Colorado State had everything set up in their favor, and yet, they came out completely flat and lost to Illinois State on Saturday.
The Rams were 8-0 all-time on Ag Day in their orange jerseys, and yet, they were defeated 35-13 by the Redbirds of the Missouri Valley Conference.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the loss, which makes CSU now 1-4 on the season.
1. Colorado State’s offense left a lot to be desired: The Rams started out by establishing the run, something they didn’t do all year long to this point. But, their offense wasn’t inspiring; they punted on there of their first four drives, though a touchdown was in between those boots. That drive, of course, was solid; the Rams went 80 yards and even gained a first down on a 4th down try, as Carta-Samuels hit Olabisi Johnson for the touchdown.
In the first half, the offense punted four times and scored the one touchdown, gaining only 97 total yards.
Finally, Colorado State got it going in the second half; Carta-Samuels connected with Nikko Hall on a TD, though they still trailed by eight at that point. CSU ended up with 391 total yards and two total turnovers.
2. Rams defense lacked spark: Colorado State allowed an explosive play, a 30-yard pass to Braxton Haley, who was wide open and it led to James Robinson walking in for the Redbirds’ first touchdown and a 7-6 lead. The Rams defensive front was getting blown off the ball and allowing gaping holes to be opened. At the end of the first half, CSU gave up 277 yards of offense and 14 points to Illinois State.
It took Illinois State all of five plays to go 75 yards and push their lead to 21-7 to start the second half, spelling doom for CSU. They gave up 538 total yards on the day, including the Redbirds going 3-3 in the red zone.
3. Explosive plays hurt CSU’s D: Drive after drive for the Redbirds included big play after big play. Besides that 30-yard pass to Haley, there were plays of 20, 18, 15 and 14 yards all in the first half.
It was more of the same in the second half, giving up a 43-yard pass to Andrew Edgar to push Illinois State into a goal-to-go situation. The nail-in-the-coffin touchdown was Smith’s 60-yard catch and run on a screen in which Jamal Hicks missed the tackle. Even later in the game, Jame Robinson trotted 57 yards to the house for yet another massive play.
4. CSU’s offensive line still struggling: The Rams blockers up front were simply lost all afternoon while forcing the Redbirds of the FCS. Stunts, corner blitzes and even just four-man rushes were killing the Rams’ blockers. Illinois State not only pressured K.J. Carta-Samuels repeatedly, they also sacked Collin Hill twice and enjoyed five tackles for a loss in the game.
5. Collin Hill played more this game than he had all year: Hill came in for his usual one drive in the first half, was sacked and pulled after three plays. In the second half, he came in for K.J. Carta-Samuels and played two straight drives with the Rams trailing by eight and then by 15 points late. Hill went 9-17 for 115 yards with one touchdown and one interception, scrambling to save his life due to the offensive line’s lack of effectiveness. He also ran for one yard and was hit hard in the knees on one scramble, and was sacked again late.
“We had some guys open, that we missed,” Bobo said of Carta-Samuels and why he made the change to Hill. “In the second half, I just wanted to make a change. KJ wasn’t playing bad…Both of them did some good things, both of them did some bad things.”