Spring practices are in the books and fall camps will be here before you know it so that means getting an early jump on the 2006 NCAA football season. Knowing the teams now will save you time in August and Matt Fargo is here to help you get a grasp of what to expect this upcoming year. We go from worst to first in this 2006 College Football Preview. #72 Colorado St. Rams 6-6 SU; 5-7 ATS Fargos Take Not much should change this season for the Rams. The offense will be above average, well above average, and the defense will be below average, well below average. Two straight non-winning seasons could be cause for concern since they are the first ever in the Sonny Lubick era. The only thing that might get Colorado St. back to over .500 is the schedule but even that is nothing to be looking forward to. Gone is the most prolific passing combo in school history as quarterback Justin Holland and receiver David Anderson have both departed. There shouldnt be a drop off in production however as junior Caleb Hanie takes over the quarterback duties. He backed up Holland and started five games in 2004 when he went down with an injury and was very solid. The defense was the worst since Lubick took over but there is hope as two significant players are back after sitting out 2004. Colorado St. needs a winning season or Lubick could be hearing some whispers. Returning Starters on Offense 6 The loss of Holland has many people worried but Hanie is just as gifted and even might have more talent. He is already game tested and he brings another dimension to the table and that is his running ability. The spread offense should be more productive and we will see almost a mirror image of the teams led by Bradlee Van Pelt. Hanie has a lot of speed in his receivers, led by Johnny Walker, and also has a veteran offensive line in front of him. One of the biggest surprises last season was running back Kyle Bell, who rushed for 1,288 yards as a sophomore, virtually coming out of nowhere. He is a bruiser and is very hard to take down. The Rams finished 38th in total offense but it was the passing offense that led the way by a large margin. Expect a little more balance this year although Hanie is capable of putting up similar numbers to those of Holland. Returning Starters on Defense 6 The defense was a huge liability last season and it culminated by getting tossed around in the Poinsettia Bowl by Navy. The Midshipmen ran all over the soft defense for 467 yards on the ground, the fifth time a team surpassed 227 yards rushing. Colorado St. finished 115th in the country in that category and for the unit to improve, stopping the run is priority one. The defensive line will be bigger this season and the return of linebacker Luke Adkins, a starter in 2004, will be a huge benefit. The secondary will be strong once again and will be bolstered by the return of strong safety Ben Stratton, who also sat out 2005 because of injury. He started his first three seasons and his leadership cannot be put into words. The defense really has no where to go but up and while it will be better, it is not going to make a huge turnaround. Schedule A quick start to the season is a must if the Rams want to get back to their winning ways. The home opener against Weber St. is a good tune-up for three tough games that follow. A neutral site game against state rival Colorado is next with games at Nevada and Fresno St. after that. The MWC schedule is basically split into two sections, easy and hard. The first four games are against teams that are projected to finish below the Rams and those contests against UNLV, Air Force, Wyoming and New Mexico all should be won. The tough stretch begins with a home game against BYU followed by back-to-back games against the top two teams, Utah and TCU. The season finale at San Diego St. could have bowl implications for both sides depending how the season pans out. You can bet on Winning is a tradition at Colorado St. but that hasnt been the case the last couple years. The Rams did make it to a bowl game last season but they were completely outplayed and have now dropped three straight bowl contests. Injuries hurt them last season and experience will play a big part as there are 19 players on the roster who have started at least 10 games. The game against Colorado could go a long way in bringing back that winning attitude. The Rams have lost 12 of the last 16 meetings but they will no doubt be receiving points. They have covered 11 of those 16 games including three of the last four with all three of those covers as an underdog. Since 1999, Colorado St. is 18-9 ATS when receiving points. |
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