*** NCAA Football Preview - Colorado State ***
From The My Sportsbook
By Gregg Xenakes, College Football Staff Writer
2003 SEASON IN REVIEW: Last season the Rams were once again all about quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt and his emerging talent. A signal-caller by trade, Van Pelt had the body of a tight end, with the mentality of a deranged linebacker who was always looking to put a hit on someone. He threw for 2,845 yards and 19 touchdowns, while completing better than 60 percent of his attempts. But even more than that, Van Pelt also led the squad in rushing with 909 yards on 170 carries, leading to an additional 10 scores. Needless to say, with all that production taking Colorado State to a record of 7-6, the quarterback was named the Offensive Player of the Year in the Mountain West Conference for the second time in his career, one that is now in the books in Fort Collins. Even as the team led the league in total yards per game with 438.9 yards per outing, with a yearly total of 5,706 yards being the second highest total in MWC history, a slow start to the campaign in terms of wins and losses was hard to overcome. After a disappointing season opener versus Colorado (42-35) in front of more than 76,000 in Denver, the squad split its next four games, with losses to both Utah and Miami-Ohio. The team did post a win against Cal early on and easily topped an overwhelmed Weber State program, but then the league schedule produced an overall mark of just 4-3 even with the weekly heroics of Van Pelt. Head coach Sonny Lubick managed to get his team to yet another bowl game with a December 31st date against Boston College in the newly created San Francisco Bowl, but in that contest the Rams came up short in a 35-21 decision. Lubick, who is entering his 11th season at the helm at CSU, has taken the Rams to a total of eight bowl games since 1994, but only three of those have resulted in wins. With five straight appearances in the postseason, the team might have trouble extending that streak this year without Van Pelt to get them fired up.
2004 ANALYSIS:
OFFENSE: Take away Van Pelt from under center and the Rams are left with a glaring hole in their offense, and their entire team for that matter. While he got most, if not all, of the glory, he also took pressure off the rest of his teammates by seemingly doing it all himself. Taking over under center for the group will be junior Justin Holland, one of the most highly recruited quarterbacks in quite some time in Fort Collins. Holland saw a little playing time last year, actually starting the bowl game after Van Pelt missed practice time with a broken hand. He showed better accuracy, but wasn't as adept at throwing downfield. Running backs Jimmy Green and Marcus Houston each have something to prove coming out of the backfield in 2004 and should get the bulk of the carries now that Van Pelt is out of the mix. Regarded as one of the top receivers in the Mountain West, David Anderson, named First Team All-MWC, answers the call once again for plays heading down field in a hurry. Scheduled to protect the skilled players that get all the glory are three experienced linemen in Albert Bimper, Michael Brisiel and Erik Pears.
DEFENSE: Allowing nearly 25 points per game last year, the defense surrendered points as fast as Van Pelt's crew could put them up. This season the squad could be in even bigger trouble as only Patrick Goodpaster returns as a starter on the front line. In all, the defense lost seven starters, which is more than enough to devastate most programs, but it appears as though Lubick has convinced people (the team was picked to finish second in the Mountain West by the media) that he has just the right people to fill in the gaps. Goodpaster, who with his five sacks and 10 TFLs a year ago was selected an All-MWC honorable mention, will be joined by Terrence Carter and Luke Adkins to anchor the front for the group. The coach has always built this unit on the strength of its linebackers, and this is where Lubick might run into some trouble. The only returning starter of the three is Jahmal Hall, and at 6-0, 183, the strongside linebacker is probably undersized compared to the rest of the league. Joining him in the middle are senior Landon Jones and junior Courtney Jones, a pair of heavy hitters who are 232 and 219 pounds, respectively. Third on the team in tackles last year was defensive back Ben Stratton, which translated into being named All-MWC honorable mention. From his free safety position, Stratton will see another familiar face at the strong safety spot in Adam Lancisero, although the senior could be hard to make out considering he is just 5-9, 198.
SPECIAL TEAMS: The least of Lubick's worries this season will be at either of the kicking spots, which will again be held by Jeff Babcock. The senior was perfect on the road last season when it came to field goals, knocking through all nine of his attempts, including four against New Mexico. Overall he was 13-of-19 with a long of 48 yards, and given that the offense will probably not be as potent this season, expect to see Babcock on the field a little more often taking shots at the uprights. Not only that, but the kicker will also have his fair share of punts as well, after averaging just over 42 yards per kick in 2003. The team's kick return man for the last four years was Dexter Wynn, with his exit making room for Anderson to pick up some all-purpose yards to go along with the ones he collects on receptions.
OUTLOOK: Last season the Rams lost a heartbreaker to in-state rival Colorado in the opener, this year's contest will also commence the campaign, but in Boulder, CSU will have an even tougher time. If that were not enough, the team then heads to preseason favorite USC the following week and then hosts Minnesota before Montana State comes calling in late September. The non- conference schedule, with the exception of Montana State, does not do the Rams any favors. Having to kick off with three straight milestone contests could spell doom for the group once it begins play against the rest of the Mountain West. Picking them to finish second was probably a reaction to how bad the rest of the MWC will be and not how strong the Rams actually are these days.
