FORT COLLINS, Colo. – They didn't fool themselves, not going into the game. But they surprised themselves, and not in a good way.
Colorado State knew the opener with South Dakota State was not to be taken lightly. The Jackrabbits may come from the FCS, but they represent quite well what the best of that division of college football can produce. They were the national runner-up last spring, and by the end of a 42-23 victory at Canvas Stadium in front of the fifth-largest crowed in facility history (32,327), they look primed to make another run.
It was the type of crowd where you want to show your best. Colorado State coach Steve Addazio knows they didn't.
"I obviously don't think we played at the level that we were capable of playing at," he said.
The players are mad. Disappointed. So is he, especially the way it happened.
Because South Dakota State ran for 242 yards total and averaging 7.1 yards a rush. Those were figures the Rams, who allowed just 108.5 yards on the ground a season ago, were not expecting to yield. SDSU hit the figures by grinding out tough runs and hitting open seams, leading to 10 carries of 10 yards or more, including a 48-yard jaunt by Pierre Strong which opened the scoring.
Pierre rushed for 138 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 10.6 yards a tote.
"We preach gap sound defense; we didn't do that tonight," defensive end Scott Patchan said. "Obviously it led for them rushing for 7 yards per attempt. That's unacceptable. We have to go back and correct it, and you have to be gap sound, make sure everybody is playing great, and that starts with me. If I'm voted a captain by my teammates, I've got to hold myself to a higher standard and do better, and as a unit, we have to do better, as well."
That ability to run the ball allowed the guests to sustain drives to produce points, four covering 71 yards or more. And some of them hit quick, two taking less than a minute.
The flip side was CSU offensively only rushed for 124 yards (3.1 yards per crack). Being able to run the ball was a primary target for the offense, and the Rams didn't crack the code.
What the Rams faced was a loaded box and a South Dakota State defense daring it to go deep. Early in the game, CSU quarterback Todd Centeio missed an open Dante Wright down the middle, allowing the Jackrabbits to stick confidently with their plan.
But what irritated Addazio most was when he gambled on fourth-and-short on his own side of the field, and the Rams didn't pick it up. SDSU countered with by going 38 yards in two plays to open up a 28-10 lead early in the third.
"When it's fourth-and-8 inches, we better get the first down," Addazio said. "That's upsetting to me. We're a physical football team, and you have to be able to get fourth-and-8 inches."
Centeio did have a nice game, throwing for more than 300 yards for the first time in his career, hitting on 29-of-42 passes for 304 yards. But the Rams were not explosive with the ball. They had seven completions of 15 yards or longer in the game, but only two in the first half; both runs of 10 or more came late in the fourth quarter.
The team knows it will not get easier, not with Vanderbilt coming to town next week. While they are unhappy, they remain unfazed. They won't ignore what happened; they can't. They also can't change it, but they feel they can alter what comes next.
"I'm confident in this team; I'm confident in the players that we have," said tight end Trey McBride, a bright spot with a career-best 13 catches for 116 yards. "One game isn't going to change a whole season. I'm fired up about this team. There's a lot of positive things that happened in this game. We've got to play together more. When the defense was high, the offense was low; when the offense was high, the defense was low. That's unacceptable. There's a lot of things we can learn from this game, a lot of positive things, but I still believe truly in my heart we're a championship football team."
Wright finished the night with 10 catches, good for 103 yards, and while newcomer David Bailey was limited to just 46 yards rushing, he had a pair of touchdowns, one rushing and one on a pass from Centeio. Jaylen Thomas found the end zone for the Rams' final points on a 4-yard run.
All four of Colorado State's scoring drives were sustained, covering 58 yards or longer, and all three touchdown drives covered 75 yards.
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