Colorado St Rams 2016 NCAA Football Preview
COLORADO ST RAMS
Mountain West Conference – Mountain Division
2015 Record – 7-6
ATS – 6-6-1
2016 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating Rank
Mountain Division #5
Conference #7
2015 Recap
It was a strange season for the Rams. They lost a couple of games they easily could have won – OT losses to Minnesota and Colorado. They had a couple of nice comeback wins to end the season against New Mexico and Fresno St. The Rams finished up the season blowing a lead in the Arizona Bowl losing to Nevada. They probably showed their true colors losing handily to the Mountain West big boys on their schedule – Utah St, Boise St and San Diego St. However, kudos to first year HC Mike Bobo for getting the Rams to a bowl game.
2016 Preview
OFFENSE
QB Nick Stevens was a 2nd team Mountain West performer but did throw 12 interceptions. That went a long way towards helping the Rams finish next to last in the conference in turnover margin at -12. Georgia transfer Faton Bauta may get a shot at the starting job but we cannot imagine Stevens not starting the season. And it is also hard to believe that Bauta is over the debacle vs Florida last season. The situation at WR is pretty dire as they lose all-time receiving yardage leader Rashard Higgins and the only player on the roster returning with more than 20 catches last season is RB Dalyn Dawkins.
The running game should be very good. The Rams return an experienced set of RBs and the offensive line promises to be one of the best in the Mountain West. Colorado St should surpass 200 yards rushing per game in 2016.
DEFENSE
The defense is going to have some growing pains this season. They only return four starters and the entire starting defensive line is a new crew. The Rams gave up 213 yards rushing per game last season and only mustered 24 sacks. The linebackers look pretty decent but it all starts up front and the Rams may struggle holding opponents to less than 30 points per game. An inexperienced secondary does not make us feel any better about the situation.
SPECIAL TEAMS
There are some pluses and minuses. The Rams return 3rd team AA punter Hayden Hunt and a decent kicker in Wyatt Bryan (16-22 but 2-6 from 40+). The bad news is that they lose PR Joe Hansley (12.8, 2TD in 2015) as well as their special teams coach.
MEGALOCKS ATS Value Rating (10) 5.0
MEGALOCKS says:
The Rams have a shot to get off to a good start this season. Their first three games are all winnable and then it is off to Minnesota before conference play begins. Teams normally improve in their 2nd season under a new regime but we just do not know enough about Mike Bobo as a HC to know what to expect in 2016.
Overall, we give the Rams a 5.0 ATS Value Rating (Average) this season. The Rams will have a decent running game and should have solid QB play. The difficult part is trying to imagine the Rams stopping anyone on defense. The fact that they can score some points will help but we recommend picking your spots with Colorado St.
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Website
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News
http://www.coloradoan.com/sports/csu-sports
http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/colorado-st-rams
http://bleacherreport.com/colorado-state-football
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https://twitter.com/KellyLyell (@KellyLyell) Kelly Lyell