Revs Rundown

Boise State University (-27.5) at Colorado State University

Date: Saturday, October 29, 2022

Time: 5:00pm MT

Stadium: Albertsons “Bronco” Stadium (36,387)

TV:FS1

TV Commentators: Adam Alexander and Devin Gardner

Radio: KBOI 670 AM

Commentators: Bob Behler and Pete Cavender

Know Thy Enemy

CAM and the battered Rams head to the city of trees for a battle with the blazing hot Broncos in an ‘Orange Out’ on ‘The Blue’ Saturday night.

The Rams have been better as of late, but they have had a rough go of it so far in 2022. Colorado State opened their season as a sacrificial lamb for the Michigan Wolverines which then started a stretch of four straight losses including a 41-10 drubbing at the hands of FCS Sacramento State. However, since conference play has begun CSU has shown some signs of life, winning two of their last three including last time out when they hosted the Rainbow Warriors of Hawaii on the mainland. Even though they have had some success as of late, the Rams team statistically is not very good.

The CSU offense currently ranks dead last in the Mountain West in scoring, averaging just over 12 points per game. So far the Rams offense has scored a total of 9 touchdowns and have been limited to one touchdown in four of their seven games. One thing contributing to their offensive woes is the lack of consistency from the quarterback position. Due to injury and lack of production, three different players have started a game under center. The quarterback room is also very young with the oldest in the room being a Redshirt Freshman. The bright spots on this side of the ball are wide receiver Troy Horton and running back Avery Marrow. Horton has had at least three catches in 6 of 7 games and has shown big play ability with his 5 touchdowns and Marrow has had three straight games of 100+ rushing yards.

The Ram defense, unfortunately, isn't much better. They rank in the bottom third of the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of just a touch under 30 points per game. However, after letting teams score at will in the non-conference portion of their schedule, they have really tightened down the screws on Mountain West teams, only allowing an average of 14 points per game the last three weeks. Those stats might be a little misleading seeing as they have played three teams that are in the bottom half of the league in scoring. Much like the offense the defense has really one shining star in cornerback Jack Howell. Howell is quietly having an all-mountain West type season and is the lifeblood of this Rams defense.

Colorado State is coached by Jay Norvell. If that name sounds familiar it’s because Coach Norvell was the head coach at Nevada from 2017-2021. Things have been rocky for the head coach since moving from Reno to Fort Collins. Norvell brought over a number of players with him from Reno to Fort Collins, which hasn’t sat well with some CSU players. Since the start of this season 15 players have either entered the transfer portal or announced their intentions to do so.

Saturday will mark the 12th time that these two schools have faced each other since Boise State joined the Mountain West in 2011. It has been all Boise State in this matchup as the Broncos are 11-0 all-time against the Rams. The Broncos are favored by a little less than four touchdowns going into this week against Colorado State. Interestingly enough this isn’t the first time the Broncos have been favored by 20+ points against the Rams. Saturday marks the 5th time that the Broncs will be such heavy favorites. The Broncos are also 2-2 against the spread in those meetings.

What Happened Last Time

Almost a year ago to the day, Hank Bachmeier threw three touchdown passes and Boise State erased a 13-0 first-quarter deficit to knock off Colorado State, 28-19 for the 11th time in 11 tries.

Rams kicker, Cayden Camper sandwiched field goals from 22- and 20-yards out around a 30-yard Todd Centeio-to-Cameron Butler touchdown pass to stake Colorado State to the 13-0 lead.

The Broncos got on the board with 1:50 left in the first half when Bachmeier capped a 13-play, 97-yard drive with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Octavius Evans, but the Rams answered with Camper's third field goal of the half from 20-yards out with :11 left.

Evans cut the Colorado State lead to three with a 13-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter. Bachmeier put Boise State in front with an 11-yard strike to Stefan Cobbs and padded the lead with a 51-yard bomb to Tyneil Hopper in the fourth quarter.

Bachmeier was 21 of 32 for 253 yards passing and did not throw an interception to lead the Broncos. Khalil Shakir caught nine passes for 118 yards and Cyrus Habibi-Likio carried 19 times for 61 yards.

CSU quarterback Todd Centeio was 23 of 36 for 276 yards passing without an interception and carried 10 times for 65 yards. NFL bound tight end, Trey McBride caught 10 passes for 103 yards and Camper kicked four field goals for the Rams, the longest from 28 yards out in the third quarter.

Players to Watch

COLORADO STATE

SO., JACK HOWELL, DB #17

Listed as a defensive back, the Sophomore from Chandler, AZ really plays more safety for the Rams than anything. Howell in his first season as a full-time starter has done nothing but produce. Howell currently leads the team in tackles (67) and interceptions (3). Howell has had 3 games this season of 12 or more tackles. Taylen Green will need to make sure he knows where #17 is before each play on Saturday.

JR., TROY HORTON, WR #14

Brother of former Boise State corner Tyler Horton, the junior receiver has been a bright spot on a Rams offense that hasn’t had much to cheer about at all this season. Horton, who followed coach Norvell from Nevada, leads the Rams with his 35 catches for 538 yards and 5 touchdowns. He is far and away Colorado State’s top target, but he might have a rough go of it Saturday evening when going up against a Boise State defense who ranks #1 in all of college football in pass defense.

JR., AVERY MORROW, RB #25

Also transferring in to Colorado State from Nevada, Morrow has really burst on the scene during conference play the last three week for the green and gold. In the first four games of the season Morrow was averaging just over 5 touches per game for 17 yards per game. Since starting conference play his workload has quadrupled and he is averaging over 25 touches per game. His output has also skyrocketed over the past three games to the tune of 431 yards and three touchdowns. Something has clicked for the Morrow and the Rams offense, but then again he might be facing an uphill battle Saturday when he goes against a defense that held Air Force to their second lowest rush total of the season last week.

BOISE STATE

JR., ELELYON NOA, RB #36

With apparent injuries to both of Boise State’s top running backs, it might be time to get to know who might be potentially toting the rock on Saturday night. Eleyon Noa, younger brother of standout linebacker Zeke Noa, is in his first season with the blue and orange. The transfer from Utah State yielded high praise from Broncos coaching staff during fall camp, but with the emergence of Ashton Jenty, Noa hasn’t seen the field much until last week. Last time out against Air Force Noa had 17 carries for 45 yards. Those stats aren’t very gaudy, sure, but given a week to work the kinks out and get more reps in practice, Noa will probably be more than ready to answer the bell come game time.

Rs.SR., DEMITRI WASHINGTON, EDGE #38

Demitri Washington is finally fully healthy and it has shown this season. The senior from Santa Fe Christian High School is having his best season as a Bronco and when asked about being healthy he said, “I’m having a lot of fun right now..honestly just going out there and not in pain…It’s nice to feel 100%” Washington is having a great season and leads the team in sacks with 4.5 sacks. Last week Washington even recorded 2 sacks against a run heavy team like Air Force. Washington could be in for another big day on Saturday.

JR., JONAH DALMAS, K #35

There are not enough words in the English language to describe how invaluable Jonah Dalmas has been to the Broncos over his career. The junior from Meridian has been almost automatic when it comes to putting the ball through the uprights. Over his career Dalmas is a whopping 47 of 52 with a career long of 51 yards. Since missing two field goals in the opener Dalmas is a perfect 14 of 14. Coach Koetter admitted that he is being conservative with his play calling in the red zone, which he would like to change, but can you blame him when you know you’ve got an automatic 3 points if you just don’t turn the ball over? This season might be Dalmas’ last season in blue and orange so soak it up while you can Bronco Nation because a good kicker in College football is hard to come by.

Focus Position Group: Running Back

Last week the Broncos were down to their fourth and fifth running backs in the Air Force game. Star running back George Holani suited up but didn’t play a snap, freshman phenom Ashon Jeanty started the game, but didn’t play in the entire second half, and when asked if these two would be practicing this week Coach Avalos quickly said, “Next question.”

Offensive lineman Garrett Curran was asked this week when it came to who would be at running back he simply said, “We have a mentality of 'next man up' and when things happen like that we gotta go onto the next guy and he's gotta do his job as well. It’s always nice to have your 1’s and 2’s rolling but if that’s not the case we have to keep going no matter what.”

Hopefully Holani and Ashton are back this week, but if not, just like Curran said, “Next man up.”

Rev's Route to a Bronco Win

Coming in Hot

They have played better as of late, but the offensive line of Colorado State has resembled a turnstyle more than a wall this season. So far they have given up 29 sacks in just 7 games which is dead last in all the Mountain West. The Rams have been better as of late and they did not give up a sack last week against Hawaii. However, better might not be good enough with the likes of Noa, Washington, and Matlock coming after you.

Call #10

The calling card of this new Boise State offense has certainly become the rushing attack. Within that rushing attack, the quarterback run game has become a weapon that when utilized has been very successful for the Broncos. In Taylen Green’s first start he ran 11 times for 105 yards and two touchdowns. The next week he ran 8 times 22 yards, and last week he only ran 5 times for 16 yards with 15 of those coming on the game sealing first down run on a 3rd and 11 late in the fourth quarter. Green might be the best athlete on the field Saturday and he needs to get his number called at least 10 times if the Broncos want to win.

Winners Mentality

This week will be a litmus test for the Broncos to see if they truly are winners. It’s easy to get up for a game against a rival, or against a perennial power. It's the game against the team that everyone KNOWS you should beat that usually cause the hiccups for good, not great teams. We all know what happened the last time the Broncos were expected to win and win big…they didn’t! This week it’s all about that killer instinct. Can they prove to the Mountain West that they are still the bullies on the block and the road to the conference title still runs through Boise?

Editorial Note:

There’s not much more to say about this game that hasn’t already been said. This week is all about Boise State playing to their level and not stooping to the level of the opponent. Yes, the Rams have been more competitive as of late and seem to have really figured some things out especially on defense and in the offensive run game. However, the two teams they beat are currently bottom two in the West side of the conference and are bottom three in the Mountain West as a whole. I’m not going to sit here and make you think this game is going to be any closer than it should be or will be. Boise State is going to dominate from the opening kickoff to the final buzzer and it’s not even going to be close. This one should have a “viewer discretion is advised” label on it because it could get ugly. Green gets the offense humming and the Defense scores a touchdown. BRONCOS BY A MILLION!

Sunday Sermon Title:

LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER: Boise State’s Dominates All Three Phases In Blowout Win

Boise State 48, Colorado State 3

Rev's Rundown

Boise State University (5-2, 3-0) (-27.5) vs Colorado State University (2-5, 2-1)