Ram Pride (Colorado State - NCAA 08)

[Ironhead]

<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="720"><tr><td>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/Header.jpg</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="#006649"><center>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/2007SeasonPreview.jpg</center></td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr> <td><center><b><font size="5">Rams look to get back on track</font></b></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><table width="351"><tr><td>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/PreseasonBell.jpg</td></tr><tr><td><font size="1">Junior running back Kyle Bell needs to take Colorado State on his back after missing the entire 2006 season to a torn ACL.</font></td></tr></table></center></td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>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. </td></tr></table>

<b>2007 Schedule
Strength of Schedule: B+</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

<b>Preseason Top 25</b>
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]

<font color="#006649">2007 Roster</font>

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]

<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="720"><tr><td>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/2007Wk01.gif</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>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.</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>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.
</td></tr></table>

<table width="720"><tr><td><center><font size="5"><b>GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE</b></font></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1121926530">78 YD TD Pass from Hanie to Hill</a></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1119159138">20 YD TD Pass from Hawkins to Sprague</a></center></td></tr></table>

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/2007Wk01Top25.gif

[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. :eek:

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

[MJ4H]

UN

BEE

LEE

VU

BUL

[Ironhead]

<table width="720"><tr><td><center>Week 2 Preview</center></td></tr><tr><td><center><font color="#FFB310">#21 Cal (0-1)</font> vs <font color="#008751">Colorado State (0-1)</font></center></td></tr><tr><td><center>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/2007Wk2CalCSU.jpg</center></td></tr></table>

<table width="720"><tr><td width="225">&nbsp;</td><td><center>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/Corso-1.jpg</center></td><td><center>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/Herbstreit-1.jpg</td><td width="200">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><center>Corso Picks:</center></td><td><center>Herbstreit Picks:</center></td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><center>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/SmallCal.png</center></td><td><center>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/SmallCal.png</center></td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr></table>

<table width="720"><tr><td>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</td></tr></table>

[Ironhead]

<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="720"><tr><td>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/2007Wk02.gif</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>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.</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>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.

</td></tr></table>

<table width="720"><tr><td><center><font size="5"><b>GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE</b></font></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1119145811">56 YD Pass from Hanie to Bell</a></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1119265523">Botched Screen to Start the 4th Quarter</a></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1119371260">15 YD TD Pass from Hanie to Hill on 3rd & 15</a></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1119371261">Game Winning TD Run by Forsett in 4th OT</a></center></td></tr></table>

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/2007Wk02Top25.gif

[Ironhead]

<table width="720"><tr><td>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.


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/2007Wk03Top25.jpg


Time to prepare for what seems to be shaping up as a must win game against Houston to get this season going.</td></tr></table>

[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]

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]

<table width="720"><tr><td><center>Week 4 Preview</center></td></tr><tr><td><center><font color="#008751">Colorado State (0-2)</font> vs <font color="#CC2127">Houston (1-1)</font></center></td></tr><tr><td><center>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/2007Wk04CSUHou.jpg</center></td></tr></table>

<table width="720"><tr><td width="225">&nbsp;</td><td><center>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/Corso-1.jpg</center></td><td><center>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/Herbstreit-1.jpg</td><td width="200">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><center>Corso Picks:</center></td><td><center>Herbstreit Picks:</center></td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><center>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/HoustonCougarsSmall.png</center></td><td><center>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/HoustonCougarsSmall.png</center></td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr></table>

<table width="720"><tr><td>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</td></tr></table>

[Ironhead]

<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="720"><tr><td>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/2007Wk04.gif</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>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.</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>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.
</td></tr></table>
<table width="720"><tr><td><center><font size="5"><b>GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE</b></font></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1127745508">Kyle Bell 60 YD TD Run</a></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1127736986">Luke Roberts 25 YD TD Pass from Hanie</a></center></td></tr></table>

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[Ironhead]

<table width="720"><tr><td><center>Week 5 Preview</center></td></tr><tr><td><center><font color="#008751">Colorado State (1-2)</font> vs <font color="#1E0A63">#23 TCU (3-1)</font></center></td></tr><tr><td><center>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/2007Wk05CSUTCU.jpg</center></td></tr></table>

<table width="720"><tr><td width="225">&nbsp;</td><td><center>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/Corso-1.jpg</center></td><td><center>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/Herbstreit-1.jpg</td><td width="200">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><center>Corso Picks:</center></td><td><center>Herbstreit Picks:</center></td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><center>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/TCUHornedFrogsSmall.png</center></td><td><center>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/TCUHornedFrogsSmall.png</center></td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr></table>

<table width="720"><tr><td>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</td></tr></table>

[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]

<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="720"><tr><td>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/2007Wk05.gif</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>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.</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>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.
</td></tr></table>

<table width="720"><tr><td><center><font size="5"><b>GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE</b></font></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1125989143">TCU scores on opening drive with a nice run</a></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1127759562">Johnny Walker 69 YD TD Pass from Caleb Hanie</a></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1125989144">Johnny Walker 29 YD TD Pass from Caleb Hanie</a></center></td></tr></table>

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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]

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 :D

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]

<table width="720"><tr><td><center>Week 6 Preview</center></td></tr><tr><td><center><font color="#C41236">San Diego State (4-0)</font> vs <font color="#008751">Colorado State (2-2)</font></center></td></tr><tr><td><center>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/2007Wk06SDCSU.jpg</center></td></tr></table>

<table width="720"><tr><td width="225">&nbsp;</td><td><center>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/Corso-1.jpg</center></td><td><center>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/Herbstreit-1.jpg</td><td width="200">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><center>Corso Picks:</center></td><td><center>Herbstreit Picks:</center></td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><center>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/SanDiegoStateAztecsSmall.png</center></td><td><center>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/SanDiegoStateAztecsSmall.png</center></td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr></table>

<table width="720"><tr><td>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</td></tr></table>

[Ironhead]

<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="720"><tr><td>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/2007Wk06.gif</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>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.</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>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.</td></tr></table>

<table width="720"><tr><td><center><font size="5"><b>GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE</b></font></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1127759622">QB Caleb Hanie hooks up with backup TE Chris Kawulok in the endzone</a></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1127759623">WR Brett Swain takes a short O'Connell pass to the house</a></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1125840899">WR Brett Swain scores his second touchdown with a nice one handed snag</a></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1126011726">WR George Hill eludes two tackles and runs by the defense for the TD </a></center></td></tr></table>


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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.


<table width="720"><tr><td>Recruiting Visit Recap</td></tr><tr><td>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. :( </td></tr></table>

[Ironhead]

<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="720"><tr><td>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/2007Wk07.gif</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>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.</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>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.</td></tr></table>

<table width="720"><tr><td><center><font size="5"><b>GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE</b></font></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1137766458">HB Alex Square squeezes through the blockers and sprints 27 yards for the TD</a></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1137751457">HB Alex Square takes the draw play 78 yards to the house</a></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1137755451">WR George Hill turns a short out pass into a 38 yd TD</a></center></td></tr></table>

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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]

<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="720"><tr><td>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/2007Wk08.gif</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>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. </td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>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.
</td></tr></table>

<table width="720"><tr><td><center><font size="5"><b>GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE</b></font></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1144883787">TE Kory Sperry uses his height to catch a 24 yard TD pass from the slot</a></center></td></tr></table>

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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. :cool:

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. :p The bastards will still probably pull in a better recruiting class than us though. :mad:

[Ironhead]

<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="720"><tr><td>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/2007Wk09.gif</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>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).</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>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.
</td></tr><tr><td>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.
</td></tr></table>

<table width="720"><tr><td><center><font size="5"><b>GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE</b></font></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1145032749">10 yard TD pass from Hanie to Walker</a></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1144886941">79 yard TD pass from Hanie to Sperry. Excellent blocking made this one possible.</a></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1144886942">Great option run by Utah to put them up 30-27.</a></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1144886943">RB Darryl Poston with an excellent 25 TD scamper in OT</a></center></td></tr></table>

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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!

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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" (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showpost.php?p=1233360&postcount=20) past year but it was too time consumming and i ended tired of it and leaving it not updated.

[Ironhead]

<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="720"><tr><td>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/2007Wk10.gif</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>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).
</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>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.
</td></tr></table>

<table width="720"><tr><td><center><font size="5"><b>GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE</b></font></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1145037942">CB Darryl Williams jumps a quick pass and takes it 25 yards to the house</a></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1145037943">PK Durrell Chamorro hits a 51 yarder that scrapes over the crossbar, his longest kick of the season</a></center></td></tr><tr><td><center><a href="http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1153166744">WR Johnny Walker makes a great adjustment on an overthrown ball for the one handed TD catch</a></center></td></tr></table>

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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:
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/2007Week10commits.jpg
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]

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<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="720"><tr><td>http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/2007Wk11.gif</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>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.

</td></tr><tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>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.
</td></tr></table>

Week 12 Sports Illustrated

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[Ironhead]

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]

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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
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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! :D

[Ironhead]

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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

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[Ironhead]

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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]

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2007 HEISMAN WINNER
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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]

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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.

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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]

<font color="#006649">2008 Roster</font>

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
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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
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42 FB Kyle VanHorn 6'0" 248 SR* 86
25 FB Aaron Neal 6'2" 243 FR 71
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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
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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
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52 LT Brian Lepak 6'5" 302 SO* 77
69 LT Will Bradley 6'6" 327 FR 71
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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
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54 C Tyler McDermott 6'2" 279 FR* 77
57 C Tim Walter 6'6" 279 JR* 74
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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20 FS Klint Kubiak 6'0" 201 SR 84 [IP]
36 FS Jarrad McKay 6'0" 187 SO 75
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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
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4 K Durrell Chamorro 6'1" 193 JR* 73
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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.

[Ironhead]

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Well, well, well...it seems that my own reports of my team's death were greatly exaggerated. This team has some life to it yet!

This victory comes down to three main things:
* We jumped out to an early lead which took the pressure off us
* We controlled the clock through a solid running game and efficent passing attack
* We finally managed to stop the run, holding Colorado to 84 yards on the ground

On offense...wow, this Chris Means kid is going to be something special. His first touchdown was a bit of a "wing it and pray" pass to the back of the endzone that he was able to catch and drag a foot in the back of the endzone. On his second touchdown he ran a nice corner pattern, outran the corner for the lofted pass and then took off down the sidelines. He also almost pulled in another long pass on an impressive diving attempt to catch the ball. I didn't see this kind of effort from any of my receivers last season.

New quarterback Grant Stucker (JR, 6'2 203 lbs) ran the offense much like Caleb Hanie did last year. Unfortunately that also means that much like Hanie it looks like he take a pounding behind a poor pass blocking line. He was sacked 6 times in the game. RB Kyle Bell was tasked with picking up the tough yards in short situations during most of the game. He was able to bounce a run to the outside in the 3rd quarter, punch the cornerback to the ground and take the ball 30 yards for the touchdown. Freshman backup running back Brandon Lee showed some great vision on punt returns with 88 yards on 4 returns, including a long of 36 yards.

The lack of a running game really hurt Colorado, as it left them in too many 3rd and long situations. They finished the game a dismal 2 of 12 on 3rd down conversions. The Buffs program has really taken some hits of late and losing another game to their bitter rival will just things that much worse. Still, they do currently have some young talent and pulled in one of the better recruiting classes in the nation this offseason (35th). The rebuilding effort will just have to continue.


CU CSU
First Downs 15 12
Total Offense 279 291
Rushes-Yds-TD 28-84-0 29-75-1
Comp-Att-TD 18-30-2 15-24-3
Passing Yards 195 216
3rd Down Conv 2-12 (16%) 4-12 (33%)
4th Down Conv 1-2 (50%) 0-1 (0%)
2-Point Conv 0-0 (0%) 0-0 (0%)
Red Zone-TD-FG 3-2-1 (100%) 1-1-0 (100%)
Turnovers 2 3
Fumbles Lost 0 1
Intercepted 2 2
Punt Return Yds 14 88
Kick Return Yds 122 85
Total Yards 415 464
Punts-Avg 5-45.8 6-41.3
Penalties-Yards 2-10 3-25
Sacks 6 3
T.O.P. 14:02 18:02

Colorado Key Performers
QB Cody Hawkins - 18 of 30 for 195 yards, 2 tds 2 ints, 1 fumble
RB PJ Gates - 21 carries for 76 yards, 3 receptions for 27 yards. No TDs.
WR Chapelle Brown - 8 receptions for 105 yards, 2 tds
C Daniel Sanders - 3 pancake blocks
DT George Hypolite - 13 tackles (4 for loss), 4 sacks
LE Maurice Lucas - 4 tackles (1 for loss), 2 sacks
CB Gardner McKay - 2 INTs
PK Justin Holloway - 1 of 3 on field goals (missed two from 50+)

Colorado State Key Performers
QB Grant Stucker - 15 of 24 for 216 yards, 3 tds 2 ints
RB Kyle Bell - 22 carries for 78 yards, 4 receptiosn for 24 yrds, 2 Total TDs
WR Chris Means - 5 receptions for 135 yards, 2 TDs (2 drops)
C Tyler McDermott - 2 pancake blocks
RE Tommie Hill - 10 tackles (2 for loss), 1 sack
LE Wade Landers - 2 tackles (1 for loss), 1 sack, 1 forced fumble
CB DeAngelo Wilkinson - 5 tackles, 3 passes defensed



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[DeToxRox]

Helluva' win to start the year. As long as Bell is healthy I think you'll go bowling.

[Ironhead]

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Following a very solid win against Colorado I went into this game expecting to win by at least 20 points. The game was played in pretty heavy rain and despite a poor showing from Army I was only up by a score of 21-16 late in the 4th. We came up with a good drive and Kyle Bell was able to punch his 2nd TD across the goalline to give us enough room to pin our ears back on defense to close the game out.

As I expected Army played a sloppy game and had the most penalties I have ever seen in a game of NCAA of Madden. On the day they ended up with 10 penalties for 75 yards. A lot of it was holding calls but there were also false starts and encroachment penalities. They also had a miserable day in the redzone, only walking away with points of 3 of their 6 visits.

What kept Army in this one was a dedication to running the football on the ground and chewing up the clock. God help them when they tried to put the ball in the air. I have never seen so many passes that just went way off the mark. We ended the day with 4 interceptions and all but one came from just very poorly thrown passes.

Stucker had another efficent day on offense and hooked up with the tall kid means for another touchdown. Bell kept the chains grooving on the ground with a 100 yard performance but Army played surprisingly good rushing defense.

After our first two games it is still hard to determine how we will fare in conference play. The next two games against UTEP and Top 25 ranked Oklahoma State should give us a clearer picture of which team to expect for the rest of the season.


CSU ARMY
First Downs 15 20
Total Offense 330 426
Rushes-Yds-TD 25-81-2 31-135-1
Comp-Att-TD 13-21-2 22-40-1
Passing Yards 249 291
3rd Down Conv 2-8 (25%) 5-15 (33%)
4th Down Conv 0-0 (0%) 1-2 (50%)
2-Point Conv 0-0 (0%) 0-1 (0%)
Red Zone-TD-FG 2-2-0 (100%) 6-2-1 (50%)
Turnovers 2 4
Fumbles Lost 1 0
Intercepted 1 4
Punt Return Yds 0 76
Kick Return Yds 51 115
Total Yards 381 617
Punts-Avg 6-43.8 3-25.0
Penalties-Yards 2-15 10-75
Sacks 5 6
T.O.P. 13:04 19:02

Colorado State Key Performers
QB Grant Stucker - 13 of 21 for 249 yards, 2 tds 1 int
RB Kyle Bell - 23 carries for 103 yards, 2 tds, 1 fumble
TE Chris Kawulok - 5 receptions for 82 yards, 0 TD
WR Chris Means - 2 receptions for 60 yards, 1 TD
WR Rashaun Greer - 2 receptions for 66 yards, 1 TD
FS Klint Kubiak - 13 tackles, 1 INT
LB Curtis Cornelson - 9 tackles (4 for loss)
SS Jake Galusha - 8 tackles, 2 INTs
DE Tommie Hill - 6 tackles (2 for loss), 2 sacks
DT Matt Rupp - 6 tackles (2 for loss), 2 sacks

Army Key Performers
QB Carson Williams - 22 of 44 for 291 yards, 1 TD 4 INTs. 33 rushing yrds.
RB Tony Moore - 28 carries for 111 yards, 1 TD. 101 yards after contact.
WR Kenny Rackers - 7 receptions for 82 yards, 0 TD
TE Mike Evans - 5 receptions for 92 yards, 1 TD
FB Collin Mooney - 5 pancake blocks
SS Markenson Pierre - 6 tackles, 1 INT, 1 pass defensed
LB Tim Jennings - 5 tackles (2 for loss), 1 sack, 1 forced fumble


Oklahoma Gaining Respect
At least with me they are. They have a tough as hell conference schedule that already has them facing 5 ranked opponents but then they go out and schedule non-conference games of Ohio State, Miami and West Virginia. If they make it through the season undefeated there is no way in hell they shouldn't be in the National Championship game.


Recruiting Update
Recruiting is a lot harder this season. Last year we started the year with a good number of talented kids who had us listed #1 or #2 on their list of possible colleges. This year I only had a couple of in-state 3 & 4 star guys that were interested in our program. Everybody else that was interested was a 2 star prospect.

At the danger of possibly pulling in a smaller class I am still targeting the same general talent level that I did last year. No 5 star guys are being targeted - I don't think I have a shot at them yet. Most players being targeted are 3 star prospect but most of these guys are hanging up on me as soon as I try to talk to them. I have managed to make headway with a few of them though.

Good shot to sign
CB Travis Reynolds (**** from Englewood, CO - 6'3" 190 lbs)
Local kid who wants to play close to home. Very tall, very fast. Having this guy and Ruud on the field at corner would be a dream come true.

QB Matt Douglas (*** from Littleton, CO - 6'0" 190 lbs)
On the small side but he has some mobilty and a decent arm. Much in the mold of my last 2 QBs.

C Zac Parker (** from Cimarron Hills, CO - 6'5" 292 lbs)
Guy just seems to be in love with us right now. His letter grades seem to project him higher than his overall ranking, but I am leery about that after recruiting a few dud linemen last year.


Current Recruiting Overview

TARGETS BY POSITION TARGETS BY PRESTIGE

Offense Defense 5 STAR 0
QB 1 DE 1 4 STAR 3
HB 0 DT 5 3 STAR 11
FB 0 OLB 0 2 STAR 10
WR 3 MLB 2 1 STAR 0
TE 2 CB 2
T 0 FS 2
G 0 SS 2
C 1 P 1
K 0 ATH 2


TOTAL TARGETS 24

[Ironhead]

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They win the toss and elect to receive. On their first play from scrimmage their tailback bruises his ribs but will return. They pick up two first downs but we hold a yard shy on 3rd and long. Their kicked doinks the ball off the right upright to give them an early 3-0 lead. 8 plays, 42 yards.

After they stuff two running plays the crowd is rocking and I have to burn a timeout on 3rd down when Means can’t hear the audible. He makes up for it next play by catching a quick slant over the middle. UTEP is bringing heavy pressure but we are handling it well so far. We get the ball up to the 24 yard line on some hard nose running by Bell. On 3rd and 5 Stucker connects on a quick out to WR Chaz Miles who breaks a tackle is just able to squeeze into the endzone. 7-3 Rams. 10 plays, 62 yards.

Their starting back is already back in the game. After picking up a 1st down UTEP tries a WR screen and my cornerback DeAngelo Wilkinson jumps the pass for the INT. We take over at their 40 yard line.

We seem to have them a bit off balance on defense. A long run by Bell and an offside penalty gets us up to the 23 yard line. Ouch…their All-American inside linebacker Adam Vincent just busted through the line and clocked Bell. It’s an abdominal strain, he should be back soon. We get the ball up to the 8 but Vincent comes up big again and stuffs us one 3rd and 1. We put the 25 yarder through the uprights to go up 10-3. 8 plays, 29 yards.

They move the ball up to our 38 yard line after a couple of really good runs by their tailback. Both of my defensive tackles absolutely sandwich the QB and he fumbles the ball. McWilliams falls on it for the recovery! Not how UTEP wanted to start this one.

On our second play we give it right back – Means is double covered on the short hook and the safety picks it off.

A couple of good runs up the middle and they get it into the endzone. 10-10 all. 5 plays, 23 yards.

Good return by Lee to midfield. Our freshman FB Neal delivered two crushing blocks on that one. A sharp intermediate passing attack gets up to up to the 21 yard line. Chris Means gets open in the back corner of the endzone and Stucker delivers a pretty ball to him for the touchdown. 7 plays, 50 yards. Stucker was a perfect 4-4 on that drive for 41 yards. 17-10 Rams.

UTEP hits two long passes over the middle to their TE to get up to our 25. Their wideout runs a crisp curl route but the QB’s pass is way off target and Wilkinson picks it off. That’s his 2nd of the game.

Up by 7 and close to our endzone with under a minute to go I am content to keep things simple and take things into the half with the momentum.

We start the second half with the ball. Our line is getting a great push on 3rd and short situations to keep the chains moving. After a couple of good runs Bell is down again – pinched nerve. He only misses a play. A sack and a blown up running play puts us out of FG range and we punt. The punt dies at the 2 yard line!

Two gutsy play action calls gets the ball out the 16. They keep us completely off balance for the rest of the drive by running a spread offense. 98 yards later their tailback takes a pitch for the TD! Tied up 17-17. 13 plays, 91 yards. Very impressive drive. Their QB Brandis Dew was a perfect 6 for 6 for 71 yards. That sure gives them the momentum.

We return the kick up to the 40 yard line to get good field position. On 3rd and 7 they send the house and Stucker finds the hot read out of the slot for a short pass to Chaz Miles that goes 29 yards. A good screen play puts us inside the 5 yard line and Kyle Bell bulldozes his way over two defenders to put us back up 24-17. 8 plays, 60 yards.

UTEP goes back into the spread offense. Another long pass over the middle gets them up near midfield – that play has been there all day. A good hit by Galusha on 3rd and long causes a drop and forces them to punt. Booming punt but it will be a touchback.

Even though he has made some key runs they have done a good job bottling Bell up. We push the ball up to the 30 but the drive stalls. A 47 yard field goal sails wide left, were still only up 24-17. UTEP takes over with 3 minutes left on the clock.

UTEP converts another 3rd and short with a playaction pass to the TE. Down to 2 minutes left but they have pushed the ball up to our 36 yard line with a good passing attack. Their WR Day finds the hole in the zone, breaks a tackle and takes the ball over the goalline to tie this thing up. 24-24. 5 plays, 67 yards. 1:52 left.

Two stuffed runs leave us in a familiar 3rd and 5 situation. We spread the field with 5 wideouts. It looks like the linebacker is blitzing so I anticipate a short zone coverage from the DBs. I hot route Chris Means to a wheel route up the sideline and snap the ball. They are in a Cover 2 defense and I throw the ball to the sideline as soon as Means clears the short coverage. The safety misplays the ball and Means races to the endzone! 31-24 Rams! 3 plays, 68 yards. 54 seconds left in the game.

Incredible leaping catch over the middle by their #1 wideout Rouse gives them the ball at midfield with 39 seconds left. Next play Dew overshoots his slot receiver and Galusha is there to intercept the pass! UTEP has all of their timeouts so we can’t down the ball and end the game. Bell busts one off off tackle for a 1st down. That’ll do it! Rams win 31-24!

The game is an instant classic with a gamescore of 1096!


CSU UTEP
First Downs 17 18
Total Offense 356 338
Rushes-Yds-TD 36-117-1 22-89-2
Comp-Att-TD 18-23-3 18-27-1
Passing Yards 239 249
3rd Down Conv 9-13 (69%) 5-8 (62%)
4th Down Conv 0-0 (0%) 0-0 (50%)
2-Point Conv 0-0 (0%) 0-0 (0%)
Red Zone-TD-FG 2-1-1 (100%) 4-2-1 (75%)
Turnovers 1 4
Fumbles Lost 0 1
Intercepted 1 3
Punt Return Yds 0 0
Kick Return Yds 126 127
Total Yards 482 465
Punts-Avg 1-37.0 1-54.0
Penalties-Yards 2-10 4-25
Sacks 2 1
T.O.P. 20:08 11:58

Colorado State Key Performers
QB Grant Stucker - 18 of 23 for 239 yards, 3 tds 1 int
RB Kyle Bell - 26 carries for 86 yards, 1 td
WR Chris Means - 6 receptions for 121 yards, 2 TDs
WR Chaz Miles - 2 receptions for 52 yards, 1 TD
FS Klint Kubiak - 9 tackles (has been excellent in run support)
CB DeAngelo Wilkinson - 7 tackles, 2 INTs
SS Jake Galusha - 6 tackles, 1 INT
DT Devin McWilliams - 1 forced and recovered fumble

UTEP Key Performers
QB Brandis Dew - 18 of 27 for 249 yards, 1 TD 3 INTs, 1 fumble
RB Jason Williams - 17 carries for 95 yards, 2 TDs
TE Jamar Hunt - 4 receptions for 70 yards
WR Chris Day - 3 receptions for 63 yards, 1 TD
LB Adam Vincent - 13 tackles (4 for loss)
SS Braxton Amy - 9 tackles (2 for loss)
LE Ja-Boy Leomiti - 6 tackles (1 for loss), 1 sack

Even though UTEP didn't have the same level of talent that had them in the Top 25 last year this was still a big win for our program. We very unexpectedly sit at 3-0 right now heading into a matchup with #19 ranked Oklahoma State. Oklahoma State has a very dangerous looking offense led by senior QB Bobby Reid (6'3" 237 lbs). Despite his size Reid is one of the most mobile quarters in the NCAA and has a strong, accurate arm to boot. The last time we faced a quarterback this good our defense was picked apart. This is going to be one of the better defenses that we have faced as well. They are very quick and big at all levels. My prediction about our chances this year have been completely wrong so far but even at home we will be playing not to be embarrased.

[Eaglesfan27]

I've been silently following along. I love your formatting and it's been a fun read. Keep up the good work and the winning :)

[Ironhead]

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It’s a beautiful day in Fort Collins, sunny and 71 degrees.

Oklahoma State wins the toss and elects to receive. They move the ball up to their 40 yard line but Reid puts too much touch on an underneath pass and DeAngelo Wilkinson jumps it. He takes it all the way for our first defensive touchdown of the year! Quick 7-0 lead CSU! Reid is so fast he almost ran down Wilkinson.

They have a good return to their 40. They make short work of our defense and cap off the drive with a 2 yard run by their starting tailback Toston. 7-7 all. 9 plays, 60 yards.

We have a good return of our own and drive the ball up to their 40. Stucker can’t find anyone and gets walloped before he can slide. The ball pops free and is picked up by Oklahoma State. Luckily one of their big boys scooped it up and only got the our 40 before we could make the tackle.

Reid is getting all day to throw in the pocket. He makes two big passes to his #2 wideout, the last good for 7 yards and a TD. 14-7 Oklahoma State. 4 plays, 38 yards.

They sniff out the screen on 3rd and 7 and force the punt. Yards are going to be at a premium.

After a 10 yd holding penalty sets them back Reid tries to run the option keeper. My inside linebacker Curtis Cornelson guesses that Reid will keep it and attacks the gap hard. Reid keeps it and Cornelson is there lay into him hard. FUMBLE!!! My LE Wade Landers picks it up and no one is going to get him! 23 yards on the fumble recovery! 14-14 all. Defense stepping up big time.

Oklahoma State goes three and out after two short runs and an overthrown pass.

We go 3 and out. Absolutely nothing happening on offense right now.

Good punt return up to midfield. They get back on their horse and we aren’t able to stop their attack. Reid adds another touchdown on a 17 pass to Newton. 21-14 Oklahoma State. 8 yards, 46 yards. Our offense needs to get it’s ass in gear because the defense is already showing some signs of fatigue.

Their defense really is swarming. If the first white shirt doesn’t get you there are another 2 right behind him to finish the ball carrier off. Good second effort by Bell to pick up only our second first down with about 3 minutes left in the first half. Nobody open, Stucker has to scramble again and picks up good yards and a first down. We get the ball up to the 32 and the drive stalls. Chamorro is able to squeeze a 49 yarder just over the crossbar. 21-17 Cowboys. 9 plays, 38 yards.

Nothing happening for them, they go 3 and out after two dropped passes. They punt, 48 seconds left in the half.

We get the ball first in the second half and I don’t want to press our 2 minute offense with how we have played so far. I run the clock out on a few runs and we go to the half. Stucker only has 19 passing yards at the half.

On 3rd and long they blitz the corner but Stucker is able to hook up with Means for a 15 yard gain over the middle. He took a licking but held onto the ball. A sack puts us in 3rd and very long and we have to punt. The punt goes into the endzone for a touchback.

The Cowboys go 3 and out as we play good run defense. We have good starting field position at our 40.

We put together a good drive and get the ball up to their 34 yard line. They stack the box to stop the run and Stucker floats a ball to Means who catches it and drags a foot on the sideline at the 4 yard line. Bell breaks a tackle in the backfield and punches it through the hole. 24-21 Rams! 6 plays, 59 yards.

A holding call forces Oklahoma State into a 3rd and 12 at their 24 yard line. Cornelson picks it off in zone coverage! That’s the second turnover he caused today!

We overcome a holding penalty and convert on 3rd and 9 with a quick slant pass to 4th receiver Rashaun Greer. I roll the dice and call a QB bootleg with the not entirely nimble Grant Stucker. They weren’t expecting that one at all and it’s a footrace to the corner of the endzone. TOUCHDOWN! STUCKER with the improbable 18 yard scamper! 31-21 Rams. Holey toledo, can this charmed season continue? Oklahoma State takes over with a quarter of play left down by 10.

Just when it looks like Oklahoma state is still out of rhythm Reid hooks up with his top wideout Jeremy Broadway for a 34 yard competion to put them inside the redzone. Touchdown saving tackle from behind by my defensive end Hill as Toston almost gained the corner. That forces 3rd and 4 from the 10 yard line. Quick snap and throw to the corner…touchdown Broadway, he beat the true freshman Ruud on the coverage. 31-28 Rams. 7 plays, 63 yards.

Their defense comes up big and holds us to a 3 and out.

Broadway with a big return up to midfield. Broadway with another big catch over the middle to move them up to the 29 yard line. 3rd and 6…BIG drop by their #2 wideout to force a 42 yard field goal. HOOK BABY HOOK…damn, off the right upright and IN. 31-31 all. 6 plays, 19 yards.

Our drive stalls and we are faces with a 3rd and long. Means is coming open over the middle but I don’t see the safety sitting there and throw a pick, returned to the 29 yard line. 3 minutes left. I have to ask the defense to come up big one more time.

Oklahoma State keeps it conservative, it looks like they are going to settle for the field goal and let their defense hold the win. 34 yarder good. 34-31 Cowboys. 7 plays, 12 yards. 1:47 left.

We are able to complete a few passes to get the ball just past midfield but the drive stalls. 4th and 3 from the 45. I have to give it to the big guy. Good blocking and he’s through! They dial up the blitz on the next play and Stucker pulls it down and takes off. He gets up to the 28 yard line. Timeout, 21 seconds left and we are in field goal range. We have been deadly from this range this year because of Means. Stucker hits the tight end over the middle. Tick tick tick. We run up to the line to spike the ball…it’s a fake spike! The safety didn’t expect it and Means is wide open in the endzone! Touchdown! Touchdown! I don’t believe it! 38-34 Rams with 9 seconds left! 9 plays, 60 yards.

The return man is tackled at the 30 with 5 seconds left. Reid is going to have to heave it and hope for a miracle. It’s short and knocked down. Rams win! You’ve got to be kidding me!

Another classic game, this time gamescore 995.



OKST CSU
First Downs 12 15
Total Offense 290 257
Rushes-Yds-TD 26-59-1 29-90-2
Comp-Att-TD 18-31-3 17-25-1
Passing Yards 231 167
3rd Down Conv 5-11 (45%) 4-11 (36%)
4th Down Conv 0-0 (0%) 1-1 (100%)
2-Point Conv 0-0 (0%) 0-0 (0%)
Red Zone-TD-FG 5-4-1 (100%) 3-3-0 (100%)
Turnovers 3 2
Fumbles Lost 1 1
Intercepted 2 1
Punt Return Yds 58 27
Kick Return Yds 185 178
Total Yards 533 462
Punts-Avg 3-43.3 4-40.8
Penalties-Yards 5-45 3-20
Sacks 2 0
T.O.P. 14:28 17:36

Oklahoma State Key Performers
QB Bobby Reid - 18 of 31 for 231 yards, 3 tds 2 int, 6 car-3 yards, 1 fumble
RB Keith Toston - 17 carries for 49 yards, 1 td
WR Hubert Anyiam - 7 receptions for 90 yards, 1 TDs
WR Jeremy Broadway - 5 receptions for 72 yards, 1 TD
SS Andre Sexton - 11 tackles (1 for loss), 1 pass defensed
LB Patrick Lavine - 10 tackles (2 for loss)
RE Ugo Chinasa - 5 tackles(3 for loss), 1 forced fumble

Colorado State Key Performers
QB Grant Stucker - 17 of 25, 167 yds, 1 TD 1 INT, 5 car-47 yards, 1 TD, 1 fumble
RB Kyle Bell - 19 carries for 56 yards, 1 TD, 1 fumble
TE Chris Kawulok - 5 receptions for 57 yards
WR Chris Means - 3 receptions for 52 yards, 1 TD
LE Wade Landers - 1 tackle, 1 fumble recovery for TD
LB Curtis Cornelson - 8 tackles (3 for loss), 1 INT, 1 forced fumble
CB DeAngelo Wilkinson - 3 tackles, 1 INT for touchdown


Almost no words...we could completely screw up during our conference schedule and I would still be happy with this season.

[Ironhead]

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47 degrees and clear as we approach dusk here in at Falcon Stadium on the grounds of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. On the line today is the Ram-Falcon Trophy and hopefully a win to start off conference play.

We win the toss and elect to receive. Bell and Co. promptly march the ball down the field with a power running attack. A false start penalty followed by a holding penalty puts us in a 2nd and goal situation from the 20. We hit a crossing route over the middle but Air Force makes a good tackle at the 2 yard line. 19 yard field goal is good. 3-0 Rams. 10 plays, 56 yards.

A holding call pushes Air Force into 3rd and long. Tommie Hill comes free on the pass rush and blindsides little QB Shea Smith (5’10 191 lbs) for the sack. He’s lucky he didn’t fumble the ball on that hit.

Stucker and Means aren’t on the same page on the option route and the pass ends up in the safeties hands. Air Force takes over on their own 35.

We have trouble stopping their running attack and they cap off the drive with an untouched 6 yard run by the fullback up the middle. 7-3 Air Force. 6 plays, 64 yards.

We pick up a first down on a nice run but the drive doesn’t go anywhere else. We are running the ball well but in general look very flat on offense and defense. We punt and are able to pin the ball at the 1 yard line! That could be the boost we need!

Air Force isn’t able to move the ball from the 1 as ROLB Jake Pottorff almost forces a safety. We send the house to try and block the punt – we don’t get to it but the punter shanks the ball and it out at the 35 yard line.

Nothing happening on offense as we actually lose 4 yards. Stucker has a man open over the middle on 3rd and long but throws the pass behind him – it’s picked off by the strong safety. Air Force takes over at their 23 yard line. Poor start by Stucker.

Nothing doing for Air Force as they drop a 3rd down pass that would have been good for the 1st. Generally a sloppy game so far.

The big guy wants the ball and we feed it to him. He puts the offense on his back and gets us up to the 20 yard line where Stucker catches the defenses cheating up to the stop the run – over the top to the tight end Kawulok for the TD. 10-7 Rams. 6 plays, 65 yards. Bell was a monster on that drive, pounding the ball between the tackles 5 times in a row for 48 yards.

The defense is waking up now and showing some fire. The Falcons QB evades a heavy 3rd down rush but can’t hook up with his receiver. Another 3 and out series. 1:48 left in the half.

A sack and a botched screen lead to a quick 3 and out on our drive.

Air Force with a good punt return up to our 40 yard line. They are able to hit two long passes before calling a timeout with 5 seconds left in the half to tack on the 3 points. A 23 yarder ties the game up, 10-10. 7 plays, 41 yards.

We kick it off to start the second half. Facing 3rd down Air Force tries to squeeze a pass over the middle – it’s picked off by Cornelson in zone coverage! He rumblin’, stumblin’….he takes it back 44 yards for the TD! 17-10 Rams.

Air Force answers right back on their next play – huge defensive breakdown in the secondary leaves the slot receiver wide open for an 82 yard touchdown. 17-17 all.

Bell running the ball with authority again – he breaks a tackle and sprints up the sideline but gets stripped by the cornerback – Falcons recover the ball at midfield.

Good QB keeper gets the Falcons up to our 30 yard line but free safety Klint Kubiak clobbers him at the end of the run. Smith will have to come out for a few plays after that one. Solid run defense and yet another dropped pass by Air Force keeps the drive from going any further. Their kicker nails a 47 yarder to give them the lead. 20-17 Falcons. 5 plays, 15 yards.

Despite fumbling on our last possession Bell is still calling for the ball and he gets the chains moving again. We try play action at their 15 yard line but they cover it well. No one is open but Stucker tries to force it to Means – picked off. Means just didn’t fight hard enough for that ball – freshman mistake. The Falcons take over at their 4 yard line. Ugly, ugly day for our passing game.

They drive the ball out to the 32 yard line but it stalls thanks to two nice plays by inside linebacker Curtis Cornelson – man, he has stepped it up the past two games.

Nothing happening on the ground or in the air on our drive and we are forced to punt.

Another good return gives Air Force starting field position at our 40 yard line. Another big stop by the defense holds them to a very long field goal attempt. 53 yarder is up and…CLANK, off the upright and WIDE right. Even if it was more on target I’m not sure it was long enough - it probably would have bounced off the crossbar.

Just like that the running game is popping again. No fooling around this time – it’s either Bell crossing the goalline or a field goal – I’m not putting the ball in the air. TOUCHDOWN BELL from 6 yards out! 24-20 Rams. 10 plays, 60 yards. Bell with 7 carries for 39 yards on the drive. 5:30 left in the game.

Air Force has a good drive going and drives the ball to our 34 yard line. No more says the defense – Cornelson drags the tailback down on 1st down for a 2 yard loss and then Rupp and Landers pick up back to back sacks to force 4th and 21. 3 minutes left and the Falcons are going to punt. Lousy punt, goes out at the 26.

Plan “B” is in full effect as Bell goes back to work on the ground. Good gain on 1st down sets us up with a 2nd and 2 but they sniff out the run and hit us for a 5 yard loss. 3rd and 7 and the crowd is on their feet – this stadium is rocking! The true freshman Lee checks into the backfield in the passing situation and catches a short swing pass. He gets down low and makes contact with the linebacker….first down! Just over the marker. 1:55 left and counting. Two runs and two timeouts bring us to the moment of truth. 1:28 left, 3rd and 5 and everyone knows Bell is going to get the ball. The handoff…he’s stopped at the line…NO second effort gets him free and he’s got the first down! That’ll do it folks! Colorado State runs out the clock and takes home the Ram-Falcon Trophy!


CSU AF
First Downs 20 11
Total Offense 315 294
Rushes-Yds-TD 42-233-1 25-72-1
Comp-Att-TD 8-16-1 11-23-1
Passing Yards 82 222
3rd Down Conv 5-10 (50%) 1-10 (10%)
4th Down Conv 0-0 (0%) 0-0 (100%)
2-Point Conv 0-0 (0%) 0-0 (0%)
Red Zone-TD-FG 3-1-1 (67%) 2-1-1 (100%)
Turnovers 4 1
Fumbles Lost 1 0
Intercepted 3 1
Punt Return Yds 34 56
Kick Return Yds 113 110
Total Yards 462 460
Punts-Avg 3-45.3 6-35.3
Penalties-Yards 3-20 3-30
Sacks 3 2
T.O.P. 19:14 12:50

Colorado State Key Performers
QB Grant Stucker - 8 of 16 for 82 yards, 1 TD 3 INTs.
HB Kyle Bell - 36 carries for 196 yards, 1 TD 1 fumble
C Tyler McDermott - 3 pancake blocks
LB Curtis Cornelson - 9 tackles (3 for loss), 1 INT for TD
LB Jake Pottorff - 6 tackles (2 for loss)
DE Tommie Hill - 5 tackles (3 for loss), 1 sack


Air Force Key Performers
QB Shea Smith - 11 of 21 for 222 yards, 1 TD 1 INT, 15 yds rushing
HB Kip McCarthy - 16 carries for 37 yards
WR Michael Krogh - 1 reception for 82 yards, 1 TD
LB Ben Ryan - 12 tackles (2 for loss)
LB Trent Burney - 8 tackles (3 for loss), 1 sack
SS Brian Evans - 5 tackles (2 for loss), 1 INT

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Oklahoma State losing to Iowa State this week takes a little luster off of my win last week. But oh baby. Ranked.

[Ironhead]

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Utah’s excellent senior quarterback Brian Johnson is injured with an abdominal tear and will not play in today’s game. Instead the Utes have to turn to second year freshman Griffin Robles. Robles does not have the mobility or the arm strength that Johnson does. He is still pretty green and we should be able to take advantage of his inexperience.

49 degrees and clear with a little chill in the air here this afternoon in Salt Lake City.

Utah wins the toss and elects to receive. They play it conservative on the opening drive and we hold them to a 3 and out. We get the ball and do the same – punting it away after our drive goes nowhere.

A couple of nice runs and passes pushes the ball up to our 45 yard line but they can’t convert on 3rd and 4. We once again fail to pick up a first down again on our next drive. Whole lotta nothing so far.

Having a lot of trouble stopping them on 3rd down this drive. They are getting some excellent blocking and have moved the ball into the redzone. The run a sweep to the left and my cornerback DeAngelo Wilkinson gets in on the tackle. He injures his hip on the tackle – looks like he will be out 2 weeks at the most. That leaves me with two true freshmen playing at corner. Not good. We stop them short on 3rd and 1 from the 4 yard line. They go for it on 4th down and find their big tight end Chris Joppru (brother of former Texans tight end Bennie Joppru) for the score. 7-0 Utah. Massive 16 play drive that started from their 21 yard line.

Some strong runs by Bell and a nice crossing pattern by Means set us up at their 29 yard line. We try play action but the safety isn’t fooled and is sitting in the passing lane for the INT. After a short return the Utes take over at their 35.

On their first play from scrimmage their QB hits a wideout on a deep hook, who then proceeds to break a tackle and take the ball 66 yards for the score. 14-0 Utes. He just made the true freshman who is filling in for injured DeAngelo Wilkinson look silly.

A borderline pass interference call keeps our drive alive. We move the chains two more times but the drive stalls at the 38, out of field goal range. Our punter shanks the punt and it doesn’t even go 15 yards.

A deadly combination is starting to emerge – we are having a lot of trouble stopping the run and our freshman corners are getting beaten repeatedly. Still, we manage to stop Utah inside our 5 yard line and hold them to a FG. 17-0 Utes. Our next drive is sputters and with no timeouts we let the clock wind down to halftime.

We get the ball first to open the 3rd quarter. The drive gets up to their 45 but Means drops a 3rd down pass that would have kept the party going.

A long, balanced drive moves the ball up to our 37 yard line but we force a 4th down with good pressure on the QB. They try a long 54 yarder but it bounces off the crossbar and back into the endzone. We really need to get something going on this next drive.

When in doubt feed it to Bell. Three solid runs in a row by Bell set the ball up on the Utes 43 yard line. Stucker drops back to pass and has EXCELLENT protection with Means matched one-on-one with the corner deep down the field. Stucker throws a looping pass into the endzone that drops right into Means’ hands. The corner tried to play the ball instead of his man on that one and got turned around. Exactly what we needed. 17-7 Utah. 4 plays, 61 yards.

:mad: We give up another long pass on 3rd and 13. Defense isn’t playing very tight in this game. Almost give up another one but we stop them 2 yards short on their next 3rd down. Their field goal kicker comes out and kicks a 50 yarder with room to spare. 20-7 Utah. 8 yards, 30 plays.

Morton drops a deep corner route. I am very unimpressed with him so far this year and might start giving slot receiver Rashaun Morton more playing time. Stucker picks up a 3rd and 10 on a scramble and that brings us to the close of the 3rd quarter. Then Means drops another one on 3rd down. A good punt dies at the 7 yard line.

Solid series by our defense stops them at their own 34. Great punt return by Lee up to midfield. I’m impressed with Lee so far – I have tried to get him as much time on special teams and some carries in reserve but I am worried that I might be breaking my promise of “solid playing time” first year on campus. To be honest I expect Bell to miss more time to injury but he has been pretty injury free so far.

Just when I rag on him Morton catches a WR screen and takes it 43 yards to set us up inside Utah’s 10 yard line. Bell finishes off the drive by dragging a tackler into the endzone for 6! Good block by his fullback to clear out the safety who was playing close to the line. 20-14 Utah. 3 plays, 47 yards. 5 minutes left.

Dangerous throw on 1st down, Galusha almost got that one. Good hit by my nickel corner causes their wideout to drop a pass. Defense seems to be stepping up here. Another dangerous pass by the second year freshman QB into tight coverage by my 5th cornerback ends the drive. They have to punt and we should get pretty good field position.

Their defense steps up huge and gets major pressure on the QB, sacking us twice. We have to punt with a little less than 4 minutes left.

Damn, long pass over the middle on 3rd down puts them in scoring position. They grind the ball just inside the redzone but we stop them. No timeouts left for us. Their kicker squeezes a 36 yarder inside the right upright. 23-14 Utah. 8 plays, 26 yards. 0:47 seconds left and down by 2 scores it looks like we might be about to take our first loss of the year.

Good return by Lee gives us the ball at the 40 yard line. 2 incomplete passes are followed up by a nice 31 yard hookup to WR Rashaun Greer. After another incomplete pass Stucker is able to hit Means on a 29 yard strike to the endzone, but with only 12 seconds left it might be too late. 2 point conversion does nothing for us here. 23-21 Utes.

We line up for the onside kick aaaaannnd……….we don’t get it. Utah runs out the clock and hands us our first loss of the year. So much for that Top 25 ranking.


CSU UTAH
First Downs 9 17
Total Offense 275 369
Rushes-Yds-TD 22-71-1 35-100-0
Comp-Att-TD 11-22-2 19-29-2
Passing Yards 204 269
3rd Down Conv 4-11 (36%) 5-14 (35%)
4th Down Conv 0-0 (0%) 1-2 (50%)
2-Point Conv 0-0 (0%) 0-0 (0%)
Red Zone-TD-FG 1-1-0 (100%) 3-1-2 (100%)
Turnovers 1 0
Fumbles Lost 0 0
Intercepted 1 0
Punt Return Yds 60 25
Kick Return Yds 150 86
Total Yards 485 480
Punts-Avg 6-36.3 4-35.3
Penalties-Yards 1-5 3-25
Sacks 0 5
T.O.P. 14:33 17:31

Colorado State Key Performers
QB Grant Stucker - 11 of 22 for 204 yards, 2 TD 1 INT
HB Kyle Bell - 19 carries for 72 yards, 1 TD
WR Chris Means - 5 receptions for 105 yards, 2 TDs
LB Curtis Cornelson - 14 tackles (5 for loss), 1 pass defensed


Utah Key Performers
QB Griffin Robles - 19 of 29 for 269 yards, 2 TD 0 INT. 9 carries for 0 yards.
HB Darrell Mack - 23 carries for 97 yards
WR Marquis Wilson - 6 receptions for 108 yards, 1 TD
RG Robert Conley - 3 pancake blocks
LE Paul Kruger - 4 tackles (2 for loss), 3 sacks
LB Nai Fotu - 7 tackles (2 for loss), 1 sack
K Ben Vroman - 3 of 4 FG (long of 50)

[Ironhead]

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46 degrees and partly cloudy down on Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium. Today I have several of my top recruits visiting and I feel that a win might be enough to push 3 of them into committing to our program.

We win the toss and elect to receive. After a sack forces 3rd and long I throw a deep crossing pattern that gets picked off by the linebacker in underneath coverage. They return the ball all the way to our 19 yard line.

Our defense holds tight, not giving up a single yard and BYU has to settle for a 36 field goal. 3-0 Cougars. 5 plays, 0 yards.

We chew up a lot of yards and time on the ground and Bell crosses the line untouched on a 2 yard run for the score. 7-3 Rams. 14 plays, 62 yards. Stucker does not look good at all so far – he is getting pretty good protection but his passes are just not hitting their mark.

Their passing attach chews through our secondary like it doesn’t even exist and they put up 6 points on a 14 yard pass. 10-7 BYU. 6 plays, 67 yards all through the air. Really missing my injured right cornerback now.

On our second play BYU tries a corner blitz and Stucker hits the slot receiver Chaz Miles on a 59 yard catch and run play for a touchdown. Miles got a good chip block by little Dion Morton to spring him. 14-10 Rams. 2 plays, 68 yards.

We hold them to a 3 and out after a dropped pass and a pass that QB Max Hall didn’t even throw in the same zip code as his receiver.

We run the hell out of the ball, converting on two 3rd and short situations. Stucker drops back to pass and finds Chris Means sitting in between the zone coverage in the endzone for a 12 yard touchdown. 21-10 Rams. 12 yards 10 plays, 57 yards.

After a strong start their QB Max Hall is having a lot of trouble finding the right touch on his passes. They go 3 and out after the WR can’t wriggle free from a good tackle by the corner.

We are moving the ball well in the 2 minute offense until they send a blitz and Stucker makes a poor read, forcing a pass into double coverage that is picked off by the safety. It is returned 70 yards for the touchdown. 21-17 Rams. Big mistake that really changes this game before the half. We almost score before going into half as Stucker is able to hit Means on a long heave to the 6 yard line but the clock runs out before we can spike the ball.

BYU gets the ball to open the 2nd half. They throw a short swing pass out to the fullback and Cornelson lays the wood to him. FUMBLE! Rupp falls on it for the turnover! 1st and 10 from their 34!

“Play action pass, Stucker with good protection, he hits Means crossing over the middle. Missed tackle by the corner and Means is up the sideline. 20….15….stiff arms a man at the 10…5….and knocked out of bounds at the 2!” Bell punches the ball in for the touchdown. 28-17 Rams. 3 plays, 34 yards.

BYU is putting together a good drive with some sharp passing from Hall. Hall has been a mystery today: looks great one drive, terrible the next. 6 yard draw up the middle for a touchdown…no, wait a minute. Holding on the left tackle will push them back to the 16. Good tackle by Cornelson to fight off the block on 1st and goal followed by two incomplete passes holds them to a FG. 28-20 Rams. 10 plays, 46 yards.

First carry on our next drive and Bell is down. Looks like he will be out for the rest of the game. True freshman Brandon Lee (6’2” 209) will need to carry the load from here on out. This will be good exposure for this kid. Next play…INT. Stucker had his man open on the slant and it was just an off target pass. Returned to our 22. Stucker has looked bad in this one.

We are able to keep everything in front of us and keep BYU from going far. 23 yard field goal is good. 28-23 Rams. 6 plays, 14 yards.

We come up a yard short on their 44 and have to punt. Some good work by the youngster Lee on that drive. The punt goes through the endzone for a touchback. About 7 minutes left in the game.

Damn, I am not missing my former middle linebacker Jeff Horinek who bolted to the pros at all. This cat Curtis Cornelson is a tackling machine. He shot past the line and just brought ballcarrier down a yard shy on 3rd and 2. They are at our 45 and are going to go for it on 4th down and 1. Quick swing pass to the back….just past the sticks., 1st down. Wow. Wow. Wide receiver reverse with great blocking and the wideout breaks two tackles. 43 yards for a touchdown. That one stings. BYU goes for two but we stop them short. 29-28 Cougars. 5 minutes left.

Another good drive stalls at the 45 when the backup tight end drops a pass that would have given us a first down. We have to punt it away again, 3 minutes left. Low kick and their best wideout Michael Reed fields it. Backup linebacker Ricky Brewer tags him and he fumbles! They recover the ball though. Reed is hurt and I doubt he will see the field again in this one.

Big play, 3rd and 4 from their 45 and they convert it on a short hook. They picked on the freshman corner who is on the field due to the injury to Wilkinson.. Only 2 minutes left in the game. Two more completions - surprised they are throwing but then again they have not run the ball well so far. They have pushed it to our 15 yard line. Option run…they pitch it….and Tonga will take it all the way. Touchdown BYU. 36-28 BYU. 1:34 left and we need a TD and 2 point to tie. One timeout.

We move the ball up the field but we chew up a lot of clock to do it. 23 seconds left at their 41 yard line, still 1 timeout. Sack….our right guard just got abused. I have to use our last timeout. 3rd and very long from the 50 and BYU comes out in prevent. They leave the safety one on one with Means…..jump ball…..Means has it! Touchdown! But we still need the two and Bell, Mr. Bulldozer, is out injured. We have been excellent on these short yardage running plays this year - I just hope the young freshman Lee is up for this. The RUUUUUUUUN….NO, he doesn’t get it! Stopped a yard shy! We fail to recover the onside kick and BYU runs out the clock.

Disappointing loss at home in front of our best recruits. You remember what I said about screwing up in conference play? Looks like it is coming true.


BYU CSU
First Downs 16 19
Total Offense 308 408
Rushes-Yds-TD 19-123-2 39-141-2
Comp-Att-TD 20-30-1 17-26-3
Passing Yards 185 267
3rd Down Conv 4-10 (40%) 11-15 (73%)
4th Down Conv 1-1 (0%) 0-0 (0%)
2-Point Conv 0-1 (0%) 0-1 (0%)
Red Zone-TD-FG 5-2-3 (100%) 4-3-0 (100%)
Turnovers 1 3
Fumbles Lost 1 0
Intercepted 0 3
Punt Return Yds 0 8
Kick Return Yds 142 150
Total Yards 450 566
Punts-Avg 2-27.0 2-34.0
Penalties-Yards 3-20 2-15
Sacks 3 1
T.O.P. 12:18 19:46

Brigham Young Key Performers
QB Max Hall - 20 of 30 for 185 yards, 1 TD 0 INTs. 5 car for 18 yards.
HB Manase Tonga - 11 carries for 57 yards, 1 TD. 5 receptions for 18 yards.
WR Saia Hafoka - 5 receptions for 59 yards
WR Michael Reed - 4 receptions for 42 yards, 1 TD
WR Ryan Kessman - 2 receptions for 22 yards, 1 run for 48 yards and a TD
LB Vernon Kennedy - 10 tackles (1 for loss)
LB David Nixon - 7 tackles (2 for loss), 1 INT
FS Kellen Fowler - 8 tackles, 1 INT for TD, 2 passed defensed
DT Kyle Luekenga - 2 tackles (2 for loss), 2 sacks


Colorado State Key Performers
QB Grant Stucker - 17 of 26 for 267 yards, 3 TD 3 INT
HB Kyle Bell - 21 carries for 82 yards, 2 TD
HB Brandon Lee - 13 carries for 45 yards, 0 TD
WR Chris Means - 5 receptiosn for 138 yards, 2 TD
LB Curtis Cornelson - 12 tackles (2 for loss), 1 sack, 1 forced fumble

[Ironhead]

We are at the midpoint of the season so time for a quick update.


Heisman Watch

Player POS YEAR TEAM STATS
C.J. Gable HB JR USC 122 car, 678 yds, 6 TD, 3 rec TD
DeMarco Murray HB SO(RS) Oklahoma 99 car, 762 yds, 14 TD
Jamaal Charles HB SR Texas 104 car, 712 yds 9 TD
Joe Ganz QB SR(RS) Nebraska 118 of 184 1906 yds, 15 TD 3 INT
Drew Weatherford QB SR(RS) Florida State 120 of 203 1977 yds, 23 TD 8 INT
Gable is starting because Stafon Johnson was injured in USC's
first game of the season and is out for the year.



Mountain West Conference Standings

TEAM REC CONF PF PA
San Diego State 6-1 4-0 234 155
New Mexico 3-4 3-0 213 259
TCU 3-3 2-1 199 174
UNLV 4-3 2-1 187 179
Utah 2-4 2-1 185 193
Colorado State 5-2 1-2 206 170
BYU 2-4 1-3 174 220
Wyoming 3-4 0-3 165 162
Air Force 1-5 0-4 105 180



Current Recruiting Board

Player POS RANK TOP 3 SCHOOLS VISIT
Travis Reynolds 6'3" 190 CB #214 CSU, OKST, UTAH Wk 7 (C)
Matt Douglas 6'0" 190 QB #366 CSU, KSU, CU Wk 7 (C)
Terrance Thomas 6'0" 227 MLB #394 WISC, HOU, TCU Wk 7 (C)
Zac Parker 6'5" 292 C #883 CSU, CU, KSU Wk 7 (C)
Terrance Samuel 6'5" 246 TE #368 CSU, OKST, ISU Wk 9
Dustin McDaniel 5'10" 173 WR #142 CSU, UCLA, CU Wk 9
Ryan Baker 6'4" 275 DT #395 CSU, ASU, TEXAS Wk 9
Joe Charles 6'1" 300 DT #804 ECU, SU, CSU Wk 9
Corey Kramer 6'1" 274 DE #292 NEB, UCLA, WISC N/A
Devin Harrell 5'8" 206 HB #218 ND, NEB, CLEM N/A
Javan Smith 6'3" 194 FS #788 CSU, NEV, IDAHO WK 7 (C)
Adam Jacques 5'9" 187 CB #610 UTAH, AF, CSU Wk 12
Jeff Rankin 6'6" 336 T #318 IOWA, CSU, TEXAS Wk 12
Ryan Young 6'1" 184 WR #328 SDSU, ORST, USC N/A
Josh Mason 6'6" 242 DE #621 ASU, UCLA, LSU N/A
Elton Pitts 6'5" 311 T #687 UCLA, ASU, CU N/A
Nick Williams 6'1" 198 ATH #998 UNLV, UTAH, STAN Wk 12
Marvin Porter 6'3" 234 MLB #983 CSU, BYU, NEV Wk 12
Brandon Booth 5'11" 166 SS #661 TAMU, BAMA, TENN N/A
Larry Bryant 6'4" 271 DT #550 TTU, CSU, NEB Wk 12
Chris Walker 6'3" 188 FS #945 HAW, CSU, BYU Wk 12
Trent Gatewood 6'3" 198 P #1776 CIN, CSU, ARKST Wk 12
Jon Smith 6'1" 324 DT #1487 UNLV, BYU, CSU Wk 9
Dedrick Olson 6'1" 215 OLB #298 BYU, OU, OKST N/A
Vincent Easley 6'4" 223 DE #652 OU, UCLA, CLEM N/A
Ryan Blount 6'2" 206 WR #1005 MINN, CSU, CMU Wk 9
Mike Jones 6'0" 180 WR #1131 WYO, AF, CSU TBD
Terrance Poppinga 6'3" 280 T #738 PSU, MICH, WISC N/A

I am pretty confident that I will land everyone in my top 7 with the exception of MLB Terrance Thomas. He is a Texas boy and I am battling Wisconsin, Houston and TCU for him. I think we might be close to breaking into his Top 3 though.

Some really tough nuts to crack in there. DE Corey Kramer is from Nebraska and his only other scholarship offer right now is from Nebraska. The guy just isn't giving me a chance despite the fact that I score very well in two of his key areas (Coach Experience & Prestige). I love his size and overall blend of speed/power so I am going to keep trying to get him.

A couple of the guys on there I just added last week and haven't had talking time with them. Tailback Devin Harrell is an interesting one - he is from California and so far no one has really gone after him. He has a build like Barry Sanders in that he is built like a stump. He is very fast but don't expect any Barry like moves though. I might not be able to get anywhere with him but he is worth a shot.


Next Game:
THE BORDER WAR!
Colorado State (5-2) at Wyoming (3-4)

My god do I owe them payback in spades. Their offense embarrased our defense in last year's finale and prevented us from winning the MWC. Our #1 objective in this game is to batter, beat down and bruise tailback Wynel Seldon who, to put it softly, left tread marks on our defense last year.

[Ironhead]

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37 degrees and sunny here in Laramie, Wyoming. Get ready for the Border War as these two rivals are playing for rights to The Bronze Boot. This meeting marks the 100th game between these two teams. Wyoming has won the last two times these teams have met.

No TV broadcast for this one, which is surprising given that this is a big rivalry game and last year’s game was a barn burner. Wyoming has several of their key prospects attending so it would give me great pleasure to whip them in this one. We welcome back starting cornerback DeAngelo Wilkinson after he missed two weeks due to injury.

Wyoming has won the toss and elected to receive. Same story as last year – they march the ball down the field, this time on the passing attack. They cap the drive off with a 1 yard option run for the TD. 7-0 Cowboys. 8 plays, 64 yards.

Huge return by Lee to their 43 yard line, his longest of the season. A first down and then a sack leaves us with 3rd and 17 from the 37 yard line. Stucker drops back, all day to pass…Means is running a route deep down the middle…the throw….he splits the defenders and takes the ball across the goalline. Touchdown! With that catch Means just broke the school record for touchdowns in the a season and we still have four games to play! Holey smokes, how good is this kid going to be? 7-7 tie. 4 plays, 42 yards.

Oh dear, here we go again…second play of their drive results in a 66 yard touchdown pass. The wideout got behind the zone coverage of the safety and left him in the dust. Looks like this might turn into a shootout like last season’s game. 14-7 Wyoming. 2 plays, 67 yards.

Square fumbles the kickoff. It looked to me like it was caused by the ground but there is no review. Wyoming takes over on our 31 yard line. They get up to our 10 yard line but a holding penalty pushes them into a 1st and goal from our 20. On 3rd down they hit the tight end crossing over the middle who breaks a tackle and then carries my safety 5 yards before falling just short at the 1 yard line. They settle for the chip shot field goal. 17-7 Wyoming. 7 plays, 29 yards.

Confusion on the kickoff causes us to start at the 9 yard line. A very impressive drive gets us all the way up to the 13 yard line before an interception ends the drive. Cornerback had eyes in the back of his head on that one. Returned out to the 30.

My true freshman cornerback Jermaine Ruud, who was a 4 star prospect, has two nice defensed passes on their drive and they go 3 and out. Ruud has played well so far this year.

We have a couple of nice plays but the drive ends when Stucker overshoots the outstretched arms of Means. Our punt dies at their 5 yard line! I have to tell you, this punter isn’t much for leg but he sure seems great at pinning the ball inside the 10 yard line.

We are doing a good job on run defense so far, holding Seldon to 26 yards on 9 carries. Pass defense is struggling. They run a draw on 3rd and 6 and we stop it in it’s tracks.

Good return by Lee and we will start at their 39 yard line. A balanced 7 play drive results in Bell crossing the goal line on a 3 yard run up the gut. 17-14 Cowboys.

Another good drive by Wyoming gets up to the 20 yard line before we are able to bring it to a close. They add the 37 yard field goal with 50 seconds left in the half. 20-14 Wyoming. 9 plays, 51 yards. Their quarterback Sween has been very accurate today.

Another good return by Lee up to midfield. The Cowboys get heavy pressure forcing a bad pass from Stucker that is picked off. His man was open but the pass got away from him. Wyoming comes out and is going to try and air it out with 14 seconds left. First pass is a short 10 yard completion to the tailback Seldon and they call a timeout. Ball at the 45 and they are going to just chuck it up to the endzone. The pass is…overthrown, picked off by the 4th cornerback Williams. The receiver hits him from behind and he fumbles! THE BALL IS ON THE GOALLINE! WYOMING FALLS ON THE BALL FOR A TD! Talk about bad luck for the Rams. 27-14 Wyoming going into the half.

Our offense takes the field to start the second half and they are fired up. Bell has the ground game going full steam and carries the ball 4 times for 29 yards on the drive, including a 3 yard touchdown burst across the goal line! Our starting tight end Kawulok, who has been pretty quiet this season, added a 30 yard reception on the drive. 27-21 Wyoming. 6 plays, 57 yards.

A good stick by outside linebacker Jake Pottorff on 3rd and short forces Wyoming to try a very long field goal. It actually has the distance but sails wide right. Our ensuing drive is a 3 and out and we have to punt. The ball skips through the endzone for a touchback.

Still doing a good job containing Seldon. On 3rd down Curtis Cornelson wraps up Seldon’s legs and tackles him short of the first down. Wyoming has to punt from their 40. We go in the wrong direction on our next drive – sacked twice forcing a 3 and out.

A good punt return by Seldon gives them starting field position at our 40 yard line. We tackle Seldon a yard short of the 1st down again. This is curious, they elect to punt it from our 32 yard line. The ball goes out at the 15 yard line.

Not much doing after picking up a 1st down. They stop Bell short on 1st down and leave us in a long passing situation that we can’t convert. We have to punt it away. Game still tied 27-21 with about 6:30 left in the game.

After keeping him contained for the first 3 quarters Seldon stops fooling around and starts breaking off some runs. They get into the redzone and find their tight end over the middle for the touchdown. They decide to go for two and they get it on a short pass. 35-21 Wyoming. I hate these guys. 4 minutes left.

Stucker drops back to pass and is under pressure. He buys time by getting out of the pocket but makes a poor decision to throw across his body and it is picked off by the corner. What a disaster our conference play has been.

Seldon is down and he is hurt. It looks like his back and I doubt he will return to the game. Leaping interception by Ruud on a crossing route! That’s his first as a college athlete. 3 minutes left in the game.

Stucker is leading a beautiful drive here and is using the sideline well. With the ball on the 13 yard line we give the ball to Bell for the first time on the drive. He gets hit at the line by a linebacker but retains his footing, finds a crease and drags two tackles 3 yards into the endzone for the score! That’s his 3rd touchdown of the game and 12th of the season! What a weapon down by the goal line. Oh no! Chamorro missed the extra point! That means we will need a 2 point conversion to tie. 35-27 Wyoming. 1:32 left. We have all of our timeouts remaining.

With Seldon out of the game we decide to kick it off and try to hold them. Two runs and two timeouts bring us to the deciding play of the game. 3rd and 3 from their 39, 1 timeout left and we need the ball back. They line up in a tight running formation and we match with our own. They’re going to pass it! The tight end is wide open for the first down. That does it folks. Colorado State goes down for the 3rd straight game.


CSU WYO
First Downs 20 18
Total Offense 333 406
Rushes-Yds-TD 27-98-3 34-114-1
Comp-Att-TD 18-29-1 22-31-2
Passing Yards 235 292
3rd Down Conv 6-10 (60%) 3-12 (25%)
4th Down Conv 0-0 (0%) 0-0 (0%)
2-Point Conv 0-0 (0%) 0-0 (0%)
Red Zone-TD-FG 4-3-0 (75%) 3-2-1 (100%)
Turnovers 5 2
Fumbles Lost 2 0
Intercepted 3 2
Punt Return Yds 33 26
Kick Return Yds 158 130
Total Yards 524 562
Punts-Avg 4-43.8 4-31.5
Penalties-Yards 3-13 2-15
Sacks 0 5
T.O.P. 15:55 16:11

Colorado State Key Performers
QB Grant Stucker - 18 of 29 for 235 yards, 1 TD 3 INT
RB Kyle Bell - 24 carries for 105 yards, 3 TD. 4 rec for 35 yards
WR Chris Means - 4 receptions for 76 yards, 1 TD
LB Curtis Cornelson - 11 tackles
LB Jake Pottorff - 6 tackles (3 for loss)
CB Jermaine Ruud - 8 tackles (2 for loss), 1 INT, 1 pass defensed


Wyoming Key Performers
QB Karsten Sween - 22 of 31 for 292 yards, 2 TD 2 INT. 7 car for 12 yards
RB Wynel Seldon - 23 carries for 87 yards
RB Devin Moore - 4 carries for 15 yards, 1 TD
WR Greg Bolling - 5 receptions for 89 yards, 1 TD
WR Kyle Jacobo - 5 receptions for 75 yards, 1 fumble recovery for TD
TE Chris Sundberg - 4 receptions for 59 yards, 1 TD
DT John Fletcher - 5 tackles (2 for loss), 2 sacks
SS Derrick McMahen - 3 tackles, 1 INT, 1 forced fumble
LE Mitch Unrein - 4 tackles (2 for loss), 1 sack

[Ironhead]

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Sunny and 40 degrees today in Fort Collins. Another game with no broadcast. I have my second wave of recruits attending today so this is an important one to win. I am going to catch a bit of a break in this game as the Lobos’ excellent senior tailback Rodney Ferguson will miss the game to injury. I don’t think his backup is anything we can’t handle.

New Mexico wins the toss and elects to receive. The get a great return up to their 45 but no more. Cornerback Jermaine Ruud makes a good play on 3rd and 6 to break up the quick slant pattern. New Mexico lines up for a 55 yard field goal and it falls short. We take over but nothing doing on our drive as we go 3 and out. A lousy punt goes out a their 35 yard line.

The Lobos are putting together a solid passing attack, led by mobile Junior QB Donovan Porterie, and are moving the ball quickly. Their running back Baker caps on the drive with a 10 yard scamper off the draw. 7-0 Lobos. 6 plays, 62 yards. Not to rant here but it seems like it has been weeks since we got any pressure on the QB.

Bell is doing some good work on the ground but the passing game is cold as a morgue locker out of the gate. The drive ends when we fail to convert on a 3rd and 5. It would be a 54 yarder from this range. I think Chamorro only has enough leg for just a hair over 50 yards so I decide to punt it and hope we pin them in poor field position. Ugh, 14 yard punt. They take over at the 23.

New Mexico comes out in a 5 wide set. Porterie drops back…he shoots it out to the right side of the field…picked off by nickel corner Junior Williams. HE HAS OPEN FIELD…TOUCHDOWN! Williams was sittin’ like a spider in zone coverage on that pick! 7-7 Tie.

Now that’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout! Defensive end Tommie Hill sacks Porterie for a big loss on 2nd down and they can’t convert on 3rd down. After a short punt return we take over on our 29.

New Mexico is getting a lot of pressure on passing plays. Another sack, their 3rd of the 1st quarter and it will end our drive. We punt it away from midfield and it is downed at the 14.

Same as always we are having trouble stopping the draw out of 3 & 4 wideout sets. Porterie drops back to pass on 3rd and 1 but Wade Landers gets him for the sack! The guy has been invisible all year at end but I’ll take it! After looking at the replay it was just a pure breakdown in the blocking scheme – the right tackle did an ole and let him right though!

Both teams swap several non-descript drives in a row. Neither team seems able to grab this game by the horns and run with it.

New Mexico finally starts putting something together. Pass plays of 10 and 22 yards with a couple of nice runs, again on the draw, get them up to my 29. Porterie with a quick snap and pass that is picked off by Ruud! The little guy’s got wheels but Porterie does too and he might have an angle…Ruud has the sideline and he’s GONE! Touchdown Ruud! His 2nd interception of the season and first touchdown of his career! Give that true freshman the ball! 14-7 Rams. Porterie already want to forget this game.

Porterie comes right back and leads a very good 2 minute offense. With time winding down and no timeouts left New Mexico has to settle for a 22 yard field goal. 14-10 Rams. 8 plays, 61 yards. Nice way to comeback by Porterie – he completed 4 of 5 for 50 yards on that drive.

We get the ball to open the 2nd half and like clockwork go 3 and out. Good punt is downed at the 7 yard line. Bell is getting his but in general nothing working for us on offense. Luckily the defense has been up to the task so far.

Speak of the devil! New Mexico just tried to go 5 wide again and Cornelson picked off a pass meant for the tailback. He has blocking to the sideline…touchdown! That was a poor read by Porterie – Cornelson was all over the tailback in coverage. Just a poor, poor game for the Lobos’ junior quarterback.

Whoa….option keeper by Porterie for 60 yards. Kid showing he has heart. 1st and goal from the 4. Touchdown Lobos on a 3 yard sweep. 21-17 Rams. 5 plays, 71 yards.

Stucker drops back to pass with time to throw. Medium range pass down the middle and it’s picked off by the outside linebacker in underneath coverage. Poor read by Stucker. Why do I get the feeling that we are about to fall apart? New Mexico takes over on our 42.

We have no answer for them this drive. Two passes to their wideout Caprioli of 11 and 23 yards is followed by a 5 yard run that the tailback Baker bounced to the corner. Kubiak almost had the ankle tackle but Baker fell across the goal line. They miss the XP - off the upright and back onto the field! 23-21 Lobos. 4 plays, 42 yards.

Excellent return by Square gives us starting field position at the Lobos 47 yard line. Two strong runs of 14 yards and 7 yards by Bell are wasted by yet another feckless passing attack. New Mexico’s free safety makes a great play on 3rd and long to knock down a deep pass over the middle intended for Means. Means could have coasted into the endzone if the safety didn’t make that play. We are going to try the long yard field goal. This would match Chamorro’s career long of 51 yards which he hit last year against BYU. The kick is up…and it’s good with maybe 2 yards to spare. Great kick by the junior! 24-23 Rams. 5 plays, 12 yards.

We are prepared for the draw play on their next drive and hold them to a 3 and out. That brings us to the end of the 3rd quarter. One more to go. Let’s hold ‘em boys.

Excellent drive is wasted when Stucker throws a pick inside the redzone. He was looking to loop one up to Means for a jump ball but there just wasn’t enough air on it. Easy pick for the corner. After an awesome start to the year Stucker is really playing lousy the last couple of games. New Mexico returns the pick to their 32 yard line.

Back to back 17 yard passes to the tight end have New Mexico in striking distance. Porterie with the option keeper…no he pitches it. FUMBLE! New Mexico recovers. Good awareness by the tailback to just fall on it. Big play here by the defense on 3rd and 9 with 5:20 remaining. Swing pass to Baker…the corner has him wrapped up…POTTORFF YOU IDIOT! My outside linebacker Jake Pottorff just hit the tailback from behind and pushed him across the line for a first down. I’m pissed at him right now and his ass is coming out of the game. Second year freshman Luke Diehl will get some at the weakside linebacker position in his place. We hold them without another first down and they have to settle for the field goal. 26-24 Lobos. 10 plays, 54 yards. Under 4 minutes remaining.

Square muffs the kickoff but is able to recover - we will have to start the drive at our 17. Bell wants the ball and he delivers. 25 yard run on 1st down as he bowls over the cornerback. Stucker back to pass…it’s a jailbreak…no it’s a screen! Stucker lofts it to the true freshman Brandon Lee and he has blockers! Past midfield….35…30…25….and finally brought down at the 21 yard line. Nifty 35 yard play there to give the Rams a shot at the lead. Big play here, 3rd and 3 from the 16 with 1:35 to go. The handoff to Bell up the gut…he gets hit at the line and is able to drive forward for the first down! Next play…New Mexico attacks the middle of the line but it’s a misdirection - Bell is in the open against the cornerback! GET OUTTA HERE GNAT! TOUCHDOWN BELL! We line it up to go for 2 and Bell pounds it in! Damn, holding by the tight end. We settle for the extra point. 31-26. 7 plays, 80 yards.

This drive could make or break our season. Senior linebacker Curtis Cornelson gathers the defense and gets them pumped up for this drive. 1 minute remaining and New Mexico starts from their 30 yard line needing a touchdown to win. They have all 3 timeouts. Nobody open on 1st down…short checkdown route by the sideline and the receiver can’t get out of bounds – good tackle by corner DeAngelo Wilkinson. New Mexico uses their first timeout. 2nd and 5, Lobos in a 4 wide set…the running back motions out of the backfield…Porterie back to pass…his wideout Caprioli has the corner beat 30 yard down the field…ALMOST picked off by the free safety Kubiak. Porterie didn’t see him roaming the deep middle of the field in zone coverage. 3rd down upcoming. Quick drop, slant over the middle…complete, first down Lobos at midfield. Porterie drops back to pass…good pressure and he is scrambling out of the pocket…no, McWilliams tripped him up at the line. Good play by McWilliams because Porterie can scoot and he had a good 20 yards of open field in front of him. New Mexico uses their second timeout. 34 seconds remaining. New Mexico comes out in trips left and I don’t like our defense – I use our last timeout. Umm…handoff to the tailback but the safety Kubiak comes up and makes a good stick at the line. New Mexico hurries back to the line. They are using up too much time here! Short pass over the middle is good for only 2 yards. Clock still running. Another handoff?!?!?!?!?!?! A crowd of green shirts pull the tailback down a yard shy of the 1st down. That’s a turnover on downs folks! Holey moley that was some atrocious play calling. New Mexico will lose this game and still have a timeout left! We kneel on the ball with 1 second left and walk out with the win.


UNM CSU
First Downs 19 12
Total Offense 418 211
Rushes-Yds-TD 34-152-3 26-120-1
Comp-Att-TD 21-29-0 10-17-0
Passing Yards 266 91
3rd Down Conv 5-12 (41%) 2-9 (22%)
4th Down Conv 0-1 (0%) 0-0 (0%)
2-Point Conv 0-0 (0%) 0-0 (0%)
Red Zone-TD-FG 5-3-2 (100%) 2-1-0 (50%)
Turnovers 3 2
Fumbles Lost 0 0
Intercepted 3 2
Punt Return Yds 13 31
Kick Return Yds 160 109
Total Yards 591 351
Punts-Avg 4-35.5 6-35.7
Penalties-Yards 1-5 4-30
Sacks 4 5
T.O.P. 16:37 15:27

New Mexico Key Performers
QB Donovan Porterie - 21 of 29 for 266 yards, 0 TD 3 INT. 7 carries for 79 yds.
HB Paul Baker - 27 carries for 90 yards, 3 TDs
TE Chris Mark - 5 receptions for 56 yards
WR Jason Caprioli - 4 receptions for 51 yards
LB Jake Bowe - 5 tackles, 1 INT, 1 pass defensed
LB Carmen Messina - 5 tackles (2 for loss), 1 sack
LB Herbert Felder - 6 tackles (1 for loss), 1 sack


Colorado State Key Performers
QB Grant Stucker - 10 of 17 for 91 yards, 0 TD 2 INT
HB Kyle Bell - 19 carries for 129 yards, 1 TD
HB Brandon Lee - 1 carry for 2 yards. 2 receptions for 48 yards.
FS Klint Kubiak - 13 tackles (1 for loss), 1 pass defensed
LE Wade Landers - 6 tackles (2 for loss), 2 sacks
RE Tommmie Hill - 8 tackles (3 for loss), 1 sack
LB Curtis Cornelson - 8 tackles (2 for loss), 1 INT for TD
CB Junior Williams - 6 tackles, 1 INT for TD
CB Jermaine Ruud - 5 tackles, 1 INT for TD



Recruiting Update
We finally nabbed our first commitment for the 2009 signing class. QB Matt Douglas (6'0" 190 lbs) is from Littleton, CO and chose us over Kansas State and Colorado. Mostly he wanted to stay very close to home and was very impressed by Coach Lubick's experience as a coach. Matt is a three star propsect ranked 366th in the nation and the 29th ranked QB prospect.

This is how he grades out:
40 Time: 4.88
Bench: 277 lbs
Squat: 350 lbs

OVR THP THA ELU SPD STR AWR AGI ACC STA INJ JMP
C B+ B- C C- D A- C+ C- B- B D-

I have trimmed down our current recruiting board to 21 players. I am in a serious battle right now with TCU, Wisconsin and Houston over a middle linebacker who will probably have a chance to start as a true freshman. Not because I expect him to be a world beater - I'm just not going to have anyone else to man the position next year.


Comment on this Week's Top 25
I'm not an Oklahoma fan but the fact that they dropped all the way down to #10 after losing to Oklahoma State is just bull$@%&. They only have 1 loss and they have already beaten Texas and Miami who are now currently ranked above them. Based on their schedule they should be no lower than 6 right now. They are still slated to play in the Big 12 conference game as long as there are no more losses in conference play.

Speaking of conference play there is a huge game coming up between #5 Penn State and #3 Iowa in Week 11 that should determine who takes the conference.




Heisman Watch

Player POS YEAR TEAM STATS
Jamaal Charles HB SR Texas 150 car, 1012 yds 11 Rush TD, 4 Rec TD
Joe Ganz QB SR(RS) Nebraska 158 of 252 2420 yds, 21 TD 4 INT. 5 Rush TD
Spencer Adkins ROLB SR Miami 59 tkl(18 tfl), 5 sacks, 6 INT, 2 FF, 1 blocked FG
Tim Tebow QB JR Florida 137 of 233 1916 yds, 16 TD 9 INT. 9 Rush TD
LaMarcus Coker HB JR(RS) Tennessee 165 car, 1004 yds 8 Rush TD, 4 Rec TD

Dropped Out:
QB Drew Weatherford (Florida State)
RB DeMarco Murray (Oklahoma)
HB C.J. Gable (USC)

[Karlifornia]

Wow, good dynasty! Keep it up if you can. Tonight is the first time I've seen it, and I read through the whole thing...It's like a good book you can't put down.

[MacroGuru]

Wow, good dynasty! Keep it up if you can. Tonight is the first time I've seen it, and I read through the whole thing...It's like a good book you can't put down.

+1 I am loving it!

[Ironhead]

Sorry to say this might be on hold for a while. My NCAA disk appears to have a crack in it and evertime I try to play my next game I get a dirty disk error. I remember someone else on the Operation Sports board reported the exact same thing and posted some pictures. The crack on my disk is in the exact same place as his with a strange triangle discoloration on the disk. I am wondering if this is some type of manufacturing flaw. I would rather have the company replace the disk then shell out $60 bucks for a new one. :(

[Ironhead]

After some research it seems this is simply an Xbox 360 issue. :mad:

[Ironhead]

Went ahead and reordered the game today - should have this up and running sometime later this week.

[Ironhead]

Awesome, received my 2nd copy of the game in the mail today so this should get rockin' & rollin' again this weekend. I took advantage of EASportsworld coming back online to go back and update all of the pictures from this season's games.

[Young Drachma]

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Go Pokes! ;)

[Young Drachma]

This dynasty is extremely well presented and looks absolutely fantastic. Keep it up..even if are CSU! ;)

[Ironhead]

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37 degrees, clear and cold on this Saturday night in Fort Collins. TCU always has a very good team when compared to the talent level in the Mountain West conference. This should be an uphill fight.

We win the toss and elect to receive the opening kickoff. We string together a couple of nice plays and move the ball up to their 39 yard line. TCU brings a zone blitz on 3rd & 5 and Stucker lays a ball out to Means down the left side of the field. Means is matched up one on one with the corner…Means has it, breaks a tackle and takes it in for the score! 7-0 Rams. 5 plays, 63 yards. Great start to the game by the offense.

3 and out by TCU. Their tailback Aaron Brown was fighting for yardage but the free safety Kubiak cleaned him up a yard short of the first down. The punt goes out of bounds and we will take over on our own 35.

Poor pass by Stucker gets picked off by the safety. They return it to our 11 and it is Stucker who makes the touchdown saving tackle. We aren’t going to beat TCU today if we turn the ball over.

We stuff the run on first down but true freshman cornerback Jermaine Ruud gets beat on a quick slant and quarterback Marcus Jackson puts the ball right on his receivers numbers for a TD. 7-7 all.

3rd and 1 and there is no push from our O-line as Bell gets bottled up a yard in the backfield. We have to punt the ball away and it skips into the endzone for touchback.

TCU moves the ball in a hurry with gains of 13 yards, 20 yards and 13 yards. Jackson drops back to pass and he shoots one over the middle to his running back…it’s PICKED OFF by the big ole’ buffet buster at defensive tackle, Devin McWilliams. The big fella just stuck his mitts up there and OOPS, look what he found. We take over on our own 34 yard line.

On our next drive Stucker gets hammered after the play and he is down in pain. It looked late to me but no flag on the play. Billy Farris will take over at quarterback. The drive chugs along on some hard running by Bell – the offensive line seems to be getting more of a push on this drive. A sack at the 21 yard line puts an end to any touchdown ambitions and we line up for the field goal. Chamorro is terribly wide with the field goal attempt from 38 yards out.

Good open field tackle by Cornelson against the option puts an end to TCU’s drive. Both offenses seem to be playing a little conservative so far.

Stucker is already back under center again. A couple of short passes and a beautiful 28 yard screen play to Bell puts us in scoring range at TCU’s 29 yard line. On 3rd down Stucker goes for the whole kit and caboodle but the corner makes an excellent play on a deep pass over the middle intended for Means. We line up for a 45 yard field goal attempt by Chamorro. Holey mackerel….that wouldn’t have been good even if he was aiming for the Grand Canyon. Terribly wide, this time to the left. That’s 6 points we have left on the field so far. Still tied 7-7.

TCU still can’t find their rhythm on offense and they go 3 and out again. We take over on our 46 after a slick return by the backup tailback Brandon Lee. Not much happening on our drive and the clock winds down on the first half. We have dominated time of possession so far thanks to a good running attack and strong run defense but the scoreboard doesn’t reflect it.

TCU gets the ball to start the 3rd quarter. Just when I praise our run defense TCU busts one – 55 yard touchdown run by Brown. He got the ball on a quick pitch to the right, broke a tackle attempt by the freshman corner Ruud and was gone down the sideline. 14-7 TCU. 4 plays, 66 yards.

We go play action of our first play. Stucker stands tall with heavy pressure in his face and gets it away to Morton on the out route…he drops it. That’s it – I have had enough of that kid and he is going to get demoted for a while. Very disappointing season from him. Junior wideout Chaz Miles will get some snaps in his place. Next play TCU shows heavy blitz and I have to burn a timeout as there was no time to change the play. Great tip toe catch by Means on the sideline gives us a first down on 3rd and short. I can’t sing this kids praises enough – hell of a player. The Horned Frogs tighten up on defense and put an end to our drive at midfield.

We have no answer for TCU on their next drive. They move the ball at will and cap off the drive with a 32 yard touchdown pass on a blown assignment in the secondary. Sophomore cornerback DeAngelo Wilkinson was supposed to be playing the deep part of the field but came up to defend the short route and he was torched. 21-7 TCU and this one is starting to get away from us.

We manage to get the ball to TCU’s 38 yard line but get sacked on back to back plays. With about 2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter and our kicker really shaky today I decide to go for it on 4th and 10 from their 38 yard line. Great protection allows the quarterback’s 4th read to come open over the middle for the 1st down! Chris Means makes another big play as he beats his man on the outside and gets tackled at the 1 yard line. Bell takes the handoff and walks into the endzone untouched – great blocking up front. 21-14 Horned Frogs. 11 plays, 54 yards.

Our run defense buckles down again and holds TCU to a 3 and out on 3 running plays. Overall we have been excellent in 3rd and short situations today on defense.

Means goes up and pulls down another long pass in 1 on 1 coverage – this one a 32 yarder. That mismatch has been there all day as Means (6’5” 210 lbs) is just way too physical for the opposing cornerback (5’10 165 lbs). Pass interference on the linebacker covering Kawulok over the middle will give us a 1st & 10 at TCU’s 28 yard line. Play action…good catch by Chaz Miles dragging across the field, that is good for 19 yards. Inside the 10 we break out Bell and run it right at the defense. On 3rd and goal from the 6 yard line Bell finds a crease on the left side of the line and mows on through for a TD! 21-21. 7 plays, 69 yards. 5:15 remaining.

TCU has busted out the spread attack this drive – that means trouble for us. Excellent balance of running and passing has us confused on defense. We get a break as a holding penalty at the 12 yard line will back them up a bit. They line up in a tight running formation…play action…the pass goes the fullback in the flat and the fullback just runs over my corner like he isn’t even there and continues on to the endzone. 28-21 TCU. 9 plays, 60 yards. 2:45 left in the game. Their quarterback Marcus Jackson has been lights out today.

On first down I try to throw the wide receiver screen to Means but the cornerback recognizes it immediately. No where to throw the ball and we take a sack. Next play Stucker hits Morton, now playing in the slot, for a 13 yard gain. On 3rd and 5 Stucker hits Means on a short curl route and Means slips a tackle and turns it into a 37 yard play! A shoestring tackle by the corner in pursuit saved a sure touchdown. 1st and 10 from the 24, 1:45 left in the game. Plenty of time left and we don’t want to panic with the ball. The defense gets a little antsy and Stucker’s cadence draws them offside. 1st and 5 from the 19…sacke The end came unblocked and Stucker couldn’t get throw the ball away in time. 2nd & 11. Good protection, defense drops back into zone coverage. Stucker has time and tries to hit Bell on the wheel route near the sideline…too far, incomplete. 3rd and 11. Stucker’s cadence draws the defense offside again. 3rd and 6. Handoff to Bell and that is going nowhere - he is dragged to the ground 2 yards in the backfield. That was a bad, bad play call. Here we go, 4th & 8 from the 21 yard line. Stucker in the shotgun…Bell motions out of the backfield…the snap…TCU brings the heat and Kawulok is open over the middle…Stucker misses him! He was wide open for the 1st down and Stucker threw it long! That’s it. TCU runs out the clock and escapes with the win.


TCU CSU
First Downs 14 16
Total Offense 351 322
Rushes-Yds-TD 27-159-1 25-6-2
Comp-Att-TD 15-17-3 25-36-1
Passing Yards 192 316
3rd Down Conv 3-7 (42%) 10-16 (62%)
4th Down Conv 0-0 (0%) 1-2 (50%)
2-Point Conv 0-0 (0%) 0-0 (0%)
Red Zone-TD-FG 2-2-0 (100%) 4-2-0 (50%)
Turnovers 1 1
Fumbles Lost 0 0
Intercepted 1 1
Punt Return Yds 2 31
Kick Return Yds 100 90
Total Yards 453 443
Punts-Avg 4-27.5 2-49.5
Penalties-Yards 6-45 1-5
Sacks 7 0
T.O.P. 12:06 19:58

TCU Key Performers
QB Marcus Jackson - 15 of 17 for 192 yards, 3 TD 1 INT. 7 car for 20 yds.
HB Aaron Brown - 19 carries for 138 yards, 1 TD
WR Walter Bryant - 5 receptions for 76 yards, 1 TD
LB Jason Phillips - 9 tackles (4 for loss), 1 sack
DE Matt Panfil - 7 tackles (4 for loss), 3 sacks
DE Allen Christopher - 3 tackles (3 for loss), 2 sacks
CB Nick Sanders - 8 tackles (2 for loss), 2 passes defensed


Colorado State Key Performers
QB Grant Stucker - 25 of 35 for 316 yards, 1 TD 1 INT
HB Kyle Bell - 22 carries for 50 yards, 2 TD. 6 rec for 57 yards.
WR Chris Means - 5 receptions for 131 yards, 1 TD
LB Curtis Cornelson - 8 tackles (2 for loss)
DT Devin McWilliams - 2 tackles (1 for loss), 1 INT

[Ironhead]

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This crazy train just goes on going as we face San Diego State today (8-2, 5-1). It’s a beautiful afternoon here at Qualcomm - 71 degrees and sunny.

We win the toss and elect to receive. First play of the game is a 9 yard run up the gut and Bell gets up hobbling – it’s his foot and the trainers will have to take a look at him. His backup, true freshman Brandon Lee, gets stuffed on back to back cracks at 3rd and short and we have to punt.

Not much trouble for San Diego State moving the ball on offense as they take their opening drive down the field for a TD. The tailback Tyler Campbell finishes the drive with a short 2 yard run behind his big ole 260 pound fullback. 7-0 Aztecs. 9 plays, 46 yards.

Bell is back in the game and we do a good job dictating play to the defense. Bell caps off a very encouraging drive with a 15 yard touchdown run off of right tackle. 7-7 all. 9 plays, 75 yards. Stucker looked sharp completing all 4 of his attempts for 42 yards.

3rd down and short and Senior QB Darren Mougey tries to hit his slot receiver on a quick slant – it’s picked off by Kubiak! He was sitting right there in zone coverage and barely had to move. We will take over with great field position at San Diego State’s 39 yard line. A sack ruins any shot of getting any points off the turnover. Ball on the 35 yard line and we decide to punt it away – I lost some confidence in Chamorro after last game. The punt sails into the endzone for a touchback.

This seems familiar - Mougey comes right back on offense and is picking us apart out of 3 wide sets. 7 plays later Mougey finds his wideout in the back of the endzone on an out and up pattern. 14-7 Aztecs. 7 plays, 79 yards.

Bell has become a nice little safety valve in the passing game this year – he just turned a short swing pass into a 21 yard gain. Chaz Miles, playing for the demoted Dion Morton, drops a sure touchdown pass from Stucker. What the hell is with that flanker position – whoever I put over there just seems to suck this season. 3rd and 5 from their 13…nooooooobody open and Stucker eats the sack. Chamorro comes out to try the 40 yard field goal…off the right upright. He just bends down and puts his head in his hands. That sums it up pretty well.

Mougey in the shotgun on 2nd down…quick snap and throw…picked off by the nickel corner Brooks! 25…20…and tackled by the quarterback at the 17. That’s the second time so far Mougey has made a bad read trying to go to his slot receiver.

Bell makes sure we don’t waste this one as he drags a tackler across the goal line on 3rd and goal from the half yard line. 14-14 tie. 6 plays, 15 yards. Bell just broke the 1,000 yard rushing mark on the season to boot!

San Diego State on the move again through the air. We really, really, really need to get some pressure on Mougey. We are able to hold on 3rd and 1 but the Aztecs add 3 more points on a 41 yard field goal. 17-14 San Diego State. 8 plays, 45 yards.

Nothing happening on our drive as we have a quick 3 and out on 3 incompletions. A great punt is downed at the 9 yard line. San Diego State just fiddles around with the ball a little and lets the clock run down to halftime.

San Diego State gets the ball to start the second half. Somebody alert the freakin’ press because we just got a sack! About time – overload blitz on the right side of the line and Landers came free. Good chance to stop ‘em here….play action pass and Patterson bites hard on the run and lets the tight end roam free over the middle for a 1st down completion. That last sack seems to have given Mougey happy feet – he just rushed back to back throws and the Aztecs will have to punt it away. That’s a touchback, ball placed at the 20.

Awesome…Bell stiff arms the strong safety coming in to make the tackle, the safety bounces a couple yards off and then come right back to try to tackle Bell again only to get face planted by another stiff arm. That was a 40 yard rumble – that might be Bell’s longest of the year. Bell is FIRED up and barking at his teammates. A sack puts us in a 3rd and 17 but Stucker gets great protection and finds Means sitting down in the deep middle of the field for the 1st. Bell finishes off the drive with a 5 yard run into the endzone! That’s his 3rd touchdown of the day! 21-17 Rams. 10 plays, 79 yards.

Defense is playing with some fire and has San Diego at their 21 yard line on 3rd and 16. Mougey shoots it out near the sideline to his tight end…first down. The tight end was just too tall for the cover man. Another sack, this one from Hill! Been a while since I called his name. Another 3rd and long…phew, they almost got it. Ruud missed the tackle but Galusha was there to stop the receiver an eyelash short of the first down. The Aztecs go ahead and punt it away – into the endzone again for a touchback.

Lets see if we can’t put some distance between us and the other team for once. More tough yards on the ground by Bell – we are up to their 43 but it has taken over 10 plays. 3rd down, Stucker drops back to pass – a man is coming free on the blitz and Stucker lets the ball go….picked off by the linebacker in a deep zone. Not a terrible pass…just not enough time to throw.

San Diego State is trying to run the ball here – first time all day they have tried to consistently go to the ground. It doesn’t get them far and sets them up in 3rd and long. We “hold” when their receiver drops the first down pass. They punt the ball away.

5 minutes left in the game. If we can grind this drive out and score a touchdown we will likely walk out of here with a great road win. Folks….he’s limping, he’s aching, he is battered and bruised – it’s doesn’t matter – Kyle Bell is not leaving the field and is willing this team to victory. If there is any question how important this guy is to this team this drive tells it all – 7 carries for 41 yards. The final play of the drive is an 11 yard run straight up the gut where a safety hits Bell at the 5 yard line, then a linebacker, and then a cornerback…but Bell still somehow manages to cross the goal line. You know, I wasn’t crazy about this Bell kid going into the season – I felt a little “trapped” with him and wanted to work the quicker true freshman Lee into the offense. Well Bell showed me that I was undeniably wrong and for that I couldn’t be happier. 28-17 Rams. 11 plays, 62 yards. 1 minute left in the game and we are about to hang a big ole “L” on the Aztec’s conference record.

Ugh…Mougey just his his wideout on a short pass, the receiver juked two tacklers and outran the entire defense for a 69 yard touchdown. And they convert the 2 point conversion. Why do these things always have to come down to the wire….

Onside kick….we recover. 45 seconds left in the game and San Diego State still has two timeouts. Too much time left in the game to just run out the clock so Bell’s work isn’t done yet. The offensive line gets one last great push and Bell is free for the first down. They couldn’t stop him even knowing he was coming right at them. We kneel on the ball and walk away with the victory. Feels good to win this game after dropping a lot of close ones this season.


CSU SDSU
First Downs 17 12
Total Offense 331 310
Rushes-Yds-TD 36-166-4 15-6-1
Comp-Att-TD 16-24-0 23-31-2
Passing Yards 165 304
3rd Down Conv 8-13 (61%) 4-9 (44%)
4th Down Conv 0-0 (0%) 0-0 (0%)
2-Point Conv 0-0 (0%) 1-1 (100%)
Red Zone-TD-FG 5-4-0 (100%) 2-2-0 (100%)
Turnovers 1 2
Fumbles Lost 0 0
Intercepted 1 2
Punt Return Yds 14 29
Kick Return Yds 76 106
Total Yards 421 445
Punts-Avg 3-41.3 3-42.7
Penalties-Yards 4-29 2-15
Sacks 2 3
T.O.P. 19:54 12:10

Colorado State Key Performers
QB Grant Stucker - 16 of 24 for 165 yards, 0 TD 1 INT
HB Kyle Bell - 28 carries for 179 yards, 4 TD. 4 rec for 27 yards.
DE Wade Landers - 5 tackles (3 for loss), 1 sack
FS Klint Kubiak - 4 tackles (1 for loss), 1 INT
DE Curtis Cornelson - 7 tackles (1 for loss)

San Diego State Key Performers
QB Darren Mougey - 23 of 31 for 304 yards, 2 TD 2 INT
HB Tyler Campbell - 12 carries for 21 yards, 1 TD. 7 rec for 85 yards, 1 TD.
WR DeMarco Sampson - 6 receptions for 84 yards
DT Jonathan Soto - 4 tackles (4 for loss), 2 sacks

[Ironhead]

Recruiting Update

We received our second hard commit of the year after the San Diego State game. Zac Parker (6'5" 292 lbs), a 2 star in-state recruit from Cimarron Hills, was in love with the idea of playing center for Colorado State from Day 1. We started #1 on his board and never trailed. He is the 23rd best center available and ranked as the 883rd prospect in the nation. Our current starting center is a second year freshman and should be a mainstay on the line for several years so Parker might have to move to guard at some point.

40 Time: 5.24
Bench: 420 lbs
Squat: 655 lbs

OVR IBL RBS RBF PBS PBF SPD STR AWR AGI ACC STA INJ JMP
C- B B+ A- B B D- B- A- D- D B- B- D-



Current Recruiting Board

Player POS RANK TOP 3 SCHOOLS VISIT
Travis Reynolds 6'3" 190 CB #214 CSU, OKST, UTAH Wk 7 (C)
Terrance Thomas 6'0" 227 MLB #394 WISC, CSU, TCU Wk 7 (C)
Terrance Samuel* 6'5" 246 TE #368 CSU, OKST, BAMA Wk 9 (B+)
Dustin McDaniel 5'10" 173 WR #142 CSU, UCLA, CU Wk 9 (B+)
Ryan Baker 6'4" 275 DT #395 CSU, ASU, TEXAS Wk 9 (B+)
Joe Charles 6'1" 300 DT #804 CSU, ECU, KU Wk 9 (B+)
Javan Smith 6'3" 194 FS #788 CSU, NEV, IDAHO WK 7 (C)
Josh Mason 6'6" 242 DE #621 CSU, ASU, UCLA Wk 12
Adam Jacques 5'9" 187 CB #610 UTAH, AF, CSU Wk 12
Elton Pitts 6'5" 311 T #687 CSU, UCLA, ASU Wk 12
Marvin Porter 6'3" 234 MLB #983 BYU, CSU, NEV Wk 12
Brandon Booth 5'11" 166 SS #661 CSU, BAMA, TAMU N/A
Chris Walker 6'3" 188 FS #945 HAW, BYU, CSU Wk 12
Ryan Blount 6'2" 206 WR #1005 CSU, MINN, CMU Wk 9 (B)
Daniel Rankin 5'9" 209 HB #739 UCLA, CSU, LSU N/A
Trent Gatewood 6'3" 198 P #1776 CIN, CSU, ARKST Wk 12
Trent Freeman 5'11" 267 FB #2176 ARIZ, FS, NEV N/A
Bryan Carr* 5'11" 168 K #522 CSU, BAMA, FSU N/A
Christian Collier 6'3" 267 TE #812 SDSU, BOISE, ASU N/A
Brian Lewis 6'8" 227 TE #529 CLEM, SCAR, TENN N/A

* Junior College Transfer
Blue = Added since last update

The board has really been trimmed since the last update. Most of the recruits that were cut were either being unreasonably stubborn during phone conversions or I just felt I had dropped out of contention for the recruit.

This late into the season what I did with most of the new recruits is comb through local states to find kids that weren't getting much attention from other schools. I am hoping to swoop in on those guys and get far ahead of any other college before the offseason recruiting period cranks up. This will likely turn out to be another smallish class in the 16-20 recruit range.


Award Semifinalists Announced
No love for Bell but Chris Means is getting some attention for The Biletnikoff Award. Inside 'backer Curtis Cornelson has been recognized for his solid play this year and is on the lower end of the list for the Butkus.



Mountain West Conference Standings

TEAM REC CONF PF PA
UNLV 7-3 5-1 289 238
TCU 6-4 5-2 313 271
San Diego State 9-3 6-2 390 277
Utah 5-6 5-2 320 353
New Mexico 4-7 4-3 334 362
Colorado State 7-4 3-4 313 284
BYU 3-8 2-6 319 391
Wyoming 4-7 1-6 271 289
Air Force 2-8 1-6 190 305

After a great start to the year we sure have stunk up conference play. Hopefully we can close the book on conference play and the regular season with a strong win over UNLV.

[Ironhead]

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There is nothing but a sheet of white covering the field as it is 22 degrees with heavy snow falling here in Fort Collins. Hard to believe it but this game marks the end of the regular season for the Rams as there was no bye week in our schedule. Our last batch of recruits are visiting today – I sure hope they don’t mind snow or were screwed. UNLV quarterback Rocky Hinds, who threw 5 picks in last year’s meeting, will miss this game due to injury. Starting in his place is speedy true freshman Billy Fletcher. Our last matchup against a true freshman didn’t go so well – let’s hope this turns out better.

UNLV won the toss and elected to receive. They open the game with a very impressive drive that loses steam inside the 10 yard line. They have to settle for a field goal. 3-0 Rebels. 13 plays, 69 yards. They really had the option working on that drive. I can already tell that senior tailback David Peeples (5’9” 206 lbs) is going to give us fits.

We answer right back with a long drive of our own that is capped of by a 3 yard touchdown run by Bell. 7-3 Rams. 12 plays, 63 yards. Bell just set the school record for rushing touchdowns in a season! That was his 20th of the season. Great opening drive by Stucker as well – he looks very cool (no pun intended) in the pocket and completed 5 of 7 passes for 58 yards on the drive.

Uh oh…Peeples just broke a tackle in the backfield and busted out a 54 yard touchdown run. 10-7 Rebels. 4 plays, 70 yards. Whenever I give up a huge run early I start getting painful flashbacks of last year’s season ender against Wyoming.

A holding penalty on our next drive backs us up into 1st and 20 and we cannot convert . We kick it away – the punt slides in the snow to the 9 yard line.

Son of a gun…quick slant to the wideout and cornerback Jermaine Ruud slips in the snow – I had a heavy blitz on and there was no one there to make the tackle after Ruud slipped. 88 yard touchdown from Fletcher to Renan Saint Preux. 17-7 Rebels. 2 plays, 90 yards.

Stucker just had Means open down the seam for a touchdown but overthrew him. A sack at the 35 yard line ends our drive and puts us in questionable field goal range. With the weather so messy I decide not kick the field goal and punt it away…it will be a touchback.

UNLV is just eating our defense alive. They breeze down the field with a combination of draw plays, option runs and quick passes and score on an 18 yard pass. 24-7 UNLV. 7 plays, 76 yards. This freshman quarterback is killing us – he is 8 of 9 for 162 yards and 2 scores so far.

And the rout looks to soon be on – first play on our next drive is a 15 yard pass to Bell over the middle and he fumbles the ball – recovered by UNLV. Looking at the replay it clearly looks like he is down before he fumbles the ball but there is no review on the play. UNLV takes over at midfield.

Another hard charging drive by UNLV. 1st and 10 from our 15 yard line…Fletcher drops back to pass…quick pass out to the left…it’s picked off by the linebacker Jake Pottorff! Our defense really needed that! 1:38 left in the first half. Maybe we can get some momentum going here to end the half.

Farris in the game for Stucker who got nicked up a little the last drive – not sure if Stucker will come back to play in this game. And Farris gives the ball right back to the defense – picked off by the nickel cornerback. There was heavy pressure from the 4 down linemen and Farris threw the ball into zone coverage. UNLV takes over at the 48 yard line.

33 yard scramble by the freshman quarterback – sorry effort from cornerback DeAngelo Wilkinson to make the tackle. They aren’t going to make it into the endzone this time and have to settle for the field goal…32 yarder is good. 27-7 UNLV. 7 plays, 32 yards. We get sacked on our first play after the kickoff and just let the clock run down to halftime.

We get the ball to start the second half and need to get something going here. Another good drive is rolling along and Farris is making some good throws. The pocket collapses and Farris chucks it up to Chaz Miles in the endzone…picked off at the goal line. That was thrown into double coverage. UNLV takes over on their own 14.

Hey, signs of life from the defense! Cornelson makes a great read on the draw on 2nd down and blows it up 3 yards in the backfield. Next play Rupp sacks Fletcher who fumbles the ball – UNLV recovers at the 3 yard line and has to punt it away. We try to block the punt but no dice – we will take over on UNLV’s 45 yard line after a short return. I think this drive is going to be make or break us as far as getting back into this game.

A dropped pass that would have been good for a 3rd down brings up 4th & 6 from the 28 and I have to go for it. 1st down on a 10 yard gain to Morton. Another interception as Farris tries to hit his receiver in the endzone. Not an impressive showing by the backup quarterback.

3 and out for UNLV as they play the drive a little conservative. On our ensuing drive Morton drops a sure 1st down on an out pattern to close out the 3rd quarter. That’s about it for me folks. I am ready for (hopefully) a bowl game and the 2009 season already. I go ahead and simulate the rest of the game. UNLV takes the win 33-14.

[Ironhead]

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Recruiting Update
Great week on the recruiting front as we head into our first week of downtime. Despite a poor showing against UNLV we were able to get a commitment from tight end Terrance Samuel (6'5" 246 lbs). Samuel, a junior college transfer out of Oklahoma, should be able to step right into the starting tight end position next year with Kawulok graduating. Samuel is the 368th ranked prospect in the nation and 17th ranked tight end.

40 Time: 4.65 OVR CTH CIT RLS RTE RBK PBK ELU TRK CAR
Bench: 336 lbs C C+ C C C+ C- D D+ D+ C
Squat: 450 lbs
SPC SPD STR AWR AGI ACC STA INJ JMP
B- B- C- A- C C+ B- B+ B

During this week I also managed to close the deal on two more of my prime targets for the season. Travis Reynolds (6'3" 190 lbs), an in-state recruit and one of only two 4 star prospects we targeted this year, gave us a commitment to play cornerback. With his combination of size and skill Reynolds should be good enough to push DeAngelo Wilkinson for a starting position opposite of Jermaine Ruud next year.

40 Time: 4.26 OVR TAK POW MCV ZCV PRS PRC PUR BSH CTH
Bench: 271 lbs C+ D+ D- C+ B- D- D+ C- D- C-
Squat: 435 lbs
SPD STR AWR AGI ACC STA INJ JMP
A D A B+ B+ B+ B+ B+

The other prospect was a man I desperately needed in the middle of the field. Terrance Thomas (6'0" 227 lbs), an inside linebacker from Texas, will be given a crack at earning the starting job next season as we are thin in the middle. I did not recruit Thomas from the start of the season but started up maybe halfway through the year. I was able to wrestle him away from Houston, TCU and Wisconsin as we graded out very well in his key areas (Coaching Experience, Early Playing Time and Proximity to Home). Thomas is the 394th ranked prospect in the nation and the 13th ranked overall inside linebacker.

40 Time: 4.56 OVR TAK PMV FMV POW BSH PUR PRC MCV ZCV
Bench: 384 lbs C B- C+ D+ C+ C- B- C+ C- C-
Squat: 605 lbs
SPD STR AWR AGI ACC STA INJ JMP
B- C+ A+ B- B B+ B C+

This brings our total number of inseason commitments to 5. With several of our key recruits committed to the program I am going to have some more free time to spend digging for diamonds to fill out the rest of my recruiting board.


Bowl Projection
Right now it looks like we are going to be playing in the New Mexico Bowl. Our projected opponent is likely going to change every week as the final standings sort out but right now we are projected to play Ball State (6-6).

[Ironhead]

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Recruiting Update
In the final week of in-season recruiting we had one more commitment. Ryan Baker (6'4", 275 lbs) is a defensive tackle from Fort Hood, Texas. I identified pretty early on that I wanted this guy. I expect that by his junior year in college Baker will be a highly disruptive force on the interior of the defense line. I just need to get a little more weight on him. The only other college that was heavily recruiting Baker was Arizona State. Baker ended up choosing our program based on the fact that he should get gobs of immediate playing time and he also loved the idea of playing for Coach Lubick. Baker is the 395th overall ranked recruit in the nation and the 29th overall ranked defensive tackle.

40 Time: 4.99 OVR TAK PMV FMV POW BSH PUR PRC SPD STR
Bench: 485 lbs C B B C+ B B C+ D+ D+ B+
Squat: 640 lbs
AWR AGI ACC STA INJ JMP
D D+ C+ C+ B C+


Bowl Projection
Now we are projected to play Nevada, still in the New Mexico Bowl. Quite frankly I don't care who it is as long as we don't get grossly outmatched talent wise like last year against Kansas State.

[CamEdwards]

Wow. This is a great read! Please keep it up!

[Ironhead]

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2008 HEISMAN WINNER
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/2008Heisman.jpg
Glen Coffee's year for comparison: 268 CAR, 1613 YDS, 21 TD, 24 REC, 441 YDS, 6 TD, SEC CHAMPIONSHIP
I think Coffee deserved it more. Then again he is a junior so he might have a chance to win it next year if he stays in college.


2008 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS

ACC: Miami (12-1)(9-0)(1st Conference Championship)
Big 12: Oklahoma (12-1)(8-1)(5th Conference Championship)
Big East: Rutgers (11-1)(6-1)(1st Conference Championship)
Big Ten: Penn State (12-0)(8-0)(3rd Conference Championship)
C-USA: Tulane (10-3)(8-1)(2nd Conference Championship)
MAC: Northern Illinois (10-3)(8-1)(2nd Conference Championship)
MWC: UNLV (9-3)(7-1)(1st Conference Championship)
Pac-10: USC (12-0)(9-0)(38th Conference Championship)
SEC: Alabama (12-1)(8-1)(22nd Conference Championship)
Sun Belt: Florida Atlantic (6-6)(5-2)(2nd Conference Championship)
WAC: Boise State (11-1)(8-0)(6th Conference Championship)

2008 AWARD RECAP

Maxwell Award: QB Tim Tebow (JR, Florida - College Player of the Year)
Chuck Bednarik Award: LB Spencer Adkins (SR, Miami - Best Defenseman)
Davey O'Brien Award: QB Tim Tebow (JR, Florida - Best Quarterback)
Doak Walker Award: RB Kahlil Bell (SR, UCLA - Best RB)
The Biletnikoff Award: WR Brandon Gibson (SR, Washington State - Best WR)
John Mackey Award: TE Greg Salas (SO, Hawaii - Best Tight End)
Outland Trophy: RG Ramon Foster (SR, Tennessee - Best OL)
Dave Rimington Trophy: C Matt Pipho (JR, Miami - Best C)
Lombardi Award: DE Brandon Graham (JR, Michigan - Best DL)
Dick Butkus Award: LB Spencer Adkins (SR, Miami - Best Linebacker)
Jim Thorpe Award: SS Torri Williams (SR, Purdue - Best DB)
Lou Groza Award: K David Buehler (SR, USC - Best Placekicker)
Ray Guy Award: P Evan Pope (FR, Oklahoma - Best Punter)
Best Returner Award: WR Kenny Britt (JR, Rutgers)

2008 Colorado State Player Recognition:

MLB Curtis Cornelson 1st Team All-American
WR Chris Means 2nd Team All-American, All-American Freshman
HB Kyle Bell 1st Team All-MWC
RE Tommie Hill 1st Team All-MWC
DT Matt Rupp 1st Team All-MWC
CB DeAngelo Wilkinson 2nd Team All-MWC
FS Klint Kubiak 2nd Team All-MWC
SS Jake Galusha 2nd team All-MWC
HB Brandon Lee 2nd Team All-MWC (as Returner)




Next Game:
The New Mexico Bowl - Albuquerque, New Mexico (University Stadium at University of New Mexico )
Colorado State Rams (7-5) versus Nevada Wolf Pack (6-6)

We really need to win this game after losing 5 of our last 7 games. Luckily I think we have a good shot to win this game. On offense I am going to just need to keep running it at 'em as they are dinged up on defense and already are a litle soft on the defensive line.

The big question mark in this one is whether the pass defense will show up. For the season Nevada averaged 41 pass attempts per game. A key matchup is going to be true freshman cornerback Jermaine Ruud (5'11" 183 lbs) trying to cover senior wideout Marko Mitchell (6'4" 195 lbs). If Ruud can keep his man in check then it will allow us to do a lot of of different things, such as sending some blitz packages against the offense.

Prediction: Our ground game will check up enough time and put enough points up to keep Nevada from going pass happy. I say we take it 27-20.

[Ironhead]

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Freezing temperatures for this contest as it is 21 degrees with the sun is shining here in New Mexico.

We win the toss and elect to receive. We start the game with an excellent drive, converting on 3 third downs. On 3rd and 2 from the 9 yard line Stucker has Morton wide open for the score and Morton drops it. It’s 4th down – we have run 12 plays so far on the drive and busted our ass – we need to walk away from this drive with a touchdown. We line up on 4th down ready to hand the ball off to Bell but the defense jumps offside – first down! Next play Stucker dumps a short pass off to Bell in the flat who stiff arms the safety and goes in for the score. 7-0 Rams. 13 plays, 51 yards.

Nevada puts together a solid drive of their own but has to settle for a 30 yard field goal. 7-3 Rams. 10 plays, 42 yards. The backup defensive tackle James Morehead made a good play to get his hand up in the passing lane and bat down the 3rd down pass.

Stucker just got leveled by a lineman as he was trying to escape pressure and coughed up the football. Nevada fell on top of it and has great field position at our 37. Their junior quarterback Nick Graziano is sharp on the ensuing drive and caps it off with a 5 yard touchdown pass to the wideout as he beats Kubiak to the corner of the endzone. 10-7 Wolf Pack. 5 plays, 37 yards.

We answer right back with another long drive of our own. The offense is really focused on 3rd down today – we have converted 6 of 8 attempts so far. On 3rd and goal from the 13 yard line Stucker is able to connect with tight end Chris Kawulok over the middle for a touchdown. It was a bad call by the defense – they brought the blitz and left the middle wide open down by the goal line. 14-10 Rams. 11 plays, 68 yards. I think we tripped the defense up that drive by going to the air after really pounding the ball on the opening drive.

Nevada gets a gift on a phantom pass interference call that keeps their drive going and puts them in scoring range. We have missed a couple of opportunities already to end this drive. We finally manage to keep everything in front of us and Nevada tacks on 3 with a 40 yard field goal. 14-13 Rams. 10 plays, 44 yards. This has been a quick 1st half so far.

Miles drops the ball on 3rd down to end our drive. The receivers sure seemed to do a better job holding onto passes the first half of the season. We punt it away and it goes out at the 1! Only 55 seconds left in the 1st half – lets see if we can force a mistake down by the goal line. Nope, they are careful with the ball and the clock winds down to halftime.

Nevada will get the ball to start the 2nd half. DeAngelo Wilkinson almost picks off the opening pass of the 2nd half but no dice – would have been an impressive pick but he did manage to get his hands on it. We don’t touch too many more passes as Nevada moves the ball up to our 8 yard line with a sharp passing attack. They take three straight cracks and can’t get the TD. We are fortunate as DeAngelo Wilkinson was beaten in the endzone on 3rd down but the pass too hot for the wideout to handle. The 24 yard field goal is good. 16-14 Nevada. 11 plays, 55 yards.

I didn’t expect Nevada’s run defense to be so tough – we have had trouble moving the ball on the ground after the opening drive. We go backwards after a sack and a stuffed run and have to punt it away.

Kubiak with a pick on their first pass attempt! Kubiak has played well and has been all over the secondary today. We take over at midfield. I am going to try spreading the offense out this drive. We have some success but once again pass protection is an issue – a defense tackle comes straight up the middle and nails Stucker. Chamorro is going to come out and try the 48 yard field goal – he was very shaky near the end of the season…way wide right. What the hell is wrong with this kid.

Nevada is doing a good job of mixing up their offense on this drive and I can’t key in on what they are doing. 3rd and 14 and we have some momentum on defense…pass interference on the nickel corner. Huge stand by our defense down on the goal line forces Nevada to take the field goal. Cornelson was right in the thick of things as usual. 21 yard field goal is good. 19-14 Nevada. 14 plays, 50 yards.

…………Means comes wide open down the middle of the field but Stucker gets sacked before he can get the ball off. That was as gimme of a touchdown as I have seen all year. The line really needs to step it up in pass protection. Means is matched up 1 on 1 deep again…and Stucker gets it to him this time! Excellent job there by Means to hold onto the ball and we will have the ball on the 1 yard line. And Bell takes it in! We are going to go for the 2 point conversion…Bell runs it in untouched off of left tackle. 22-19 Rams. 10 plays, 66 yards. 5 minutes left in the game.

Son of a….in no time flat they get back on top with a 45 yard touchdown run by the tailback Luke Lippincott. Lippincott has had a solid day so far but he really just busted that one. 26-22 Nevada. 3 plays, 71 yards. Sometimes this defense makes me want to pull my hair out.

We get the ball up to the their 33 yard line on some consistent running by Bell. Stucker to hand off…no, play action…he tries to hit the tight end and it’s picked off by the linebacker. Gee…that linebacker seemed to have eyes in the back of his head there as he broke off of covering the fullback to make the pick. Funny that he even knew the pass was thrown…

2 minutes left and we have all of our timeouts. First play is a 9 ½ yard run right up the gut – we had 8 men in the box. Stretch play…tailback shoves the corner to the ground, breaks out of the defensive end’s tackle, runs past the safety as is gone for a touchdown. 54 yard run. 33-22 Wolf Pack. 3 plays, 63 yards.

We fail to convert a 4th and 1 on our 37 yard line when Bell gets pulled down 3 yards in the backfield. Where was the blocking fellas….that will do it. Hard to believe this is the same team that at one point in the year was ranked #24 in the nation.


CSU NEV
First Downs 15 18
Total Offense 248 391
Rushes-Yds-TD 30-51-2 32-239-2
Comp-Att-TD 17-25-1 14-26-1
Passing Yards 197 152
3rd Down Conv 8-14 (57%) 3-8 (37%)
4th Down Conv 0-1 (0%) 0-0 (0%)
2-Point Conv 1-1 (0%) 0-0 (100%)
Red Zone-TD-FG 3-3-0 (100%) 4-1-3 (100%)
Turnovers 2 1
Fumbles Lost 1 0
Intercepted 1 1
Punt Return Yds 0 20
Kick Return Yds 170 93
Total Yards 418 504
Punts-Avg 2-51.0 0-0.0
Penalties-Yards 2-15 5-45
Sacks 0 6
T.O.P. 18:28 13:36

Colorado State Key Performers
QB Grant Stucker - 17 of 25 for 197 yards, 1 TD 1 INT, 1 fumble
HB Kyle Bell - 26 carries for 73 yards, 2 TD
WR Chaz Miles - 5 receptions for 54 yards
FS Klint Kubiak - 8 tackles (1 for loss), 1 INT, 3 passes defensed
LB Curtis Cornelson - 6 tackles (1 for loss)


Nevada Key Performers
QB Nick Graziano - 14 of 26 for 152 yards, 1 TD 1 INT
HB Luke Lippincott - 26 carries for 240 yards, 2 TD
WR Marko Mitchell - 5 receptions for 68 yards
DE Chris Slack - 6 tackles (3 for loss), 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble
DT Nate Agaiava - 5 tackles (3 for loss), 2 sacks
LB Deantae Green - 5 tackles (2 for loss), 2 sacks
LB Joshua Mauga - 9 tackles (1 for loss), 1 pass defensed

Season in Review
Week 01: Colorado W 30-17
Week 02: at Army W 28-16
Week 03: at UTEP W 31-24
Week 04: #19 Oklahoma State W 38-34
Week 05: at Air Force W 24-20
Week 06: at Utah L 21-23
Week 07: BYU L 34-36
Week 08: at Wyoming L 27-35
Week 09: New Mexico W 31-26
Week 10: TCU L 21-28
Week 11: at San Diego State W 28-25
Week 12: UNLV L 14-33
Week 13: -
Week 14: -
New Mexico Bowl: vs Nevada L 22-33

Final Record: 7-6 (3-5, 6th in MWC)
2007 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 Grant Stucker 192 of 299 (64%), 2518 yards, 18 td, 20 int, 50 sacks
QB Billy Farris 15 of 28 (53%), 215 yards, 1 td, 3 int, 4 sacks


Rushing Stats
RB Kyle Bell 307 att for 1275 yards (4.1 avg), 22 TD, 4 fumbles
RB Brandon Lee 36 att for 137 yards (3.8 avg), 0 TD, 2 fumbles
QB Grant Stucker 32 att for 134 yards (4.1 avg), 1 TD, 2 fumbles
FB Kyle VanHorn 15 att for 54 yards (3.6 avg), 0 TD, 0 fumbles


Receiving Stats
WR Chris Means 49 rec for 997 yards, 12 TD, 5 drops
TE Chris Kawulok 36 rec for 435 yards, 2 TD, 0 drops
HB Kyle Bell 36 rec for 245 yards, 1 TD, 1 drop
WR Dion Morton 22 rec for 226 yards, 0 TD, 4 drops
WR Chaz Miles 21 rec for 305 yards, 3 TD, 4 drops
WR Rasahun Greer 11 rec for 208 yards, 1 TD, 1 drop
TE Kevin McPeek 11 rec for 146 yards, 0 TD, 2 drops
FB Kyle VanHorn 9 rec for 62 yards, 0 TD, 0 drops
HB Brandon Lee 8 rec for 82 yards, 0 TD, 0 drops

Offensive Line
RT Dane Stratton 13 pancakes, 6 sacks allowed
RG Guy Miller 9 pancakes, 11 sacks allowed
LG Shelley Smith 9 pancakes, 7 sacks allowed
C Tyler McDermott 9 pancakes, 7 sacks allowed
LT Brian Lepak 1 pancake , 7 sacks allowed


Defense
MLB Curtis Cornelson 112 tackles, 26 tfl, 2 sacks, 4 INT, 3 defl, 2 FF, 2 TD
FS Klint Kubiak 99 tackles, 4 tfl, 0 sacks, 4 INT, 4 defl
RE Tommie Hill 66 tackles, 20 tfl, 7 sacks, 0 INT, 1 defl
CB Chase Brooks 61 tackles, 1 tfl, 0 sacks, 1 INT, 1 defl
OLB Jake Pottorff 55 tackles, 11 tfl, 1 sack , 2 INT, 1 defl, 1 FF
CB DeAngelo Wilkinson 55 tackles, 3 tfl, 0 sacks, 4 INT, 6 defl, 0 FF, 1 TD
SS Jake Galusha 54 tackles, 3 tfl, 0 sacks, 3 INT, 0 defl
LE Wade Landers 44 tackles, 15 tfl, 6 sacks, 0 INT, 0 defl, 1 FF, 1 TD
DT Matt Rupp 44 tackles, 15 tfl, 6 sacks, 0 INT, 0 defl, 1 FF,
CB Jermaine Ruud 42 tackles, 2 tfl, 0 sacks, 2 INT, 6 defl, 0 FF, 1 TD
CB Elijah Blu Smith 30 tackles, 0 tfl, 0 sacks, 0 INT, 0 defl
OLB Sedric Patterson 29 tackles, 4 tfl, 0 sacks, 1 INT, 1 defl
DT Devin McWilliams 28 tackles, 5 tfl, 3 sacks, 1 INT, 0 defl, 1 FF
SS Mike Pagnotta 26 tackles, 1 tfl, 0 sacks, 0 INT, 1 defl
CB Junior Williams 16 tackles, 1 tfl, 0 sacks, 2 INT, 2 defl, 0 FF, 1 TD

Kicking
PK Durrell Chamorro 4 of 9 (44%) FGs, 45 of 46 XPs. Long of 51 yards
P Jason Smith 49 punts for 2006 yards (40.9 avg, 30.7 net)

Kick Returns
HB Brandon Lee 49 KR for 1154 yards (23.5 avg), 0 TD, long of 55 yards
HB Alex Square 20 KR for 436 yards (21.8 avg), 0 TD, long of 32 yards

Punt Returns
HB Brandon Lee 27 PR for 339 yards (12.5 avg), 0 TD, long of 36 yards


Up Next:
The Real Fun Begins - Graduation, Recruiting and 2009 Schedule

[CraigSca]

Good grief, how long does it take you to update all the stats?

[Ironhead]

Good grief, how long does it take you to update all the stats?

It's actually not that bad as I am a pretty fast typer.

[Ironhead]

Team Records
Kyle Bell set the school record for rushing touchdowns in a season with 22. Chris Means also set a school record with 12 receiving touchdowns.

Contract Status
Despite floundering during the second half of the season and losing our bowl game the university has decided to offer me a 3 year contract extension.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/contractextension.jpg

I guess those wins against Colorado and Oklahoma State are carrying a lot of weight with them. I go ahead and accept the extension – I want to see this through.

Team Prestige
After the season our team prestige has increased back up to 3 stars. Doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense to me as we had almost an exact duplicate of last season which caused us to drop prestige. Hey, I’ll take it.

Colorado State Players Declaring Early for the Draft
None

Graduating Players
HB Kyle Bell (90 OVR – Starter)
RE Tommie Hill (90 OVR – Starter)
DT Matt Rupp (89 OVR – Starter)
FB Kyle VanHorn (88 OVR – Starter)
FS Klint Kubiak (85 OVR – Starter)
TE Chris Kawulok (85 OVR – Starter)
RT Dane Stratton (83 OVR – Starter)
HB Gartrell Johnson (83 OVR)
TE Kevin McPeek (82 OVR)
LE Wade Landers (81 OVR – Starter)
MLB Curtis Cornelson (79 OVR – Starter)
QB Billy Farris (79 OVR)
HB Michael Myers (79 OVR)
SS Mike Pagnotta (77 OVR)
SS Jake Galusha (74 OVR – Starter)
DT Devin McWilliams (74 OVR – Starter)
P Jason Smith (57 OVR – Starter)

Well, looks like I have a team full of freshman and sophomores at this point.

Transfers
True freshman tailback Brandon Lee feels I broke my promise to give him solid playing time first year on campus and is transferring to UCLA. I am not going to try and stop him – he will probably turn out to be a solid player but I don’t think he is what I am looking for out of a running back. He doesn’t have the power to run through tacklers or the moves to get around them.

Awesome, looks like we are going to be getting some charity this year. Outside linebacker Chip Gregory (6’4” 209 lbs) is a third year sophomore that wants to transfer from Arkansas. He isn’t as big as I would like but he is very quick and well rounded.

Another outside linebacker, second year freshman Blake Lawrence (6’2” 204 lbs), wants to transfer to Colorado State from Nebraska. Again, much smaller than I would like but more talented than most of my linebackers. I accept both of their transfer requests.


Offseason Recruiting
Pipelines: Colorado, California, Utah

Going into offseason recruiting we have already picked up 6 commitments and 2 transfers. We have 17 scholarships left to offer and 27 recruits on our board. Our immediate needs for next season are at tailback, defensive tackle, and safety. Looking further out I want to start reforming our offensive line to be more geared towards pass protection, starting with the guards because most pressure seems to come straight up the middle. I doubt any changes will occur on my offensive line recruiting until next year though.

Week 2
Yeah baby, we close the deal on 5 recruits that I pursued all year long, the most important being 4 star wideout Dustin McDaniel. If McDaniel is anything like Chris Means, another 4-star kid from Colorado, then our passing offense could be really good this upcoming season. I was able to close the deal on FS Javan Smith, CB Adam Jacques and MLB Marvin Porter by making visits to their states. All three graded our visit out at A+. I seem to have done a good job targeting solid prospects (at least on paper) that offer limited competition because we have yet to lose any prospect to another school.

Week 3
Uh oh…I just realized, probably a little too late, that the tailback I have been recruiting probably isn’t nearly as good as I though. I doubt he is going to have enough power to break out of too many tackles and isn’t fast enough to rely purely on his speed. I scramble to try and get some other guys on the board that might be able to do the job but it will be near impossible this late in recruiting. I always have Alex Square, the backup running back from 2008, as my fallback starter but he is much smaller than I would like. We pick up commitments from in-state tackle Elton Pitts and California product Chris Walker at free safety. I finally lost out on a prospect – the punter I was after signed with Cincinnati. As long as we sign the kicker we are after then I will just move Chamorro to punter after his terrible season last year.

Week 4
We received two more commitments, the first from kicker Bryan Carr and the second from safety Brandon Booth. Booth is interesting because he looks to just have a great nose for the ball at safety but he is undersized. I think he will get a shot to start as a true freshman. We have 8 more scholarships and 10 recruits left on our board, but several of those are tailbacks that we probably will not sign.

Week 5
I receive on more commitment, this one from defensive end Josh Mason from Utah. 7 scholarships remaining, 11 recruits left on the board and 6 of those are tailbacks.

End of Recruiting
I sign 5 more prospects at the end, two of which are tailbacks. I have made promises not to redshirt 4 players (K Bryan Carr, FS Jake Monroe, HB Daniel Rankin, HB Jon Smith) and it should be really easy to keep these promises.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/2009signingclass.gif

Top Classes
1. USC
2. Miami
3. Florida
4. Alabama
5. Tennessee
6. Michigan
7. Florida State
8. Oklahoma
9. Texas A&M
10. Penn State
11. Texas
12. Oklahoma State
13. LSU
14. Cal
15. Notre Dame
25. San Diego State
27. Colorado State
36. TCU
66. Air Force
69. Utah
76. BYU
79. UNLV
84. Wyoming
102. New Mexico

Roster Moves
I go ahead and move Chamorro to punter as junior college transfer Bryan Carr has a more accurate leg. I move several players around on the offensive line to try and get our best blend of size, strength and pass blocking skills. No other major changes. After running last year’s left tackle, Brian Lepak, through some drills we found out the big man could catch the ball a little. We weren’t really pleased with his performance last year as he doesn’t seem to have the oomph needed to really move guys around on defensive line. I have already determined that he will be losing his starting position to big Will Bradley. Since we are short a man there anyway I decide to move Lepak to tight end where he should be an excellent blocker in double tight end sets.

2009 Schedule from the AD
Aside from the Colorado game the athletic director has scheduled the following out of conference opponents: USC, Cal and Louisville. What a schmuck. I will accept Cal and Louisville on my schedule but my juevos aren’t large enough to take on USC considering that I essentially have a team full of sophomore and freshman starters. I replace USC with a Texas A&M team that has had two killer recruiting years in a row and opens the season as the 18th ranked team.

Strength of Schedule: B

Week 01: vs Colorado (Neutral Location: Invesco Mile High Stadium)
Week 02: #18 Texas A&M
Week 03: -
Week 04: at Cal
Week 05: Air Force
Week 06: Utah
Week 07: at BYU
Week 08: Wyoming
Week 09: at New Mexico
Week 10: at TCU
Week 11: San Diego State
Week 12: at UNLV
Week 13: -
Week 14: #19 Louisville

[Ironhead]

2009 Roster

Starters in bold
Redshirting players highlighted in red


# Pos Name HGT WGHT YR OVR
18 QB Grant Stucker 6'2" 203 SR* 80
9 QB T.J. Borkcy 6'4" 186 SO* 74
11 QB Matt Douglas 6'0" 190 FR 73
7 QB Rodney Wright 6'4" 183 FR* 70
-----------------------------------------------------------------
20 HB Alex Square 5'9" 173 SR* 83 [IP]
24 HB Jeremy Parker 6'1" 210 FR* 78
6 HB Jon Smith 5'9" 183 FR 73
27 HB Daniel Rankin 5'9" 209 FR 68
------------------------------------------------------------------
25 FB Aaron Neal 6'2" 248 SO 77
23 FB Trent Freeman 5'11" 267 FR 56
------------------------------------------------------------------
31 WR Dion Morton 5'10" 166 JR* 80
84 WR Rashaun Greer 6'1" 202 SR* 77
17 WR Chris Means 6'5" 216 SO 76
86 WR Chaz Miles 6'2" 199 SR* 75
80 WR Dustin McDaniel 5'10" 173 FR 73
81 WR David West 5'11" 171 SO 67
------------------------------------------------------------------
52 TE Brian Lepak 6'5" 304 JR* 83
88 TE Terrance Samuel 6'5" 246 JR 76
47 TE Justin Torres 6'4" 234 SO 67
------------------------------------------------------------------
69 LT Will Bradley 6'6" 333 SO 76
60 LT Adrian Martinez 6'4" 304 SR* 76
------------------------------------------------------------------
76 LG Brian Ford 6'1" 289 FR* 78
72 LG Jimmy Murphy 6'3" 242 JR* 74
------------------------------------------------------------------
54 C Tyler McDermott 6'2" 282 SO* 79
57 C Tim Walter 6'6" 281 SR* 78
67 C Zac Parker 6'5" 292 FR 66
------------------------------------------------------------------
55 RG Scott Benedict 6'4" 297 SR* 79 [CAPTAIN]
66 RG Guy Miller 6'3" 291 JR* 78
74 RG Shelley Smith 6'4" 286 SR* 78
------------------------------------------------------------------
53 RT Cole Pemberton 6'7" 320 SR* 80
73 RT Elton Pitts 6'5" 311 FR 68
78 RT Charles Moore 6'8" 295 FR 57
------------------------------------------------------------------
99 LE Eric Peitz 6'6" 259 SO* 77
94 LE Leo Davis 6'4" 250 SO* 71
92 LE Marcus Davis 6'3" 301 FR 69
93 LE Josh Mason 6'6" 242 FR 69
------------------------------------------------------------------
62 DT James Morehead 6'6" 315 SR* 75
96 DT Ryan Baker 6'4" 275 FR 73
91 DT Joe Charles 6'1" 300 FR 72
95 DT Matt Mueller 6'4" 271 FR* 64
------------------------------------------------------------------
98 RE Eugene Daniels 6'3" 248 SO* 77
90 RE Robert Ross 6'5" 300 SO 73
------------------------------------------------------------------
51 LOLB Chip Gregory 6'4" 212 JR* 84 [TRANSFER]
34 LOLB Sedric Patterson 6'1" 236 SR* 83 [IP]
56 LOLB Ricky Brewer 6'2" 220 JR* 74
50 LOLB Michael Kawulok 6'2" 211 SO* 61
------------------------------------------------------------------
33 MLB Terrance Thomas 6'0" 227 FR 75
97 MLB Marvin Porter 6'3" 234 FR 69
43 MLB Matt Hendrick 6'2" 239 SR* 68
48 MLB John Clark 6'3" 231 SR* 59
------------------------------------------------------------------
58 ROLB Blake Lawrence 6'2" 207 SO* 82 [TRANSFER]
42 ROLB Jake Pottorff 6'4" 250 SR* 79
46 ROLB Luke Diehl 6'2" 212 SO* 78
35 ROLB Stephen Arnold 6'5" 214 FR* 70
------------------------------------------------------------------
3 CB Jermaine Ruud 5'11" 184 SO 83
41 CB DeAngelo Wilkinson 5'10" 182 JR* 79 [CAPTAIN]
22 CB Travis Reynolds 6'3" 190 FR 77
8 CB Adam Jacques 5'9" 187 FR 71
32 CB Chase Brooks 5'9" 160 SO 70
30 CB Elijah Blu Smith 5'11" 192 SO* 64
40 CB Junior Williams 6'0" 173 SO 63
------------------------------------------------------------------
38 FS Jake Monroe 6'3" 220 FR 75
44 FS Chris Walker 6'3" 188 FR 70
45 FS Javan Smith 6'3" 194 FR 69
------------------------------------------------------------------
2 SS Brandon Booth 5'11" 166 FR 72
28 SS Zach Donaldson 6'1" 197 SO* 71
36 SS Jarrad McKay 6'0" 187 JR 69
26 SS Mychal Sisson 5'10" 197 SO* 67
------------------------------------------------------------------
39 K Bryan Carr 5'11" 168 JR 71
------------------------------------------------------------------
4 P Durrell Chamorro 6'1" 198 SR* 75

[Eaglesfan27]

Looks like a strong group coming in. Good luck this season.

[Ironhead]

In-Season Recruiting Gears Up
My school is ranked pretty much the same as last year. By signing a long contract extension our Program Stability has increased to Very Good. Our Television Exposure has decreased to Sub Par.

Through my recruiting efforts last year I have been able to add Texas as a pipeline state. That brings our total up to 4 states: Colorado, California, Texas and Utah.

The pool of recruits in Colorado seems to be smaller than the prior 2 years. All that matters though, is one recruit:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/Aaenuel/2009Wk1McGuire.jpg

This kid is just about my idea recruit at running back. Perfect size, good speed, excellent upper and lower body strength. He can also catch the ball to boot. His opening top 3 schools are Colorado, Ohio State and Texas A&M. I am listed as #10. This kid will be #1 on my board until we either sign him or lose him.

We also have a big time wideout out of California very interested in our school. I am not sure what it is but wideouts seem attracted like magnets to our university.

Looking past him I am at a little bit of a loss how to pursue this year. Because I was losing so many starters and seniors the first two years it was pretty clear what I needed to do: simply get replacement starters. I need to be careful that the narrow focus I have uses to obtain recruiting success the prior two years does not get lost this season. There are even fewer decent recruits interested in our program out of the gate this year. I attribute that to us not being able to offer immediate playing time like the prior 2 years.


Current Recruiting Board

Player POS RANK TOP 3 SCHOOLS VISIT
Ryan McGuire 5'10" 200 HB #28 CU, BUCKS, TAMU N/A
Ryan Irvin 6'2" 232 QB #275 USC, UCLA, PSU N/A
Darius Herron 6'4" 198 WR #42 CAL, CSU, UCLA N/A
Darius McDuffie 6'5" 304 G #454 CU, NEB, CSU N/A
Ron Thomas 6'0" 181 CB #297 MIZ, OKST, CSU N/A
Steven Spicer 6'6" 277 T #183 MICH, CU, IOWA N/A
Mike Powers 6'1" 308 G #256 FSU, TAMU, OU N/A
Dan Fox 6'3" 372 G #347 UCLA, BUCKS, BOISE N/A
Dan Tyler 6'2" 240 ATH(HB) #124 UCLA, CAL, PSU N/A
Mark Crowell 5'10" 248 FB #515 MIZ, ISU, NU N/A
Dion Logan 6'2" 245 MLB #662 FSU, TEXAS, UF N/A
Andy Williams 6'6" 275 DE #150 MIA, UF, PITT N/A
Chris Stewart 6'3" 241 TE #259 USC, SDSU, UCLA N/A
Austin Jones 6'1" 204 OLB #951 TUL, MISS ST, UCF N/A
Greg Malone 6'4" 257 TE #217 TAMU, TCU, OKST N/A
Charles Jones 6'2" 215 SS #481 UCLA, USC, CAL N/A
Heath Edwards 6'3" 240 DE #257 TAMU, TTU, FSU N/A
James Farris 6'5" 277 C #439 TERPS, BUCKS, UCLA N/A



Preseason Recognition
WR Chris Means - 2nd Team All American
OLB Jake Pottorff - 2nd Team All-MWC
CB DeAngelo Wilkinson - 2nd Team All-MWC

Preseason Top 25
01. USC
02. Texas
03. Penn State
04. Florida State
05. Miami
06. Oklahoma
07. Clemson
08. Iowa
09. Tennessee
10. Alabama
11. Michigan
12. Wisconsin
13. Oklahoma State
14. LSU
15. Rutgers
16. Florida
17. West Virginia
18. Texas A&M
19. Louisville
20. Ohio State
21. UCLA
22. Notre Dame
23. Missouri
24. Ole Miss
25. Arkansas


MWC Conference Outlook

OVR OFF DEF SPT
31. UNLV B B C B-
39. San Diego State B- B C+ B-
40. TCU B- B- C+ B-
63. Utah C+ C C C+
72. Colorado State B- B- C B
92. Wyoming C+ B- C- C+
95. New Mexico C+ C+ C B
111. BYU B- B- C B
115. Air Force C- C- D+ B-

[Ironhead]

After being quite irritated by several bugs with the depth chart in the game and taking a week to beat Marvel: Ultimate Alliance I am ready to get this cranked up again. Wideout Damon Morton, a starter from last year and my highest rated wideout, will not see the field this year due to some bugs with the depth chart. I am just going to roll with it and chalk it up to something outside the game like ending up in the coach's doghouse.

[BYU 14]

Great job landing McGuire, it will be fun to see how he develops over his career, should be able to help right away.