FORT COLLINS — Who cares that CSU’s stuck in the mother of all pillow fights? It’s a fight the Rams can win, baby.
Three words, FoCo faithful:
Embrace the ugly.
“I really don’t care, to be honest with you, about scheme and all that stuff — it’s about the results,” CSU football coach Jay Norvell said of his Rams (5-3, 3-0 Mountain West), who’ll take a three-game win streak into Nevada on Saturday night.
“So we’re committed to playing a certain way … we’re unapologetic about that and we’re going to continue to do the things we feel like we need to do to win.”
The Rams sported a winning record on Oct. 27 for the first time in seven years. Feels more like 15.
Take out 2020, and CSU’s got a 14-24 mark over its last five Oct. 27ths. This is usually the point in the season where fans of a 3-5 team try to squint really hard to see six wins and a postseason berth.
But not this fall. The Rams just capped off their first winning October (3-1) since 2019 (that team went 2-1 with a bye) and first in an October with four games or more since — well, 2017 again.
But because this is CSU, even the fun in Fort Fun doesn’t seem to come easy. Norvell’s Rams are a curious creature right now, a winning team that’s sometimes painful even for the faithful to watch.
CSU’s scored 17 points or fewer three times this season; had to hang for dear life against a 1-6 Air Force crew; let a pass-poor, mediocre Oregon State bunch escape in double OT after pinning the Beavs to the ropes; and got pummeled by the only two ranked teams on its fight card (Texas, CU) by a combined score of 80-9. For every step forward for Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, the young QB often seems to take a teensy step back.
And yet the last month might be Norvell’s best pure coaching job since his arrival in FoCo before the 2022 season.
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The Rams keep swinging with whatever clubs are left in the bag. They didn’t fold up a single tent when their best player on either side of the ball, wideout Tory Horton, was lost for the season.
Norvell had to re-structure, re-invent and re-think this offense on the fly about three weeks in. He did the logical, if aesthetically unsexy, thing — play to his strengths.
For CSU, that’s two relentless tailbacks; an experienced, physical offensive line; and a veteran defense that’s already seen everything twice over.
Goodbye, Air Raid.
Hello, Wisconsin West.
The Runnin’ Rams averaged 190 rushing yards in October while giving up just 165 per game on the ground and snatching three takeaways per game. If you liked the middle portion of the Broncos’ 2023 roller-coaster, CSU’s more or less trying to fashion a similar script. With a happier ending.
It’s not exactly what was promised. It’s not always easy on the eyes. But it’s working.
No apologies.
No caveats.
No asterisks.
Embrace the ugly.
“Honestly, I think the guys in the scheme have bought in (to) that, ‘OK, if we want the downfield shots that we want, if we want the 1-on-1 matchups, we’ve got to block for the guys who are running,’” said Winfield, a 4-star wideout from Baylor who probably didn’t come here to open holes for Avery Morrow and Justin Marshall, but has done it anyway.
“Even in the receiver room, that was hard for us to understand, at first. But I think now that we see, as Caleb Goodie’s last touchdown (vs. New Mexico) was a play-action post over the top, it’s all coming hand-in-hand. And I think the guys are seeing it now.”
Look at it this way, Rams fans: While the football gods tooketh Horton, they also gaveth the worst Air Force and Wyoming teams in a generation — at the same time.
If the Carolina Panthers were a collegiate conference, they’d be the Mountain West. You could pilot one of those S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarriers from the Marvel movies through the gap between Boise State and UNLV and the rest of the league.
In yet another gift from On High, CSU doesn’t play the Broncos or Rebels. The bottom four squads in the MW are a combined 7-25, and CSU gets to face all four — with three still left on the slate in Nevada (Saturday) on the road and the Pokes (Nov. 15) and Utah State (Nov. 29) at home.
Now you have to squint to not see at least seven wins on the Rams’ dance card. Chalk says this team lands at 8-4. The worst 8-4 team in the country beats a sexy 4-8 any day of the week. If the Rams win out, they’re in the Mountain West championship game.
“A win is a win,” Winfield said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s ugly or pretty. All I know is, our team is going to find a way to win. And I feel like that’s what matters at the end of the day.”
Embrace the ugly.
Because ain’t winning beautiful?
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