Colorado State vs Air Force: Rams Keys, Odds, Predicition
The Rams are looking to finish the season on a high note
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Can the Rams get their first win at the Academy since 2002?
WEEK 9: Colorado State Rams (2-8, 2-4 MW) vs. Air Force Falcons (7-3, 3-3 MW)
WHEN: Saturday, November 19th — 7:00 p.m. MST / 6:00 p.m. PST
WHERE: Falcon Stadium; Colorado Springs, CO (46,692)
WEATHER: Partly Cloudy, high of 26 degrees
TV: CBS Sports Network
STREAMING: Fans can sign up to receive a free one-week trial of Fubo, which includes CBS Sports Network, by following this link.
RADIO: K99-FM 99.1 / ESPN 1600 AM (Colorado)
SERIES RECORD: This will be the 60th matchup between these two schools. Air Force leads the series 37-21-1
LAST MEETING: Air Force won 35-21 last season in Fort Collins
WEBSITES: CSURams.com, the official Colorado State athletics website | GoAirForceFalcons.com, the official Air Force athletics website
GAME NOTES (PDF): Colorado State | Air Force
ODDS: Air Force -21.5
OVER/UNDER: 42.5
SP+ PROJECTION: Air Force by 29.7
FEI PROJECTION: Air Force by 24.1
PARKER FLEMING PROJECTION: Air Force 87.21% win probability (32.98-17.98)
Colorado State fell to Wyoming last week 14-13 in a heartbreaker. The Rams beat themselves more than the Cowboys beat them. They got a good start with a Tory Horton punt return touchdown. But then couldn’t finish off drives. They had a couple opportunities go to waste and it cost them.
This week, the Rams head south to Colorado Springs to face Troy Calhoun and the Air Force Falcons. Haaziq Daniels and Brad Roberts lead the way in the Falcons triple option offense. Air Force won the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy two weeks ago and are looking to finish the season strong.
New week. Different 𝗥𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗿𝘆.
𝟮𝟰 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀#Stalwart x #RamGrit 🐏 pic.twitter.com/VfpfvKWDtD
— Colorado State Football (@CSUFootball) November 19, 2022
Now onto some keys to victory for the Rams.
Three Keys to a colorado state victory
1. Maintain Your Assignment
The toughest thing about Air Force is they’re going to do the same thing over and over. They know, you know it, and the fans know it. What has to happen on the defense is maintaining the assignment given. You cannot freelance against this offense or they will burn you.
Defensive lineman are going to get cut. Linebackers are going to have to take on offensive lineman almost every play. It does not matter, you stay on your assignment for 60 minutes. The Rams know the plan, now they need to execute no matter how hard it hurts.
2. Stop Trying to Force Things
Tory Horton is one of the best athletes on this Colorado State squad. Last week against Wyoming, he tried to do too much. He caught a deep ball before halftime and tried to score a touchdown when he could’ve gone down and CSU could’ve called a timeout to get a field goal before half.
Clay Millen is guilty of this at times too. He holds onto the ball too long, he doesn’t move in the correct direction in the pocket, and he tends to force throws into spaces he shouldn’t. They are doing their best with the season they’ve had, but they need to breathe for a minute and think situationally, especially against Air Force when you might not have the ball that often.
Next Stop: The Springs #Stalwart x #RamGrit 🐏 pic.twitter.com/vUB8IVA7PN
— Colorado State Football (@CSUFootball) November 18, 2022
3. Finish Strong
This key is in terms of both the game and the season. The Rams need to finish their drives on offense with points, they need to finish drives on defense with a stop, and they need to finish the season on a high note. You can see the potential this offense has, it just hasn’t fully come together yet.
Both sides of the ball have had their shine at times this season. The offense has come together these past few weeks. The defense has been tremendous in conference play, giving up 22.5 points and 351.7 yards per game, after giving up 41 points and 414.3 yards per game in non-conference play. Now they just need to finish.
what will happen
Colorado State hasn’t beaten Air Force since 2015, they’ve come within single digits twice since then too. Neither of those facts is probably going to change this week. The Rams have shown improvement as the season has gone on, but Air Force is just too strong and too disicplined to given an inch against CSU.
Final Score: Air Force 38, Colorado State 17
