouth. We cruised through the first quarter and it looked like the game was going to be a breeze. Then in the second quarter Seldon broke off a long touchdown run and it was all downill from there. I couldn't stop anything on defense. It was truly an incredible performance on their part, but damned if it isn't disheartening.

Lost in all of this is the fact that QB Caleb Hanie broke the school record for passing yards in a single game and passing touchdowns in a season.

Where does this leave us? In second place in the MWC and probably a lowly bowl bid.

Wyoming is so on my list.

Game Balls:

• WYO HB Wynel Seldon - Rare performance. Ran like Sweetness and caught the ball like Bush. 21 carries for 232 yards and 2 rushing touchdowns. 5 receptions for 87 yards and 2 more touchdowns. Broke 18 tackles in the game.
• CSU QB Caleb Hanie - A shame this comes in a losing effort. 25 of 37 for 480 yards, 5 touchdowns and 3 INTs. Hanie has shown himself to be more than a serviceable QB.
• WYO QB Karsten Sween - Chewed up our secondary with a mixture of short and long passes. Finished 26 of 38 for 308 yards, 4 TDs and 1 INT.
• CSU WR Johnny Walker - Made several key grabs including a long catch and run as he got open on a corner blitz. Finished with 5 receptions for 144 yards and 1 TD.
• WYO WR Hoost Marsh - Finished the game with 6 receptions for 97 yards. His long TD came on a short pattern that he broke
• CSU WR Damon Morton - The rarely used 4th wideout came up big in one of his last games as a college athlete. Finished with 6 receptions for 93 yards and 1 TD.

Week 14 Sports Illustrated

[Ironhead]

Recruiting Update
In-season recruiting has wrapped up and I think we were pretty successful. We ended up with 8 commitments and only lost 1 player that I was really gunning for (a receiving tight end that we lost to Kansas).

So far the class of 07/08 looks like this:

**** Stars
CB Jermaine Ruud (5'11" 183 lbs - Garden Grove, CA)
WR Chris Means (6'5" 213 lbs - Fort Lupton, CO)

*** Stars
QB Rodney Wright (6'4" 180 lbs - Columbine, CO)
HB Jeremy Parker (6'1" 206 lbs - Cottonwood Creek, UT)
FB Aaron Neal (6'2" 243 lbs - Tracy, CA)

** Stars
OLB Stephen Arnold (6'5" 210 lbs - North Logan, UT)
DT Matt Mueller (6'4" 265 lbs - Cottonwood Creek, UT)
WR David West (5'11" 170 lbs - The Pinery, CO)

I have a lot more prospects in my sights so offseason recruiting should be interesting.

Bowl Projection
Right now we are projected to kick of the bowl season by playing Northwestern on 12/20 in the Poinsetta Bowl. Northwestern finished the season with a 6-6 record. This is not going to be an easy game as Northwestern gave a couple of tough Big Ten programs all they could handle. They lost to Michigan State in OT and lost to 17th ranked Iowa 42-39.

[BYU 14]

Holy Shit, that Wyoming game was unreal.....They gave me a ton of trouble in my last game (not posted yet) Guess they really get up for rivalry games.

[Ironhead]

2007 HEISMAN WINNER


You can make a really strong case that Booty should have won it. His season line:
262 of 417 for 3837 yards, 37 TDs and 14 INT, Undefeated Season

2007 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS

     ACC: Virginia Tech    (12-1)(8-1)(2nd Conference Championship)
  Big 12: Texas 	   (12-1)(8-1)(3rd Conference Championship)
Big East: Louisville 	   (12-0)(7-0)(2nd Conference Championship)
 Big Ten: Michigan 	   (12-0)(8-0)(43rd Conference Championship)
   C-USA: UCF 		   (10-3)(9-0)(1st Conference Championship)
     MAC: Ball State 	   (12-1)(8-0)(6th Conference Championship)
     MWC: San Diego State  (10-2)(6-2)(1st Conference Championship)
  Pac-10: USC 		   (12-0)(9-0)(37th Conference Championship)
     SEC: LSU 		   (12-1)(9-0)(10th Conference Championship)
Sun Belt: Florida Atlantic (8-4)(6-1)(1st Conference Championship)
     WAC: Hawaii 	   (12-0)(8-0)(3rd Conference Championship)

2007 AWARD RECAP

  	Maxwell Award: RB Mike Hart (SR, Michigan - College Player of the Year)
 Chuck Bednarik Award: MLB Vince Hall (SR, Virginia Tech - Best Defenseman)
  Davey O'Brien Award: QB John David Booty (SR, USC - Best Quarterback)
    Doak Walker Award: RB Jorvorskie Lane (JR, Texas A&M - Best RB)
The Biletnikoff Award: WR Davone Bess (JR, Hawaii - Best Wide Receiver)
    John Mackey Award: TE Fred Davis (SR, USC - Best Tight End)
       Outland Trophy: RT Shannon Boatman (SR, FSU - Best OL)
Dave Rimington Trophy: C David Washington (JR, Oklahoma State - Best C)
       Lombardi Award: DT Terrance Taylor (JR, Michigan - Best DL)
    Dick Butkus Award: MLB Vince Hall (SR, Virginia Tech - Best Linebacker)
     Jim Thorpe Award: CB Darryl Williams (SR, Colorado State - Best DB)
      Lou Groza Award: K Gary Cismesia (SR, FSU - Best Placekicker)
        Ray Guy Award: P Britton Colquitt (JR, Tennessee - Best Punter)
  Best Returner Award: RB Thomas Brown (SR, UGA)

2007 Colorado State Player Recognition:
CB Darryl Williams - Jim Thorpe Award, 1st Team All-American
MLB Jeff Horinek - 2nd Team All-American
RE Jeff Nading - 1st Team All-MWC
DT Matt Rupp - 1st Team All-MWC
DT Blake Smith - 1st Team All-MWC
LE Bob Vomhof - 2nd Team All-MWC
TE Kory Sperry - 2nd Team All-MWC
P Jimmie Kaylor - 2nd Team All-MWC

Wow, tons of recognition on the defensive line. They are definitely a good unit but I personally felt that TCU's defensive line was better than mine.

Next Game:
The Poinsettia Bowl - San Diego, California (Qualcomm Stadium)
Kansas State Wildcats (9-4) versus Colorado State Rams (7-5)

This should be a very difficult game for the Rams. Kansas State is just coming off of a 42-14 thumping in the Big 12 Conference game at the hands of Texas, their second loss to them this season. Their other two losses were to Auburn and Iowa State.

The Poinsettia Bowl is no stranger to Colorado State as they lost to Navy 51-30 in the inaugural Poinsetta Bowl in 2005. This is not the first meeting between the Rams and Wildcats in bowl game action. They previously played in 1995 in the Holiday Bowl and K-State walked away with an easy 54-21 victory. The Rams have an all-time bowl record of 4-7 while the Wildcats have faired a little better with a 6-7 record.

Kansas State's West Coast style offense is run by huge sophomore QB Josh Freeman (6'6" 238 lbs). Freeman has a strong arm but is still struggling as a passer. He has surprising mobility for a player of his size and added 539 yards rushing and 7 touchdowns on the ground. The man toting the rock is senior James Johnson (5'11" 200 lbs). Johnson has an all around balance of power and moves but don't look for him to be used too extensively in the passing game. The receiving corps is tall and atheltic and is led by senior Jordy Nelson (6'2" 213 lbs). Kansas State probably has the largest and most "professional" offensive line the Rams have seen all year.

The defensive line has two guys at end that know how to get to the quarterback. Eric Childs (6'3", 230 lbs) and Ian Campbell (6'5" 232 lbs) combined to sack the quarterback 15 times this season. Despite being a little on the small side for ends both players bring an excellent blend of quickness and power. There shouldn't be much pressure coming up the middle so QB Caleb Hanie will have to be incredibly patient and trust the pocket as it forms around him. Linebacker is not a relative strength. The 'backers are all very quick but also on the small side (about 220 lbs each) and have had trouble wrapping up ball carriers. The secondary is solid and with Colorado State's lack of speed at wideout should be able to take away the deep part of the field.

If the Rams are going to win this one they need to do something that has been a problem all season long: be patient running the football. It hasn't helped that starting RB Kyle Bell has spent about as much time on the sidelines with the trainers as he has on the field. But it will be very important to control the clock and keep moving the chains.

Prediction:
Despite a valiant effort on both sides of the ball the Rams won't have the talent to stay with the big boys. K-State takes this one 30-17.

[Ironhead]

This one wasn't close Rams fans. What an incredibly disappointing way to end the season - my defense, in particular my rushing defense, gets absolutely shredded in back to back games. Whereas the game against Wyoming was just a fabulous display of talent by running back Wynel Seldon this game was all about the offensive line. It didn't matter whether KSU RB James Johnson was running the ball or any other back - the running lanes that K-State's o-line was opening up were enormous. This definitely gives me an edict going into offseason recruiting - get bigger on the defensive line.

Kory Sperry played well in his last game as a Ram and based on this performance alone should get some attention from pro teams in the draft. I wish I could say the same for Caleb Hanie. With the team down big early we had to abandon the run and go into passing mode. Hanie completed less than 50% of his passes on the day and also threw 5 interceptions.

Game Balls

• K-State's Offensive Line - Mauled and I do mean mauled my defensive line. As a unit ended the game with 17 pancake blocks. Just for reference the average number of pancake blocks in a game is about 4 or 5.
• KSU RB James Johnson - This is due in no small part to his offensive line. Finished the game with 28 carries for 280 yards and 3 TDs. Almost half of his rushing yards came without being touched by the defense.
• TE Kory Sperry - Wrapped up a very nice senior season with a 10 reception, 148 yard game that included 2 touchdowns.
• KSU QB Josh Freeman - Was cool and compoised in the pocket. If he can continue this kind of play over the next two years K-State might have something special on their hands. Finished 17 of 26 for 188 yards, 2 TDs and 0 picks.

Season in Review
Week 01: at Colorado 	  L 17-21
Week 02: Cal		  L 35-38 OT
Week 03: - 
Week 04: at Houston	  W 35-10
Week 05: at TCU 	  W 30-17
Week 06: San Diego State  W 26-24
Week 07: Air Force 	  W 48-20
Week 08: at UNLV 	  W 17-3
Week 09: Utah 		  L 30-37 OT
Week 10: at BYU 	  W 37-25
Week 11: at New Mexico 	  L 10-14
Week 12: Georgia Southern W 51-7
Week 13: Wyoming 	  L 51-65
Week 14: -
Poinsettia Bowl: vs Kansas State - L 50-24

Final Record: 7-6 (5-3, 2nd in MWC)
 2006 Record: 4-8 (1-7, 8th in MWC)
 2005 Record: 6-6 (5-3, 3rd in MWC)
 2004 Record: 4-7 (3-4, 6th in MWC)


Passing Stats
QB Caleb Hanie 		226 of 393 (57%), 3070 yards, 28 tds, 24 ints, 62 sacks


Rushing Stats
RB Kyle Bell 		188 att for 844 yards (4.4 avg), 10 TDs, 3 fumbles
RB Alex Square 		99 att for 507 yards (5.1 avg), 5 TDs, 2 fumbles
QB Caleb Hanie		49 att for 153 yards (3.1 avg), 1 TD, 6 fumbles


Receiving Stats
TE Kory Sperry		59 rec for 798 yards, 6 TDs, 7 drops
WR Johnny Walker	40 rec for 682 yards, 6 TDs, 5 drops
WR George Hill		29 rec for 550 yards, 7 TDs, 2 drops
RB Alex Square		20 rec for 160 yards, 0 TDs, 3 drops
RB Kyle Bell		20 rec for 232 yards, 3 TDs, 1 drop
WR Luke Roberts		20 rec for 237 yards, 1 TDs, 5 drops
TE Chris Kawulok	16 rec for 168 yards, 3 TDs, 1 drop
WR Damon Morton		13 rec for 185 yards, 1 TDs, 1 drop
FB Tim LeBlanc		 7 rec for  64 yards, 1 TDs, 2 drops


Offensive Line
RT Dane Stratton	17 pancakes,  7 sacks allowed
RG Adrian Martinez	16 pancakes, 13 sacks allowed
LT Marvin Arnold	12 pancakes,  4 sacks allowed
LG Scott Benedict	 9 pancakes, 10 sacks allowed
 C Nick Allotta		 2 pancakes,  9 sacks allowed


Defense
MLB Jeff Horinek	106 tackles, 20 tfl, 2 sacks, 4 INT,  5 defl, 1 FF, 1 TD
 CB Jermaine Walters	 82 tackles,  4 tfl, 0 sacks, 5 INT, 10 defl, 0 FF
 CB Darryl Williams	 70 tackles,  6 tfl, 0 sacks, 7 INT, 10 defl, 4 FF, 3 TD
 SS Jake Galusha	 60 tackles,  5 tfl, 0 sacks, 2 INT,  3 defl, 2 FF
 DE Jesse Nading	 59 tackles, 18 tfl, 5 sacks, 1 INT,  2 defl, 0 FF, 1 TD
 FS Klint Kubiak	 58 tackles,  2 tfl, 0 sacks, 3 INT,  3 defl, 0 FF, 1 TD
OLB Jake Pottorff	 56 tackles, 10 tfl, 1 sacks, 3 INT,  4 defl, 2 FF
 CB Joey Rucks		 52 tackles,  2 tfl, 0 sacks, 0 INT,  6 defl, 2 FF
 DT Blake Smith		 50 tackles, 15 tfl, 9 sacks, 0 INT,  0 defl, 1 FF
 DE Bob Vomhof		 44 tackles, 13 tfl, 7 sacks, 1 INT,  3 defl, 2 FF
MLB Nathan Pauly	 35 tackles,  4 tfl, 0 sacks, 1 INT,  2 defl, 0 FF
 DT Matt Rupp		 32 tackles, 12 tfl, 7 sacks, 0 INT,  0 defl, 2 FF
 CB DeAngelo Wilkinson	 31 tackles,  1 tfl, 0 sacks, 1 INT,  4 defl, 0 FF
MLB Curtis Cornelson	 17 tackles,  2 tfl, 0 sacks, 0 INT,  2 defl, 0 FF
OLB Sedric Patterson	 15 tackles,  5 tfl, 0 sacks, 0 INT,  0 defl, 1 FF

Kicking
PK Durrell Chamorro	 17 of 26 (65%) FGs, 46 of 48 XPs. Long of 51 yards
 P Jimmie Kaylor	 65 punts for 2896 yards (44.5 avg, 32.2 net).

Up Next:
The Real Fun Begins - Graduation, Recruiting and 2008 Schedule

[Ironhead]

Are people enjoying reading this? I just went through the offseason and the upcoming season is going to be brutal. One way or another I am going to continue the dynasty offline but I wanted to gauge if people will actually be interested in following the misery of the 2-9 season that is likely to follow.

[Groundhog]

Absolutely, I'm coming along for the ride.

[TheDanbom]

Go Rams! The alumni are behind you!

[BigDPW]

I am enjoying this dynasty but mostly by catching up with it every week or so.

[DeToxRox]

Do it up.

[SFL Cat]

Love this stuff...nice change of pace from FOF, TCY or BB

[Ironhead]

Team Prestige
Ouch…despite what I felt was a relatively successful season given that we played a difficult non-conference schedule we dropped from a 3 star prestige team to a 2 star prestige team. Didn’t see that coming at all. This is going to make it much harder to recruit next year.

Colorado State Players Declaring Early for the Draft
My starting Junior ILB Jeff Horinek is having delusions of grandeur and thinks he is ready for the NFL. I sit down with him for 30 minutes to try and explain why we still need him at the program and that with another year of college experience he has a much better chance of being drafted. He tells me, “Sorry Coach, my goal from day one was to make it to the pros. This is my chance.”

Why do I get this sinking feeling that 2008 is going to be a painful season?


Graduating Players
TE Kory Sperry (91 OVR – Starter)
DE Jesse Nading (90 OVR – Starter)
DT Blake Smith (89 OVR – Starter)
CB Darryl Williams (88 OVR – Starter)
C Nick Allotta (86 OVR – Starter)
FB Tim LeBlanc (86 OVR – Starter)
WR Luke Roberts (85 OVR – Starter)
P Jimmie Kaylor (85 OVR – Starter)
QB Caleb Hanie (85 OVR – Starter)
WR Johnny Walker (84 OVR – Starter)
WR George Hill (80 OVR)
DE Bob Vomhof (79 OVR – Starter)
DT Erik Sandie (79 OVR)
WR Damon Morton (78 OVR)
CB Jermaine Walters (78 OVR – Starter)
CB Joey Rucks (78 OVR)
DT Joey Madrid (77 OVR)
LT Marvin Arnold (76 OVR – Starter)
MLB Nathan Pauly (76 OVR)
FS Zac Bryson (75 OVR)

That's a lot of starters and their immediate backups gone...


Transfers
No players have requested transfers to or from Colorado State.


Offseason Recruiting
Pipelines: Colorado, California

Overall recruiting went very well. We pulled in the 45th class in the nation, due mostly to some very good recruiting work during the season. I am a little miffed though because going into the last week of recruiting I still had 10 guys on my board that I wanted. I didn’t get a single one of them – bigger colleges swooped in and took them all, even the 2 and 3 star guys.

As bad luck would have it the lone punter I was recruiting that ran a crazy 4.22 forty speed ended up being academically ineligible. That now leaves us without an actual punter folks.

I also couldn’t manage to pull the string on getting any receiving tight ends or inside linebackers interested in the program. Again, I think this will be a good class but I will likely have to press too many of them into early playing time with so many starters and players graduating.

I only made promises to two players and they should be easy enough to keep. I promised big ole’ offensive tackle Will Bradley (6’6’ 327 lbs) that he wouldn’t redshirt the first year. Depending on how offseason progression goes he might have a shot at starting but in the very least I need him as backup immediately. My other promise was Brandon Lee (6’2” 209), a three star running back from Washington that I started chasing late during in-season recruiting. He seemed to have a good blend of speed, power and receiving skills and I though he would be an immediate upgrade to my backup running back. I promised him he would not redshirt the first year and would see solid playing time.

Top 10 Classes:
1. Texas
2. Texas A&M
3. Auburn
4. Florida State
5. Tennessee
6. Michigan
7. LSU
8. Notre Dame
9. Iowa
10. Ohio State

Roster Moves
I assign Will Bradley to left tackle where his size, strength and pass blocking ability should be put to best use. With the punter I wanted being declared academically ineligible I had to move the 2nd kicker on my roster to punter and he is pretty lousy. I shift one of my backup outside linebackers to ILB with Horinek leaving and me not able to get anyone to replace him through recruiting. I don’t see any way he will contribute on the field though – he looks like he is going to be lost at ILB. Finally I shift some players around on the offensive line based on what I perceive to be their relative strengths and weaknesses.


2008 Schedule from the AD
The Athletic Director is an ass…is he trying to get me fired? Aside from our yearly game against Colorado he scheduled Texas and Kansas State as non-conference games. Do I need to remind him that Kansas State just beat the ever leaving hell out of us?

The Colorado game was scheduled as the second game of the year so that is the first thing I fixed. I confess that I am not brave enough to play Texas yet so I am going to remove them from the schedule. I won’t replace them with a powder puff though – I will replace them with #20 Oklahoma State. I just played K-State and don’t really want to play them anytime soon. I will replace them with an away game against a pretty good UTEP team.

2008 Schedule
Strength of Schedule: B-

Week 01: vs Colorado (Neutral Location: Invesco Mile High Stadium)
Week 02: at Army
Week 03: at UTEP
Week 04: #20 Oklahoma State
Week 05: at Air Force
Week 06: at Utah
Week 07: BYU
Week 08: at Wyoming
Week 09: New Mexico
Week 10: TCU
Week 11: at San Diego State
Week 12: UNLV
Week 13: -
Week 14: -


In-Season Recruiting for Class of 2009 Begins
I just popped into my school to see how we are grading out this season. Things aren’t looking too good. One of my major recruiting tools from last season, Program Stability, has been downgraded all the way from Great to Fair. There is no way I can use it as a positive anymore. In addition our Television Exposure dropped from Good to Fair and our Fan Base dropped from Very Good to Good. Everything else remained the same. My pitches are going to have to be based on Academics, Coach Experience and Coach Prestige where we still grade out very well.

In the first positive news of the offseason I noticed that my recruiting efforts in 2007 enabled us to develop a recruiting pipeline into Utah. That now gives us our California and Utah as pipeline states in addition to Colorado.

Pressing Needs

• Continue to get bigger on the defensive line, especially up the middle
• Need to bring in a new receiving tight end
• Need to get some safeties that can provide run support
• Would like to get a big, angry youngster to play inside linebacker

[TheDanbom]

That's a tough schedule, considering you don't get a bye until the end of the season. At least you'll be rested for your bowl game, if you make it to one.

[Ironhead]

2008 Roster

Starters in bold
Redshirting players highlighted in red

#	Pos	Name			HGT	WGHT	YR	OVR	
15	QB	Billy Faris		6'3"	212	SR*	79
18	QB	Grant Stucker		6'2"	203	JR*	78
9	QB	T.J. Borkcy		6'4"	186	FR*	71
7	QB	Rodney Wright		6'4"	180	FR	69
-----------------------------------------------------------------	
34	HB	Kyle Bell		6'2"	232	SR*	89 [CAPTAIN][IP]
5	HB	Gartrell Johnson	6'0"	231	SR*	83	
12	HB	Michael Myers		6'1"	210	SR*	79	
20	HB	Alex Square		5'9"	173	JR*	79
21	HB	Brandon Lee		6'2"	209	FR	76
24	HB	Jeremy Parker		6'1"	206	FR	75
------------------------------------------------------------------
42	FB	Kyle VanHorn		6'0"	248	SR*	86
25	FB	Aaron Neal		6'2"	243	FR	71	
------------------------------------------------------------------
31	WR	Dion Morton		5'10"	165	SO*	76
17	WR	Chris Means		6'5"	213	FR	73
86	WR	Chaz Miles		6'2"	198	JR*	73
83	WR	Rashaun Greer		6'1"	202	JR*	73
81	WR	David West		5'11"	170	FR	65
------------------------------------------------------------------
88	TE	Chris Kawulok		6'3"	245	SR*	85
89	TE	Kevin McPeek		6'6"	246	SR*	82
47	TE	Justin Torres		6'4"	229	FR	62	
------------------------------------------------------------------
52	LT	Brian Lepak		6'5"	302	SO*	77
69	LT	Will Bradley		6'6"	327	FR	71
------------------------------------------------------------------
55	LG	Scott Benedict		6'4"	296	JR*	77
74	LG	Shelley Smith		6'4"	285	JR*	74
72	LG	Jimmy Murphy		6'3"	239	JR	71
------------------------------------------------------------------
54	C	Tyler McDermott		6'2"	279	FR*	77
57	C	Tim Walter		6'6"	279	JR*	74
------------------------------------------------------------------
60	RG	Adrian Martinez		6'4"	304	JR*	76
66	RG	Guy Miller		6'3"	289	SO*	75
76	RG	Brian Ford		6'1"	277	FR	74
------------------------------------------------------------------
75	RT	Dane Stratton		6'5"	299	SR*	82
53	RT	Cole Pemberton		6'7"	319	JR*	76
78	RT	Charles Moore		6'8"	295	FR	57
------------------------------------------------------------------
93	LE	Wade Landers		6'6"	254	SR	80 [CAPTAIN]
98	LE	Eugene Daniels		6'3"	243	FR*	75
99	LE	Eric Peitz		6'6"	255	FR*	73
------------------------------------------------------------------
45	DT	Matt Rupp		6'3"	274	SR*	88
96	DT	Devin McWilliams	6'1"	322	SR	74
62	DT	James Morehead		6'6"	313	JR*	70
95	DT	Matt Mueller		6'4"	265	FR	60	
------------------------------------------------------------------
91	RE	Tommie Hill		6'6"	227	SR*	89
90	RE	Robert Ross		6'5"	290	FR	72
94	RE	Leo Davis		6'4"	243	FR*	71	
------------------------------------------------------------------
34	LOLB	Sedric Patterson	6'1"	234	JR*	79
56	LOLB	Ricky Brewer		6'2"	218	SO*	71
50	LOLB	Michael Kawulok		6'2"	209	FR*	59
------------------------------------------------------------------
49	MLB	Curtis Cornelson	6'1"	238	SR	77
43	MLB	Matt Hendrick		6'2"	237	JR*	65
48	MLB	John Clark		6'3"	228	JR*	54	
------------------------------------------------------------------
42	ROLB	Jake Pottorff		6'4"	247	JR*	77
46	ROLB	Luke Diehl		6'2"	209	FR	70
35	ROLB	Stephen Arnold		6'5"	210	FR	65
------------------------------------------------------------------
3	CB	Jermaine Ruud		5'11"	183	FR	79
41	CB	DeAngelo Wilkinson	5'10"	181	SO*	76
32	CB	Chase Brooks		5'9"	160	FR	66
30	CB	Elijah Blu Smith	5'11"	191	FR*	61
40	CB	Junior Williams		6'0"	172	FR	60
------------------------------------------------------------------
20	FS	Klint Kubiak		6'0"	201	SR	84 [IP]
36	FS	Jarrad McKay		6'0"	187	SO	75	
------------------------------------------------------------------
13	SS	Mike Pagnotta		6'0"	204	SR*	76	
15	SS	Jake Galusha		5'10"	201	SR*	74
28	SS	Zach Donaldson		6'1"	196	SO	68
26	SS	Mychal Sisson		5'10"	195	FR*	64
------------------------------------------------------------------
4	K	Durrell Chamorro	6'1"	193	JR*	73
------------------------------------------------------------------
37	P	Jason Smith		6'2"	206	SR*	57

[Ironhead]

Preseason Recognition
Not a whole lot of recognition being thrown the Rams way.

FS Klint Kubiak - 1st Team All-MWC
SS Jake Galusha - 1st Team All-MWC
RB Kyle Bell - 2nd Team All-MWC
DT Matt Rupp - 2nd Team All-MWC

Preseason Top 25
01. Michigan
02. USC
03. Texas
04. LSU
05. Virginia Tech
06. Florida State
07. Louisville
08. Ohio State
09. Texas A&M
10. Tennessee
11. Oklahoma
12. Georgia
13. Miami
14. Rutgers
15. UCLA
16. Arkansas
17. Iowa
18. Hawaii
19. Nebraska
20. Oklahoma State
21. Florida
22. Texas Tech
23. Penn State
24. Boise State
25. Michigan State


MWC Conference Outlook
1. San Diego State (#35 Overall)
2. TCU (#40 Overall)
3. Utah (#49 Overall)
4. Air Force (#64 Overall)
5. UNLV (#65 Overall)
6. Colorado State (#70 Overall)
7. Wyoming (#84 Overall)
8. New Mexico (#93 Overall)
9. BYU (#109 Overall)

Expected Heisman Contenders
QB Joey Halzle (Senior, Oklahoma)
HB Chris Wells (Junior, Ohio State)
HB P.J. Hill (Junior, Wisconsin)
WR Mario Manningham (Senior, Michigan)
HB Jamaal Charles (Senior, Texas)


Contract Status
Going into the second year of my three year contract I have already accomplished one of the goals set forth from the Athletic Director.

Receive a Bowl Bid: Accomplished
Beat Rival Colorado: Not Accomplished
Beat a 5 or 6 Prestige Team: Not Accomplished

I might have a shot at beating Colorado during the next two years but I doubt I get the better of a 5 or 6 star team. If I can beat Colorado I am pretty confident that I will keep my job.