CSU GameDay: Colorado St vs. Colorado by The Coloradoan

D4 THE COLORADOAN, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2012

WWW.COLORADOAN.COM

Miles Blumhardt

Dan Watson

Kelly Lyell

Jeff Bersch

Stephen Meyers

Matt Stephens

Kevin Lytle

CSU vs. CU

CSU 21-20

CSU 24-21

CSU 20-17

CU 17-14

CSU 17-14

CU 24-17

Wyoming at Texas

TEXAS 35-13

TEXAS 20-19

TEXAS 45-17

TEXAS 41-17

TEXAS 37-10

TEXAS 45-17

TEXAS 4-14

Idaho State at Air Force

AIR FORCE 45-17

AIR FORCE 43-13

AIR FORCE 42-7

AIR FORCE 28-10

AIR FORCE 38-9

AIR FORCE35-3

AIR FORCE31-10

Alabama vs. Michigan

ALABAMA 24-13

MICHIGAN 2-19

ALABAMA 17-14

ALABAMA 24-20

ALABAMA 24-14

MICHIGAN 21-17

ALABAMA28-24

Southern Miss. at Nebraska

NEBRASKA 35-21

NEBRASKA 44-20

NEBRASKA 35-10

NEBRASKA 38-14

NEBRASKA 35-20

NEBRASKA 28-14

NEBRASKA 35-21

How They Did

Last Week: 0-0 This Season: 0-0

GameDay

Preview by Position BY KELLY LYELL

COLORADO STATE

COLORADO

CSU (0-0)

The edge here goes to Colorado’s Jordan Webb, based on experience alone. The junior transfer started 19 games the past two years for Kansas, while his CSU counterpart, sophomore Garrett Grayson, was forced into action late in the year and now is adjusting to a new coach.

COLORADO (0-0)

SCHEDULE

vs. Colorado (Denver) NORTH DAKOTA STATE at San Jose State UTAH STATE at Air Force FRESNO STATE at San Diego State HAWAII at Wyoming UNLV at Boise State NEW MEXICO

2 p.m. 5 p.m. 6 p.m. 5 p.m. noon 5 p.m. 5 p.m. 5 p.m. 2:30 p.m. 5 p.m. 1:30 p.m. 5 p.m.

Today Sept. 8 Sept. 15 Sept. 22 Sept. 29 Oct. 11 Oct. 20 Oct. 27 Nov. 3 Nov. 10 Nov. 17 Nov. 23

Continued from Page D1

QUARTERBACK

WHEN: 2 P.M. TODAY — TV: FX — RADIO: KLZ (AM 560), KCOL (AM 600), KOA (AM 850)

Today Sept. 8 Sept. 15 Sept. 22 Sept. 29 Oct. 6 Oct. 13 Oct. 27 Nov. 3 Nov. 10 Nov. 17 Nov. 24

Showdown

RUNNING BACKS

vs. CSU in Denver SACRAMENTO STATE at Fresno State at Washington State UCLA ARIZONA STATE at Southern California at Oregon STANFORD at Arizona WASHINGTON UTAH

2 p.m. 1 p.m. 6 p.m. TBA TBA 7 p.m. TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA 1 p.m.

CSU’s Chris Nwoke came on strong late last season, finishing the year with 1,130 yards despite splitting carries with graduated senior Raymond Carter. CU’s top returnee is Tony Jones, who ran for 297 yards and two TDs while backing up senior Rodney Stewart. CSU has a clear advantage.

RECEIVERS Had CU not lost Paul Richardson for the season to a knee injury, the Buffs would be tough here. Instead, they’ve lost their top seven receivers from last season. CSU, on the other hand, has its top four back, led by tight end Crockett Gillmore and his 45 catches for 468 yards and four TDs.

OFFENSIVE LINE TEAM STATISTICS

TEAM STATISTICS

2011 season First downs Avg. time of possession Avg. yards per game Avg. rushing per game Avg. passing per game Sacked/yards lost Completions/attempts Completion percentage Intercepted Punting avg. Penalties/yards Fumbles/lost

CSU 220 30:25 351.4 166.8 184.6 35-224 208/334 62.3 14 43.5 82/729 21/12

opponent 251 29:35 413.2 233.7 179.6 26-139 181/293 61.8 8 44.8 66/676 21/14

CU 241 31:05 346.3 108.7 237.6 31/216 250/450 55.6 11 41.1 103/866 18/8

opponent 307 28:55 439.3 183.9 255.4 32/189 271/414 65.5 7 45.8 87/923 20/8

PLAYER TO WATCH

Name: Chris Nwoke Position: Running back Bio: Junior from Highlands Ranch ran for 1,130 yards and nine TDs as a part-time starter last year.

Name: Jordan Webb Position: Quarterback Bio: Transfer from Kansas threw for 1,884 yards and 12 touchdowns last season for a 2-10 Jayhawks team

2011 INDIVIDUAL LEADERS PASSING P.Thomas

com. 161

2011 INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

att. 261

yards 1,607

TDs 7

int. 8

PASSING Hansen

RUSHING Nwoke

no. 200

yards 1,130

avg. 5.7

TDs 9

RECEIVING C.Gillmore

no. 45

yards 468

avg. 10.4

TD 4

ht. 6-2 6-0 6-4 6-0 6-2 6-6 6-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 6-7

wt. 215 216 215 175 212 253 315 300 297 300 315

yr. So. Jr. Sr. Sr. Jr. Jr. Sr. Jr. Jr. Jr. Jr.

ht. 6-5 6-3 6-4 6-2 6-0 6-2 6-0 6-0 5-9 6-3 6-3

wt. 260 300 265 250 235 230 215 175 185 210 208

yr. Jr. So. Sr. Jr. Fr. Sr. So. So. Sr. Fr. So.

OFFENSIVE STARTERS Pos no. player QB 18 Garrett Grayson RB 6 Chris Nwoke WR 9 Marquise Law WR 24 Dominique Vinson HB 30 Jake Levin TE 10 Crockett Gillmore LT 77 Joe Caprioglio LG 75 Brandon Haynes C 70 Weston Richburg RG 64 Jordan Gragert RT 78 Jared Biard

player John Froland Alex Tucci Zach Tiedgen Shaquil Barrett Cory James James Skelton Aaron Davis Bernard Blake Momo Thomas Trent Matthews Austin Gray

att. 412

yards 2,883

TDs 20

int. 11

RUSHING Stewart

no. 189

yards 854

avg. 4.5

TDs 4

RECEIVING Stewart

no. 45

yards 571

avg. 12.7

TD 0

ht. 6-1 5-7 6-2 6-5 6-2 6-2 6-4 6-6 6-3 6-2 6-5

wt. 205 190 245 210 195 260 295 285 295 295 305

yr. Jr. So. Jr. So. Fr. Sr. Jr. So. Jr. So. Jr.

ht. 6-3 6-4 6-1 6-3 6-2 6-3 6-0 6-1 5-11 5-9 6-1

wt. 250 285 280 250 235 245 230 170 185 190 205

yr. So. Sr. Jr. Jr. Sr. Sr. Jr. Fr. So. Jr. Sr.

OFFENSIVE STARTERS

DEFENSIVE STARTERS Pos. no. LE 57 DT 65 DT 47 RE 56 SLB 31 MLB 43 WLB 37 LCB 23 RCB 5 SS 16 FS 12

com. 231

Pos. QB TB FB WR WR TE LT LG C RG RT

no. 4 26 47 87 22 44 59 71 55 52 75

player Jordan Webb Tony Jones Alex Wood Tyler McCulloch Nelson Spruce Nick Kasa David Bakhtiari Alexander Lewis Gus Handler Daniel Munyer Jack Harris

DEFENSIVE STARTERS Pos. no. LE 56 DT 83 NT 99 RE 96 SLB 31 MLB 3 WLB 1 LCB 2 RCB 20 SS 41 FS 7

player Juda Paker Will Pericak Nate Bonsu Chidera Uzo-Diribe Jon Major Doug Rippy Derrick Webb Kenneth Crawley Greg Henderson Terrel Smith Ray Polk

Both teams have two full-time starters back from last season and others returning from injuries. CSU gets the edge here, thanks to the leadership of center Weston Richburg and run blocking that helped the Rams average 166.8 rushing yards a game last year to CU’s 108.7.

SECONDARY New CSU coach Jim McElwain expects his secondary to be a strength this year, with two starters returning and some talented youngsters. But it’s hard to give the Rams an edge over a CU unit that will start a true freshman at one corner but has starters back at the other three spots.

LINEBACKERS Both teams look pretty good here, but I’m giving the nod to a four-man CSU unit led by Shaquil Barrett and James Skelton, who were the Rams’ top two tacklers a year ago. Senior Jon Major, the starting strong-side linebacker, was the Buffs’ top tackler last year.

DEFENSIVE LINE CSU took a tremendous hit with the expulsion of sacks leader Nordly Capi for an incident this spring and transfer of its other starting end from last season, C.J. James. CU, led by talented senior tackle Will Pericak and his 64 tackles last season, has the advantage.

SPECIAL TEAMS With both its kicker (Will Oliver) and punter (Darragh O’Neill) back, CU gets the edge here over a CSU team that is breaking in a new kicker in sophomore Jared Roberts, a former walk-on who won the job over two others in fall camp.

COACHING CU’s Jon Embree has a year as a head coach under his belt now, but it came during a 3-10 season. CSU’s Jim McElwain is running his own program for the first time but learned a lot from Nick Saban while serving as Alabama’s offensive coordinator the past four years. Call it a toss-up.

INTANGIBLES Both teams are coming off disappointing threewin seasons. CSU has more experience coming back, particularly at the skill positions and always plays this game with a bit of a chip on its shoulder.

FINAL ANALYSIS McElwain has given the Rams a strong dose of what they lacked most the past few years, confidence. And that should be just enough to get the Rams over the hump in what should be another tight game between the two rivals.

KEYS TO THE GAME 1. Will a CSU offense that ranked among the bottom 20 teams in the nation in scoring and among the bottom 15 in third-down conversions in 2011 be able to sustain drives and put points on the scoreboard?

MY PICK

CSU

“Finally, this day’s come. … We’re hungry, excited. We’re ready to go out there and show the world what we’ve been working on.” CHRIS NWOKE, CSU running back

nati in 2001, Baylor in 2002, Michigan State from 2003-06 and New Mexico in 2007-08. “It’s hard to tell what we’re going to get,” CU defensive tackle Will Pericak said earlier this week. “It could be some Alabama stuff or Utah State — they’re kind of similar, so we expect a little bit of that. Really, though, they could come out with anything, so we’re getting prepared for anything.” Nwoke most likely will be the focal point of what sophomore quarterback Garrett Grayson said is an offense that wants to establish itself as a physical “downhill running team” that will “punish” opponents. Grayson was forced into action as a true freshman late last season when starter Pete Thomas went down with a knee injury in the eighth game of a 3-9 season. He has made steady progress as a passer, McElwain and quarterbacks coach Billy Napier said, and he has the athletic ability to make plays with his feet. He had 193 rushing yards last season, even after subtracting the eight carries for minus-43 yards that were the result of sacks. McElwain said after practice Wednesday the progression of reads and check-downs in the passing game are similar to what Grayson learned under Fairchild, allowing the quarterback to basically pick up where he left off when the new coaching staff arrived last winter. And Grayson, who completed 43 of 77 passes for 542 yards and two touchdowns, with six interceptions, last year, has his top four receivers from last season back. They are led by junior tight end Crockett Gillmore (45 catches for 468 yards and four touchdowns) and senior wideout Lou Greenwood (26 catches for 396 yards and two TDs). The quarterback doesn’t have to make plays as much as just “manage the game,” McElwain said, noting that it’s the job of the coaching staff to put him and the rest of the offense into plays and formations where they’re most likely to succeed. The defense is different, too, with the Rams switching from a 4-3 alignment to a 3-4 and disguising their coverages much like Alabama’s defense does, McElwain said. The new coach, who signed a five-year contract with CSU worth $1.35 million a year with incentives that could push it to $1.5 million annually, has gleaned bits and pieces from each of the half-dozen college programs and one NFL team he’s worked for in his 27 years as an assistant. “I’m eager to show the difference from last year to this year,” Grayson said. After three consecutive 3-9 seasons and a season-ending eightgame losing streak last year, everyone else is eager to see it, too.

2. Will new CSU coach Jim McElwain and his staff be able to make good on their promise to put their players in positions where they can consistently succeed? 3. Can junior running back Chris Nwoke pick up where he left off last season, when he ran for 1,130 yards with 150 yards or more in three of final five games of the year? 4. Can an improved CSU secondary successfully keep CU’s passing game in check? 5. And finally, will the Rams actually win a game for the first time since last September to snap an eight-game losing streak?