Colorado State mailbag: Pressing questions for football team, and how good will basketball be?
The Colorado State football team is in must-win mode to make a bowl.
The Rams are getting going in men's and women's basketball seasons filled with potential.
It's an intriguing time at CSU with plenty to discuss.
Here's a mega-mailbag with questions from readers on football and basketball, broken into sections with football at the top and basketball below.
FOOTBALL
Care to revisit your 6-6 prediction? (@aarongharris)
Two-part question, are you pretty confident we win out in football, and if we don't win out and make a bowl game how concerned are you/what needs to happen? (@DylanCarabajal1)
I am still sticking with a 6-6 prediction, but if we don't reach bowl eligibility, how do you think the team, coaches, players, etc. react and change for a better 2023-24 season. (@whymanwhyme)
Do the Rams win out and make a bowl? (@ram_chicago007)
Slight variations on the same basic question.
I’ve been saying since August I thought the Rams would go 6-6 and qualify for bowl eligibility. I’m sticking to it!
It will be a tough go because this program hasn’t won three games in a row since 2019. But these are all winnable games (the Rams could be favored in all three).
I’ve covered a lot of bad CSU football teams and many who had quit on the season by this point. I don’t get that vibe from this group. I think if the Rams can beat San Diego State, they'll have very high energy and focus for Nevada week and be in a position for a win-and-in trip to Hawaii.
Any potential offseason changes will be a big conversation at the end of season but would begin earlier if Rams lose one of these games. The big-picture plan won’t change — this staff is confident of what’s coming in 2024.
(Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi) the guy…long-term? (@ERoemersberger)
What happens to Millen in the offseason? (@coloradomtnbkr)
I’m not ready to say Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi is the guy long-term. I’m also not ready to say he's not.
I think there should be competition in spring between BFN, Jackson Brousseau and maybe even a player to be named later. If CSU were to lose this week or next, I would be shocked if we don’t see Brousseau get some game time.
I feel for Clay Millen. It’s hard to go from the guy to the bench in a flash like he did. He’s a little stuck on eligibility because he’s used his redshirt and one-time transfer, but it’s hard to imagine him back with the team next season.
Will Tory Horton, Holker, Kamara, Blackburn be back next year? If some of them leave does that mean CSU’s main strength (explosive plays) go away? If that does go away, what is the identity of this football team next year? The same team but not as explosive? (@Ryan21600112759)
On those players potentially returning:
Mo Kamara is out of eligibility.
Henry Blackburn has a COVID super-senior season available, and I expect he’ll return.
Dallin Holker also has another year and I expect he’ll return.
Tory Horton is maybe the most significant question. He is an NFL draft pick, but I’ve been hearing some feedback to suggest right now he’s projected to go in the middle rounds and it’s very much in play for him to return to CSU. Being a top 1-2 round pick would see him go. He could also graduate and transfer for a big NIL deal, but he has turned those down once before, so Rams fans will hope he will again if he doesn't go to the draft.
Will it change the identity of the team if/when these players leave? No, not really. Sure, you have to replace key players, but that’s just college sports. You bring players in, some become very good, and then they leave.
There are plenty of young guys developing. The offense should be more explosive next year.
Why is the visiting team sideline in front of the students, which is different than it was at Hughes Stadium. Aren’t we just asking for issues? (@RandallNett)
I believe it was Jim McElwain who switched the sidelines at Hughes to have the visiting team A) in the sun and B) in front of students.
Generally, I think it’s how it should be, but the snowball fiasco did raise a question. I think it’s fine, but it falls on CSU, students and security to avoid problems.
Will (Joe) Parker ever be on the hot seat? Any scenario where (Jay) Norvell is forced to give up play calling? (@_chino380)
Several Olympic sports have been high-level under Joe Parker, but there’s no denying football is the driver of an athletic department.
CSU’s football team (entering Saturday) is 38-62 under Parker, with as many 3-9 seasons (three) as winning seasons. There have been three head coaches, one ill-timed extension and two firings. There was also the messy end of the Larry Eustachy era but the good Niko Medved hire. I think there have been several significant miscues in his time to go with some successes. CSU Chancellor Tony Frank seems fully supportive of Parker and university President Amy Parsons appears in line with that. I don’t expect any change, but there's a clear disconnect between the big parts of the fan base and the AD.
As far as Norvell and play-calling, who would force him to give it up? Surely no one in administration would. He’s called plays all seven seasons as a head coach and I can’t imagine that will change now.
Over (the) last three weeks, can the o-line plus calls do enough to improve 73 rush yards/game and 38.6% third-down conversions, or is this what this offense is this year? (@m10hulz)
What can coaches Best and Norvell do to improve the OL run blocking? (@rickmcsufan)
Offensive line narratives are kind of funny. CSU was the worst in FBS last season at allowing sacks and everyone wanted change. Well, the Rams are now tied for 30th in fewest sacks allowed. The line has been good at pass-blocking, which is quite important in an Air Raid scheme.
I think there are a few factors in the running game. Pass-blocking and run-blocking are different skillsets and most offensive linemen who are really good at both are in the SEC or Big Ten and headed for the NFL draft. Air Force’s line is considered really good, but ask them to pass-block for 50 pass attempts this weekend and it wouldn’t be great.
Also, CSU has had big injury problems at running back. Kobe Johnson is out for the year and Avery Morrow has hardly played healthy. Even freshman Damian Henderson has been banged up. Vann Schield runs his butt off, but CSU is limited at RB.
Some of those run woes heavily impact those third downs. CSU has had far too many third-and-shorts not converted. It’s something to improve these next three weeks and next season.
I do agree CSU needs to run better at times and I think there are opportunities out there, but it’s also true that Steve Addazio and Mike Bobo left the cupboard completely bare in the OL room.
1. Three winnable games for CSU FB. What do they have to do to win out and be bowl eligible?
2. Sadly, it’s time to start looking ahead to next FB season. What can CSU build upon, what do they need to fix, and what do they need to add?
3. CSU picked No. 5 in MWC BB. Can they beat that? (@MikeCSURam82)
1. Find consistency and stop turning the ball over. 2. Add consistency, figure out who the QB is early on, keep improving the OL and get the offense and defense complementing each other with their play.
Now, on to hoops! More answers below, but since this was lumped together, I’ll quickly say yes, I think CSU can finish better than fifth. I picked the Rams fourth in preseason.
BASKETBALL
What happens first?
Football conference title
(Men's basketball) conference title
(Women's basketball) conference title
Futbol conference title (@DeuceCO)
This is a tricky question. The CSU soccer team was in the final, so they’ve been closest recently. Football is a ways off. Men’s basketball’s MW is very tough. I’ll say women’s basketball. The team is very good with a superstar player and the league doesn’t have as much depth. Rams can win it in WBB.
How do CSU’s two star point guards stand nationally and what can we expect in their final seasons? (@MikeCSURam82)
McKenna Hofschild and Isaiah Stevens are two of the best point guards in the country. Not best in the Mountain West. Or best in the West. Or best in a mid-major. Best. They are right there with anyone.
Ready for the rafters: Isaiah Stevens, McKenna Hofschild to put No. 4 in CSU record books
Relative to the competition they play, who has more impact on their team, McKenna Hofschild or Isaiah Stevens? (@aarongharris)
Ooof, this is a doozy. I’m really struggling with this one because it is hard for me to picture either team and how they would play without these star guards. (Side note: That will be an interesting challenge to watch these coaches handle in a year.)
I truly don’t have a good answer to split them. Indispensable to their teams.
Chasing records: Tracking Isaiah Stevens, McKenna Hofschild records chase
Which team will have more wins, the men's basketball team or the women's basketball team? (@aarongharris)
I’ll go with the CSU women. I think both will be good and at 20-plus wins. I think the men’s nonconference schedule is a bit deeper and the MW men’s league is deeper.
I saw a preseason prediction that had the Rams middle of the conference. Is the rest of the conference that strong or just unknowns from CSU? (@Jamo_5)
The Rams (men’s basketball) were picked fifth in the preseason Mountain West media poll. The league is very strong, and I think will once again get three to four NCAA Tournament teams. So, being fifth means finishing just outside the Big Dance, which isn’t an embarrassment.
I think that selection says more about the strength of the league rather than anything negative about CSU.
If Minnesota fires Ben Johnson, what are the chances that Medved takes the job? (@alexbacani)
This conversation re-started as soon as word spread of CSU walloping Minnesota in a super-secret preseason scrimmage.
Pressure is on Johnson after a poor start to his career as Minnesota’s coach (22-39 in his first two seasons). Would Niko Medved be offered if Minnesota changes? I don’t know. IF (still a big if) Johnson is fired, it will mean Minnesota admits failure on hiring a chosen son to lead them back. Would they play the local product angle again?
I fully believe in Medved and what he’s doing, but as of now he’s only been to one NCAA Tournament. Would his resume appease Minnesota fans? I’m not sure.
Let’s see how each team does this season before spending too much head space worrying about it.
Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on Twitter and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Talking CSU football, basketball in latest mailbag
