Gearing you up for Saturday's critical matchup with the Colorado State Rams.
Coach Steve Addazio implores Boston College football team to get win No. 4 (Boston Globe)
Steve Addazio knows his Boston College football team will be staggering toward its first bye of the season next week. But the Eagles coach set the agenda for Saturday’s nonconference home game against Colorado State by pointing to the fact BC, 3-1 overall and halfway to bowl eligibility, can earn a well-deserved rest by wrapping up its first month of the season with its fourth win.
CSU football team looks ahead after bye week (Rocky Mountain Collegian)
Now, the Rams are refreshed and ready to head northeast to face the Boston College Eagles. The largely overlooked FBS team has been fighting for attention this year, taking down No. 9 USC two weeks ago, and demolishing Maine 40-10 last week. Facing the third-ranked rushing offense in the nation, CSU had a lot of work to do to prepare. Here’s a quick summary of what the Rams were up to during the off-week.
Tyler Murphy's options, Mississippi's big day and Old Dominion's QB (ESPN)
Boston College coach Steve Addazio introduced spread option into his offense to take advantage of quarterback Tyler Murphy's ability as a runner. We saw against USC what Murphy can do. Knowing that, it's interesting that Addazio said this week, "I feel like when we do throw the ball we haven't been consistent at all, and that's bothering me." Granted, Murphy's passing numbers (43-83-5, 491 yards, three touchdowns) are so-so. But he has rushed for 500 yards and five scores, as well. Addazio knew what Murphy could do; he recruited him to Florida. Addazio may be bothered, but he can't be surprised.
CSU football preparing to contain Boston College dual-threat QB Murphy (Loveland Reporter-Herald)
"I'm a little surprised with it. I didn't think I would be this effective in the running game," Murphy said. "At Florida, we were more pass and I thought I was pretty efficient through the air throwing the ball. When I came here, Coach Addazio, it was something we talked about. He just said he's going to need me to make plays and do what's necessary to get first downs."
CSU defense braces for Tebow-like Boston College QB (Coloradoan)
"We've kind of got smaller backs, and I'm more of a dual-threat quarterback, so the coaches did a good job of just fitting the offense to everybody's strengths," Murphy said. "Even though we've implemented more of the read-zone and stuff like that, we still use the power game. We just try and tailor our offense to fit guys' strengths and attack the defense in as many different ways as possible, and we've been pretty successful through the running game."
Lyell: CSU has chance to shine in national spotlight (Coloradoan)
Can CSU's defense stop a BC rushing attack that ranks among the nation's best? Boston College is averaging 336.3 rushing yards a game, No. 3 in the nation. Quarterback Tyler Murphy is the nation's 10th-leading rusher with 500 yards in four games. "If we stop them, it shows that we can stop a high-powered offense with a quarterback that's an athlete," CSU linebacker Aaron Davis said. "We're definitely excited. It's a good challenge for us as a defense."
CSU Rams face strong running game, led by Boston College QB Murphy (The Denver Post)
Rams weakside linebacker Aaron Davis noted of Murphy: "We'll always have a couple of guys spying him, and it starts up front. We have to keep our pass rush lanes. When guys are covered, he's going to run right away, so we have to be ready for that. The guy that's responsible for him has to make the tackle."
CSU hopes to counter stout BC defense with its balance (Coloradoan)
Balance, coach Jim McElwain said, is the key for the Rams. If it can force defenses to defend both the run and pass on every down, Colorado State University can put up some big numbers on offense, as it did last year while setting school records for total offense (6,591 yards) and points (507) in a season.
CSU coach Jim McElwain shuffles offensive line combinations (The Denver Post)
With starting center Jake Bennett likely out for the season after suffering a knee injury in practice during the bye week, and with left tackle Ty Sambrailo on the verge of the returning to the lineup after recovering from a sprained knee, the Colorado State Rams continued to play with offensive line combinations at practice Tuesday.
CSU notes: Rams exploring options on O-line (Coloradoan)
Although coach Jim McElwain and sophomore guard Fred Zerblis said the Rams haven't yet figured out which combination they'll use Saturday, Sept. 27, at Boston College, quarterback Garrett Grayson suggested they'll simply go with the "next man up" approach. That would be Kevin O'Brien, a junior who hadn't played at all until seeing some mop-up duty in the Rams' 49-21 win Saturday, Sept. 13, over UC-Davis.
Steps, not size, at issue for Colorado State offensive line (Loveland Reporter-Herald)
The assessment from the head coach was succinct. "They took it to us," Colorado State coach Jim McElwain said in reference to Boise State's front seven in the loss three weeks ago. The Rams' young offensive line came away with a list of lessons learned, one they'll need to recall in facing a Boston College defense Saturday that has held its past two opponents — including USC — to 20 yards or less on the ground.
CSU notes: Hansley won’t make trip to Boston College (Coloradoan)
Joe Hansley, one of the top receivers on CSU’s football team, was injured in practice earlier this week and won’t travel with the team to its game Saturday, Sept. 27, at Boston College, coach Jim McElwain said. Hansley, a junior, suffered a possible concussion in practice, McElwain said Wednesday, Sept. 24.
5 reasons the Rams may not lose again in 2014 (Mile High Sports)
After a bye week this weekend, the CSU Rams are now gearing up for their game next Saturday against the Boston College Eagles. The Rams will head into that game 2-1 after beating FCS school UC Davis last weekend. After BC, the Rams have one more non-conference match-up (at home against Tulsa), then dive into the meat of their Mountain West schedule. While it’s probably dangerous looking this far ahead, there’s at least a non-zero perecent chance that the Rams finish the year with just that one loss. Is it likely? Probably not. But here are five reasons to believe that CSU may win every game left on their schedule in 2014.