Friday Night Lights: Colorado State vs Boise State Preview

We have some good o’l Friday Night Lights tonight as Colorado State heads to Boise to take on the Broncos. Colorado State is looking to build on the past two weeks in which they have shown some improvement from the first five games. Despite it being ugly wins, the Rams have played better as a whole especially on the defensive side of the ball. The most important thing of last week is that they stuck with the same quarterback the entire game for the first time since the opener against Hawaii. We all knew this is going to be the toughest game left on the Colorado State schedule.

Date: Friday October 19^th, 2018 at 7:00 PM MDT

History: Eighth Meeting, Boise leads 7-0

TV/Radio: ESPN2, KARS 102.9 (Northern Colorado)

Line: CSU -23.5

Last year’s game is a game that ram fans will never forget. Despite being up 28-3 Colorado State ended up losing the game in overtime 59-52. It was a colossal collapse by the defense in which fans began calling for heads to roll. The past 2 seasons have been the closest the Rams have been to beating Boise state. However, this season will be much tougher feat for the Rams this season as there are significant gaps between the two teams. Yes the Rams I want to upset the Broncos, here are three keys that they’ll need to have.

1. Control the clock and extend drives. The Rams will need to have grind it out type of drives. Long extended drives that end in touchdowns, not field goals. That will mean staying on the field on 3rd downs and running the football with success. The Rams are down to only three running backs, but that should be enough for them to consistently run the football. Tell need to control the line of scrimmage which was a big issue in the second half against New Mexico.

2. Get Pressure on early downs - The Rams defense is done a better job over the past couple of games. But here comes the real test. They did a fairly good job keeping New Mexico triple option attack at Bay last week. However, Boise State brings an explosive spread offense that has given some issues for Colorado State throughout the season. It is going to be important for the Rams to create pressure on the early downs. Force the Broncos to third and long and get off the field.

3. No turnovers - I believe in every game this season KJ Carta Samuels has thrown at least one interception. A lot of them have been forced throws but the Rams cannot have that happen if they want a chance to win. The Rams must play smart and not turn over the ball this week because it’s going to come down to the little things, not gifting extra positions to the Broncos. The Broncos defense is stout and can create turnovers whenever they want. The important things is to force them to make a good play instead of giving them free turnovers. The turnover throne needs to stay empty this week.

Prediction time: This is going to be a tough game for the Rams, but I believe they’ll fight to the end and keep the game close. Boise State will win this game, but Colorado State will cover the spread. However, this will be a gritty affair with Boise pulling away late. Final score Boise State 38 Colorado State 24.