Colorado State: The Good, The Bad, The Conclusion

Offense good, defense bad
Colorado State: The Good, The Bad, The Conclusion
Colorado State: The Good, The Bad, The Conclusion /

For the 67th time in 91 tries, Colorado beat Colorado State in football. So that wasn't a surprise. Really, nothing was, except for the defense, which is slow.

The Good:

By far the most encouraging sign for CU Friday night was the running game. You figured the passing game would be there, but with a suspect offensive line and little experience in the backfield, there was no telling what to expect. But Alex Fontenot ran for 125 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries and freshman Jaren Mangham added 40 yards on 11 carries, including a bullying touchdown run in the first half. 

The running game is going to be Mel Tucker's thing. He's put a ton of emphasis on it, and on being physical in general. To me, the running backs weren't so much a concern. But the offensive line was. Friday night, they dominated CSU.

It was also a big night for Laviska Shenault, who is starting to get the Elvis treatment from national football folks -- they refer to him by his first name only. CU has a bunch of little gimmicks in the playbook to get him the ball, and deployed a few of them Friday, to great effect. 

The Bad:

Steven Montez's numbers -- 13-for-20, 232 yards, 2 TDs -- were good, but he didn't have a great game. He severely underthrew Shenault on a deep ball, then screwed up a third down with a skittish throw off his back foot.

These are the kinds of criticisms that have dogged him his whole career, and it may just be something CU is going to have to live with. That being the case, it was interesting to hear the broadcast team describe him as a potential first-round pick. 

And then there's the defense and hoooooo boy. CU did intercept Colorado State quarterback Collin Hill two times, one of which was a highly encouraging play from newcomer Mikial Onu. Otherwise the Buffaloes looked like they had cement in their shoes, giving up 374 passing yards and another 147 on the ground.  

Everybody knew the defense had some holes in it, but giving up 500-plus yards to Colorado State indicates the D is going to be a big problem this year. 

The Conclusion:

Colorado has the offense of a 9-win team and the defense of a 2-win one.

CU is going to be able to score this year, which is good, because it's gonna need to. Between receiver Tony Brown, Shenault, Fontenot, Mangham and Montez, the Buffaloes have an offense they're going to be able to rely on. 

The defense, it appears, is going to be more of a "bend but don't break" situation where you just hope for timely turnovers. 


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