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Week 1, 2024 - Colorado State @ Texas


Wulaw Horn

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21 hours ago, Newy25 said:


Yes he did. But that also speaks to the lack of skill receiving threats we will face this year too when those two are all I could come up with to compare to Horton. I guess Deion Burks would also be in that discussion. 

If we played a Big 12 schedule this year we would face more elite talent at WR. In that regard, we got a pretty nice draw on our SEC schedule. 

Nic Anderson 

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9 hours ago, Hookem2147 said:

20 of 22 starters in at least their 3rd year in the program. Veteran group.

I thought it was interesting Sark said yesterday his goal is to get you in the game in the first half if you are in the two-deep. Hard to envision a 56-7 type blowout if they are rotating that early and often unless CSU is turning the ball over left and right.

Didn't realize CSU had such an experienced OL. Should be a genuinely interesting game to watch from a defensive perspective.

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17 hours ago, crash_davis said:

We're going to look like we did against Rice last year, win by 20 but looking shitty in some stretches. New receivers, mostly new RB crew, replacing 2 NFL tackles on DLine, first game play calling not wanting to show anything, etc.

Everyone's pet heads will fall off.

Then later we'll play for the SEC championship and everyone will have forgotten about this game.

It'll be exactly like Rice. We'll stall out since Quinn isn't known for fast starts and we'll run a bunch of "high school" plays so that Michigan won't have any real film on us for the next week. 

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Just now, Longboard Horn said:

It'll be exactly like Rice. We'll stall out since Quinn isn't known for fast starts and we'll run a bunch of "high school" plays so that Michigan won't have any real film on us for the next week. 

Given Michigan has three years of Sarkisian film at Texas and more before that, why not run previously seen Sarkisian rather than high school? 

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17 hours ago, Rimbo said:

You were right about everything except for this.

We are the Joneses.

I’m not saying that we won’t be an important game on everyone’s schedule, obviously, but Georgia isn’t going to spend the summer game planning for us when they have Clemson and Alabama before us, and they aren’t going to blow off Kentucky or Tennessee game prep 2 or 3 weeks out while they game plan for us. That’s a big difference. We were everyone’s rivalry/circled game in the conference. We just won’t be now. Just one big game against many. 

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20 hours ago, crash_davis said:

We're going to look like we did against Rice last year, win by 20 but looking shitty in some stretches. New receivers, mostly new RB crew, replacing 2 NFL tackles on DLine, first game play calling not wanting to show anything, etc.

Everyone's pet heads will fall off.

Then later we'll play for the SEC championship and everyone will have forgotten about this game.

Interesting to note that CSU ended up rating just above Rice last year in the Massey ratings. 

If Norvell doesn't do a Turtle Tom at the end of the CU game then they go bowling.

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57 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

I’m not saying that we won’t be an important game on everyone’s schedule, obviously, but Georgia isn’t going to spend the summer game planning for us when they have Clemson and Alabama before us, and they aren’t going to blow off Kentucky or Tennessee game prep 2 or 3 weeks out while they game plan for us. That’s a big difference. We were everyone’s rivalry/circled game in the conference. We just won’t be now. Just one big game against many. 

Well said. I don't think the national media really understands what a change this is for us. The talent level definitely increases on a week in and week out basis, but the focus and intensity won't be there outside of our rivals. 

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20 hours ago, Machinator said:

Burton

  Hide contents

 

**

I’m going to go ahead and put this out there: I think Alfred Collins will be the team’s most improved player.

Collins has finally had the off-season we all had been hoping for the previous three years.

I don’t know that he’ll make his way into the first or second round like Byron Murphy or T’Vondre Sweat. But I expect Collins to make the leap from a depth piece on last year’s roster to a head-turner on this year’s.

**

 

 

THIS is the extra sugar Kool-Aid I've been waiting for all offseason. Something of substance to get me hyped up for the season. Could make a huge difference in our defense going from good to great. A lot of the 9.95er-speak is the same "camp battle" gibberish that is easy to skim through, but hearing a senior defensive lineman is growing into a leader and impact player is something that transpires at Texas fairly often, we need it from Collins and/or Broughton this year.

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20 hours ago, gmr548 said:

Didn't realize CSU had such an experienced OL. Should be a genuinely interesting game to watch from a defensive perspective.

 

TBF our OL in 2021 was "experienced." As was the one in 2009. Still sucked tho

 

7 hours ago, Wulaw Horn said:

I’m not saying that we won’t be an important game on everyone’s schedule, obviously, but Georgia isn’t going to spend the summer game planning for us when they have Clemson and Alabama before us, and they aren’t going to blow off Kentucky or Tennessee game prep 2 or 3 weeks out while they game plan for us. That’s a big difference. We were everyone’s rivalry/circled game in the conference. We just won’t be now. Just one big game against many. 

 

And what I'm saying is that this is a temporary thing at best. EVERYONE wants to beat Texas, just like how everyone wants to beat USC, Notre Dame, Michigan, and Alabama.

You think Georgia isn't circling the game? That's because you forgot about this:

College Football GIF by Storyful

Georgia sure as shit didn't forget, nor will they forget the ass-whipping we gave em after.

It's circled. It's always circled. Doesn't make a shit who the opponent is.

 

4 minutes ago, coachherman'sgrill said:

A lot of people are saying it, and I've heard it from other sites, that Jay Norvell doesn't believe birds are real. Just repeating what I've heard.

is he wrong tho? they aren't...

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45 minutes ago, D_Goose said:

From page 209 of my grandfather’s 1924 yearbook:

  Reveal hidden contents

CLARK FIELD

Clark Field Abdicates

Clark Field, cradle of Texas athletics, has given way to its inevitable successor, a Stadium. The infant Longhorn has outgrown its early home, and has long strained in its cramped pen of weather-beaten boards. Spirits of Longhorn athletes in days gone by hover round the worn gray grandstand, waiting to claim to their memory alone the scene of so many clashes where they withstood invasions of gridiron, track and diamond.

But Clark Field will not pass forever from the realm of usefulness. The field will still be used temporarily as a baseball park, but with the erection of the Stadium, track and football will go to the new structure on Breckenridge Field. Plans for the Stadium indicate that Texas athletes of the future will, indeed, be called on for great performances if they would build traditions for their new home in proportion to its magnificence.

A great horseshoe stand, elaborate dressing rooms and showers, with all conveniences, basketball courts for practice work, an indoor track with a 100-yard straight-a-way, and indoor equipment for field events all these will be a material and inspirational blessing to the Longhorn teams.

Texas has gathered momentum noticeably in athletic progress during the last year or two.

The glories of the past are no brighter than the promise of the future. Unprecedented success in the five major sports of the Southwest give Texas a premier ranking in all. Student body and alumni now assume a premier supporting role in the building of the Stadium.

THE STADIUM

IMG_2665.thumb.jpeg.4d03266dc85fc208a6a6e5a59cb7de8a.jpeg


You should send that image to CDC. Seem to get a kick out of historical stuff like that.

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(Paul Wadlington) 2024 Colorado State Football Preview

Spoiler

We’ve previewed a dozen different aspects of the Colorado State Rams over the last few weeks in both written and video form, so I thought I’d share a 2024 Longhorn Football Prospectus: Thinking Texas Football excerpt with a few updates to reflect injuries or meaningful camp developments to act as an overarching cap to all of that content.

---

Former Texas assistant Jay Norvell enters his 3rd year in Fort Collins and the Rams have shown reasonable improvement during his brief tenure. At his prior stop in Nevada, Norvell transformed the Wolfpack from awful to respectable over five years (33-26 overall in his time there despite a 3-9 start) and the Front Range rebuild is going according to plan with Norvell leveling the Rams up from a 3-9 mark in 2022 to 5-7 in 2023. 

Last season the margins were close. The Rams endured a double overtime loss to Colorado in a game that they controlled until they didn’t, they suffered a 2 point loss to UNLV and an ignominious last second field goal walk off defeat by Hawaii. The Rams are close to playing winning football, but they will need more help in the trenches if they’re going to consistently challenge the Mountain West elite. The halcyon days of head coach Sonny Lubick (6 Mountain West titles) and tough guy quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt spiking a football off of a Colorado defensive back’s helmet while scoring a touchdown are not forgotten in Fort Collins (Colorado State, Van Pelt, head spike touchdown is worth the YouTube search), but the memories are growing dim.

The program is not without resources and commitment. The Rams boast a new stadium less than a decade old, state of the art training facilities and an attractive campus in a vibrant state. While the Rams have played good football in the past – most notably under former head coach Sonny Lubick – their most pressing issue is not a lack of consistent winning tradition, but compensating for their lack of a natural recruiting base and deflecting the steady incursion of big conference suitors wooing their talent via the portal and NIL. In the offseason, they lost two starting receivers and their best starting defensive lineman to programs like Syracuse, San Diego State and Florida State, with other key contributors departing for West Virginia and Florida. 

That’s the reality for Group of Five programs in the new era of college football and only the most creative, well-resourced and resilient programs will find a way to prosper and stem the outbound tide rather than just serve as a developmental farm affiliate. The Rams will be considerably outmatched in their season opener on the road in Austin (Las Vegas currently shows Texas favored by 31.5), but overall program improvement, a reasonable Mountain West schedule that features seven home games and hosting arch rival Colorado in Fort Collins suggests a team likely to break their six year bowl absence.

Strengths

The Rams have a capable passing game and like so many other programs nationwide, their lead triggerman is a former Texas high school quarterback. Aledo native Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi was pressed into action early when the Rams benched Clay Millen for poor performance in their home opener and they turned the reins over to the untested redshirt freshman for the rest of the year. 

Despite his inexperience, Fowler-Nicolosi played well despite a penchant for turnovers. Brayden threw for 3460 yds to go with 22 touchdowns and 16 interceptions but he needed 470 pass attempts to get there for a middling 7.4 yards per passing attempt. His miscues came in spurts: he had four games with 2 or more interceptions. The Rams’ quarterback is mobile in the pocket, but not a true run threat. His best attributes are fearlessness and accuracy under pressure. The young gun was bloodied and tested last year and should be much improved in his sophomore season. 

This year, Fowler-Nicolosi will be even more comfortable in the Rams’ quick spread passing attack, which asks the signal caller to make immediate reads and get the ball out quickly to a stable of talented pass catchers. Fowler-Nicolosi is a capable thrower (apparently bigger programs think so too – he was offered $600,000 to leave the Rams this offseason per Norvell) and their quick read, timing based passing schemes seek to isolate open men on the move via endless crossing routes – Houston and Kansas State nightmare flashback sequence initiated – and this will present an interesting unit challenge for the Texas safeties, nickel and linebackers. 

The receiving corps is led by the lithe and deadly Tory Horton. The 6-2, 190 pound athlete has elite quickness and is a route runner par excellence, but don’t underestimate his pure explosiveness – Horton was clocked at over 22 miles per hour against Colorado per Reel Analytics. Horton caught 96 balls for 1136 yards and 8 touchdowns last year. In fact, he’s attempting to become the only wide receiver in Rams history with three consecutive 1,000+ yard seasons. His best attribute is his ability to create immediate space in the middle of the field on scrapes, slants, stops and crossers. His quarterback was an incredible 36 of 41 for 446 yards and 4 touchdowns when targeting Horton between the hash marks 0-19 yards from scrimmage. If Texas hasn’t cleaned up that part of the defense from last year, it’s a good bet that Horton will shine an uncomfortable light on it. 

Though Colorado State lost their star tight end Dallin Holker to graduation and starting receivers Justus Ross-Simmons and Louis Brown in the portal, Norvell worked the transfer wire capably enough to bring in four native Texans to complement Horton. That’s former SMU wide receiver Dylan Goffney (6-0, 215), former Texas verbal commit and Baylor Bear Armani Winfield and former Washington State and Cincinnati deep threat Donovan Ollie. Finally, former quarterback turned tight end Jaxxon Warren (6-7, 245) from North Texas State will bring raw athleticism to the position (UPDATE: He’s now injured and will miss the season, his replacement Vince Brown is the same profile), but probably not much blocking. While the rest of the receiving group likely took a step back, Horton remains the straw that stirs the drink. Texas should gameplan for him to see double digit targets. In the first half. 

The Colorado State defense wasn’t a world beater last year but it featured a pair of fine safeties in Henry Blackburn and Jack Howell. Both are physical with high football IQs and the two returning seniors are more athletic than perceived. Howell led Colorado State with 114 tackles last year and was named 1st Team All Mountain West. He’s an outstanding tackler and team leader, but he’s questionable in single coverage. The more versatile Blackburn chipped in 75 tackles, 3 interceptions and 2.5 sacks to go with 7.5 tackles for loss. He also drew quite a bit of media attention (and death threats) for his aggressive hit on Buffalo standout Travis Hunter last year. Blackburn and Howell leverage their experience and physicality adeptly, but they are too often the saving tackle on a potential big play created by failures elsewhere in the defense. The Rams badly need to shore up the complementary pieces around them to have a defense at parity with last year. 

Weaknesses

Last year, Colorado State’s defense surrendered 29.6 points per game and just over 400 yards per contest, but they were capable of getting after the passer in spurts. That’s despite a bend-but-don’t-break pass defense that allowed opponents to complete an amazing 71.4% of their passes at a healthy 7.7 yards per attempt. The Rams pass defense was all too frequently bled out by endless nicks and cuts. Unsurprisingly, opponents converted nearly 44% of their 3rd downs and 56% of their 4th downs. Not giving up big plays and hoping for an offense to self-destruct is not a bad tactic against mediocre or inept offenses and the Rams held red zone visitors to 28 touchdowns in 48 red zone visits, but relying on opponent mistakes and a constricting field removes initiative and renders a defense nearly helpless against high executing offenses. It’s also why they suffered a six minute deficit in time of possession last year. Teams could establish a lead and then play keep away with an endless succession of money down conversions. 

The Rams will struggle to replace their best pass rusher in Mo Kamara (13 sacks, 5th round draft pick) and their best run stopper Grady Kelly transferred to Florida State. Their most dynamic returning defender up front is sophomore Nuer Gatkuoth (UPDATE: out with turf toe), who is either a lanky edge or the name of a Dune villain. Colorado State has improved its depth up front overall, but most of them are bodies rather than impact players and they will be badly outmatched over four quarters going against the Longhorn offensive line. Quinn Ewers should be able to scratch off three lottery tickets in the pocket before having to pull the trigger. 

A great deal is riding on new transfer cornerbacks Elias Larry (Navy) and Isaiah Essissima (Nevada) for this defense to blossom.(UPDATE: 6-3, 195 pound North Dakota State transfer Dom Jones should start over Essissima). Given that Navy and Nevada don’t rate very highly as lockdown cornerback factories, the Rams are just hoping for adequacy. Colorado State’s default coverage from their corners last year was lining up somewhere in Wyoming and their inability to play anything beyond soft man or a forgiving zone made their coverages predictable and put far too much playmaking responsibility on their fine safeties. This defense has little hope of tangible upside without the ability to challenge receivers outside on money downs. 

The structure of the quick-throwing Rams offense is as much a necessity as a preference given the offensive line. Though Colorado State only surrendered 14 sacks last year, that statistic is deceptive. Fowler-Nicolosi releases the ball immediately to predetermined spots on timing routes. That’s partially responsible for his inflated interception numbers but it also suggests an elite level of pass blocking competence that the Rams did not actually exhibit. This is a reasonable pass blocking unit, but the larger schematic and systemic minimization of sacks gives them a reputation they may not have fully earned.

Unfortunately, they might have earned their dubious reputation as run blockers. Colorado State offensive linemen exhibited little ability to get credible push in the run game, though they were certainly hampered by a subpar group of running backs for most of the season. On the season, the Rams averaged a measly 92 yards per game rushing at 3.3 yards per carry. The team was held under 100 total yards rushing on six different occasions. In frustration, the staff finally elevated 4th string 175 pound true freshman Justin Marshall over the last three games to change the dynamic and find some kind of spark. It worked. Sparks flew like an inoffensive Lifetime channel romantic comedy where the divorced chardonnay Mom meets the gruff handsome cowboy at the town corn maze. Marshall responded with 311 total yards rushing at 5.5 yards per carry with 119, 98 and 94 yard efforts in their last three games. Those three individual yardage totals were the best individual efforts of any Ram back on the season and the Rams exceeded 100 total team yards rushing in all three contests. Their likelihood of running the ball consistently against Texas are slim and none with Slim leaving town soon, but it is a trend worth mentioning. The Rams clearly found something in the diminutive Marshall and he’ll be the starting running back in Austin. 

***

Additional thoughts about this matchup:

The Rams will have almost no ability to pass rush Ewers without blitzing and that’s very dangerous for them
This is a good proving ground for nickel Jaylon Guilbeau, for the reasons mentioned above. Let’s see how he holds up against an offense that picks on the nickel
Anticipation and coordination is key for the secondary to disrupt CSU timing routes. Can’t just concede underneath stuff
Pass rushers need to penetrate quickly and have active hands
Offensively, Texas’ main challenge is in the mirror. The Rams don’t have the personnel to hold up if Texas plays to a high standard
There’s value in playing the 2nd team offense at full go and letting it rip

 

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8 hours ago, Rimbo said:

 

TBF our OL in 2021 was "experienced." As was the one in 2009. Still sucked tho

 

 

And what I'm saying is that this is a temporary thing at best. EVERYONE wants to beat Texas, just like how everyone wants to beat USC, Notre Dame, Michigan, and Alabama.

You think Georgia isn't circling the game? That's because you forgot about this:

College Football GIF by Storyful

Georgia sure as shit didn't forget, nor will they forget the ass-whipping we gave em after.

It's circled. It's always circled. Doesn't make a shit who the opponent is.

 

is he wrong tho? they aren't...

Haven’t seen that angle before.

look are all those people scattering like cockroaches 

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8 hours ago, D_Goose said:

From page 209 of my grandfather’s 1924 yearbook:

  Reveal hidden contents

CLARK FIELD

Clark Field Abdicates

Clark Field, cradle of Texas athletics, has given way to its inevitable successor, a Stadium. The infant Longhorn has outgrown its early home, and has long strained in its cramped pen of weather-beaten boards. Spirits of Longhorn athletes in days gone by hover round the worn gray grandstand, waiting to claim to their memory alone the scene of so many clashes where they withstood invasions of gridiron, track and diamond.

But Clark Field will not pass forever from the realm of usefulness. The field will still be used temporarily as a baseball park, but with the erection of the Stadium, track and football will go to the new structure on Breckenridge Field. Plans for the Stadium indicate that Texas athletes of the future will, indeed, be called on for great performances if they would build traditions for their new home in proportion to its magnificence.

A great horseshoe stand, elaborate dressing rooms and showers, with all conveniences, basketball courts for practice work, an indoor track with a 100-yard straight-a-way, and indoor equipment for field events all these will be a material and inspirational blessing to the Longhorn teams.

Texas has gathered momentum noticeably in athletic progress during the last year or two.

The glories of the past are no brighter than the promise of the future. Unprecedented success in the five major sports of the Southwest give Texas a premier ranking in all. Student body and alumni now assume a premier supporting role in the building of the Stadium.

THE STADIUM

IMG_2665.thumb.jpeg.4d03266dc85fc208a6a6e5a59cb7de8a.jpeg

that is badass

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14 hours ago, Machinator said:

 

So what happens when one team's radios stop working? Do both teams have to stop using them? 

 

I have sneaking suspicion OU's will mysteriously stop working 5 minutes into the game against Texas. 

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1 hour ago, Kwix said:

So what happens when one team's radios stop working? Do both teams have to stop using them? 

 

I have sneaking suspicion OU's will mysteriously stop working 5 minutes into the game against Texas. 


Fuck em. Bring a backup. 

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3 hours ago, Kwix said:

So what happens when one team's radios stop working? Do both teams have to stop using them? 

 

I have sneaking suspicion OU's will mysteriously stop working 5 minutes into the game against Texas. 

Same thing will happen at aggy.

Also, I hope to Hell someone told Sark to NOT stay in collie station (endless hotel harassing-phone-calls, hotel-fire-alarms pulled all night, etc.), and for god's sake, to avoid food-poisoning (like the Colt McCoy incident one year) **bring food for the team along with you** because these cheating-aggy-regards will try that food-poisoning-BS again if you give them half the chance.

Just because it didn't happen to BamaJelly when Sark was OC there when they went to play aggy, doesn't mean they won't do it to Texas, again.

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19 minutes ago, Machinator said:

* There are rumblings about who will be starting along the OL, particularly at offensive guard where both Cole Hutson and Neto Umeozulu are pushing DJ Campbell (more than Hayden Conner, we're told). We've chronicled that the last week or so.

This is interesting. I wonder if this is more a reflection on the play of Hutson and Neto, or that of Campbell.

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