Colorado State (2-7, 1-4 Mountain West) at New Mexico (6-2, 3-2 Mountain West)
When/where: 1 p.m. Saturday/University Stadium
TV/Radio: Altitude/Mountain West Network/Rams Radio Network
BetMGM Line: CSU +14.5, 53.5 over/under
Weather: 71 degrees, sunny
Series History: CSU leads 45-25; the Rams won 17-6 last year in Fort Collins
Three storylines
Dupree waives white flag: Running back Jalen Dupree announced this week he left the team and will be entering the transfer portal at the end of the season. Dupree’s business decision leaves CSU without its leading rusher for a ground game that was already struggling, as the Rams’ 137.22 rushing yards per game are fourth-worst in the Mountain West. Dupree is the second high-profile player to depart midseason, joining quarterback Brayden Fowler Nicolosi, who threw in the towel in October after losing his job earlier in the year.
Stopping Bankston: New Mexico do-everything running back Damon Bankston ranks second nationally in kickoff return average (30.4 yards), 14th overall in all-purpose yardage (119.4 yards) and has 11 all-purpose plays (rushing, receiving and returning) of 30 yards or more. That ranks fourth in the nation. All of which means the CSU defense and special teams has a tall task on Saturday in containing Bankston and trying to make sure the senior doesn’t beat them all by himself. CSU’s defense has gotten gashed to the tune of 423.44 yards per game.
Rams’ QB struggles: Since Jackson Brousseau took over at QB for Fowler-Nicolosi in the Rams’ Week 3 loss to UTSA, the redshirt sophomore’s performance has been vanilla at best. He’s thrown for 993 yards with a 60.3 completion percentage and seven TDs, three interceptions and 18 sacks. Redshirt freshman Darius Curry hasn’t been any better when he’s gotten fleeting chances to command the offense. Judging by those performances, CSU should be an attractive landing spot for experienced quarterbacks in the portal.
Predictions
Kyle Newman, sportswriter: New Mexico 41, CSU 13
All the Rams’ preseason talk about making a run at the Mountain West championship seems so far away now. This dumpster-fire season gets worse in Albuquerque as New Mexico races out to a three-TD lead before halftime in a game that’s never close. The only thing that’s left to track is if linebacker Owen Long — currently third in FBS with 110 tackles, eight behind the leader — can make a push to finish as the nation’s leading tackler.
Sean Keeler, sports columnist: New Mexico 31, CSU 10
CSU doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in Eck. As if the Rams didn’t have enough problems, now they’re walking into a matchup one. The Lobos rank among the top 35 defenses in the country in yards per rush allowed (3.7), opponent rush yards per game (116.5) and sack percentage (7.37%). New Mexico coach (and former CU grad assistant) Jason Eck is about to rake in a serious chunk of change from somebody — maybe even his alma mater, Wisconsin.
Matt Schubert, sports editor: New Mexico 30, CSU 13
Is there a better indicator of how far the Rams have fallen than being a two-touchdown underdog to New Mexico? The Lobos are two weeks removed from clinching their first bowl berth in nine years, and the team they beat (UNLV) to lock up win No. 6 is also the one that just clobbered CSU, 42-10, last Saturday night in FoCo. Transitive properties don’t always work in college football, but this one feels like a pretty safe bet — especially after the mid-week departure of Jalen Dupree.
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