Keys to the game: What does Colorado State football need to do to beat Boise State?
Is it a rebound week or another setback?
The Colorado State football team is coming off a disappointing loss at Utah State and the Rams now face the challenge, or opportunity, of an always difficult game against Boise State.
CSU hosts the Broncos at 7:45 p.m. Saturday at Canvas Stadium for homecoming. Here are keys to the game for the Rams to pull off the upset.
CSU must play cleaner
The Rams (2-3, 0-1 Mountain West) have the most turnovers (15) in FBS despite playing one fewer game than most teams. It's an alarming rate that has escalated in recent weeks.
CSU had five turnovers last game, and it starts at quarterback. Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi brought a spark to the team when he took over, but he's been too loose with the ball. He's thrown 10 interceptions already this season. He has seven total turnovers (five interceptions and two lost fumbles) in the last two weeks.
It's hard to win when losing the ball so frequently, and it's helped compound the problems on defense.
CSU also leads the nation in most penalties per game. The number of penalties isn't as much the detail to worry about as when they happen. The Rams had multiple key drives last week against Utah State start by going backwards with pre-snap penalties, and a late roughing the punter flag ended any hopes of a comeback.
Penalties happen, but those mental errors must be minimized.
CSU has skill, but not enough of it to overcome this volume of self-inflicted wounds.
Make Boise State work
CSU's defensive struggles have largely come down to the explosive plays they've allowed, as they've given up five touchdowns of 45 yards or more this season and 10 of 20 yards or more.
Teams are scoring too quickly.
More: Is Colorado State football's boom-or-bust defense fixable?
Modern college football is designed for offensive outbursts, so yards and scoring will happen, but CSU must start making teams work harder and longer for it.
Sometimes a 12-yard catch will happen, but it can't turn into a 50-yard touchdown. Teams are rarely methodically driving down the field on CSU. The Rams either blow up a drive quickly via sacks or turnovers, or the opponent has a big play.
If CSU can make teams work harder for scoring drives, it opens up more chances to disrupt.
Boise State (3-3, 2-0 MW) is using a two-QB system with Taylen Green and Maddux Madsen. The Rams will have to be tuned in to the rotation and who is in. Running back Ashton Jeanty will be the best back CSU has seen so far this season.
The Rams need to limit those explosive plays.
Mental fortitude test
This CSU team will show a lot about its mental makeup and where it is on the rebuild path this week. College football is a roller coaster and last week was a letdown.
CSU teams of previous seasons would let the loss snowball into several weeks of struggle. Excluding the four-game COVID season, the Rams have had at least one losing streak of four games or more every season from 2018 on.
Will this team slide? Or will the Rams respond again as they did after the Washington State blowout loss with a strong effort against Colorado?
How CSU plays will be an indicator of where the progress of the team is at. The Rams have also never beat Boise State. Will the Rams respond to the challenges?
Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on Twitter and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: How can Colorado State football beat Boise State?
