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Is Colorado State football's boom-or-bust defense fixable?

kevin lytle, fort collins coloradoan
·5 min read

Colorado State has one of the most disruptive defenses in the nation, regularly forcing opposing offenses into negative plays.

Colorado State has one of the most vulnerable defenses in the nation, allowing numerous big plays and high point totals.

Both those things are true, representing a baffling conundrum the 2-3 (0-1 Mountain West) CSU football team must solve to make this a successful season.

“We’re capable of playing much better defensively and I don’t think there’s any question about that,” CSU coach Jay Norvell said. “The big plays are what we’ve got to eliminate.”

CSU’s defense has been boom or bust, creating big positive plays via sacks and forced turnovers, or the being gashed with big plays against and far too many long scoring plays.

Here’s a look at the problem and the hopes for CSU to improve.

A look at the numbers

Some of the positive numbers for CSU:

  • 19 sacks, which is fourth in all of FBS.

  • 43 tackles for loss and 8.6 TFL's per game is seventh in FBS.

  • 11 turnovers forced, which is 16th in FBS.

  • Mohamed Kamara’s 9.5 sacks leads the nation.

The negative numbers for CSU:

  • 478.4 yards allowed per game is 128th (out of 130) in FBS.

  • 36 points per game is 125th in FBS.

Big plays allowed

  • CSU has allowed five touchdowns of 45 yards or more (including four in the last three games) and 10 touchdowns of 20 yards or more.

  • 12 of the 21 touchdowns allowed by the CSU defense have been 18-yard plays or longer. Utah State had three touchdowns of 48 yards or longer (with a long of 76) last week.

  • CSU has allowed 16 rushes of 15 yards or more and 26 passes of 20 yards or more.

The point is clear. CSU often disrupts the offense with aggressive attacking play, but is also vulnerable to huge plays. The Rams rarely force teams to methodically drive down the field to score.

What is the problem?

CSU’s defense started slow (as did the whole team) last season but outside of a blowout at Boise State, the Rams were dominant in Mountain West play.

It’s a different year and a different team. CSU’s offense is now closer to resembling the Air Raid, but that changes the tempo of the game.

As CSU struggled to pass the ball last season, the Rams turned to the run game. The offense is averaging 13 more plays per game, which also means more plays for the opponents. CSU’s opponents are running on average 10 more plays per game than a year ago and averaging almost 3 more minutes time of possession.

Utah State ran 50 first-half plays last week, thanks to a combo of CSU scoring on special teams and the offense struggling to move the ball.

“We’ve got to be able to manage those snaps. We’ve got to be able to manage those explosives,” CSU defensive coordinator Freddie Banks said. “I think we’re playing a little too aggressive with the amount of snaps that we’re playing.”

CSU’s offense had chances to bury the Utah State game early, with several possessions (including one starting at the Utah State 49) with the Rams holding either a 17- or 14-point lead, but failed to convert.

When the Air Raid stalls or turns the ball over, it adds stress on the defense. When the defense gets gashed, it adds extra pressure on the offense. This is the complementary football coaches always talk about.

The defense has been too vulnerable, but the offense leads the nation in turnovers. It's a problem of errors snowballing.

Is it fixable?

It’s not to say it’s the most talented defense in the nation, but the amount of sacks and turnovers don’t come without talented players on the roster.

So, how to turn the tide? As Banks suggests, well-balanced aggression is key. The success early in the game against Utah State prompted some loss in attention to detail.

“Sometimes kids start cheating their technique a little bit,” Norvell said. “We made some big plays, turnovers early in that game and we needed to continue to play the same techniques and we kind of got away from it later in the game.”

Safety Jack Howell said similar things after the game, suggesting there was too much individual play where players became disconnected from the scheme allowing for blown coverages. The good news is those types of errors can be fixable.

“When you look at the film, guys are playing hard,” defensive lineman Cam Bariteau said. “It’s not a lack of effort or anything like that, it’s just mental mistakes that we need to go over and clean up now.”

There’s also a clear challenge on playing time. Norvell has often repeated his belief in the bench being the best motivator. Freshman cornerback TJ Crandall has started the last two games. Freshmen Jaylen Gardner and linebacker Buom Jock are getting more snaps as the season goes on. Furman transfer Dominic Morris is in more at nickelback. Performance will dictate playing time.

“I trust our kids. I think we have good players. I know what we’re doing is correctable. I trust our coaches,” Norvell said. “We’ve got to get our eyes in the right place, we’ve got to stop trying to do somebody else’s job and our guys have to do their job.”

Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on Twitter and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Is Colorado State football's boom-or-bust defense fixable in 2023?