Leading up to Saturday’s Rocky Mountain Showdown, Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell spoke at a press conference Monday morning discussing various topics including a sneak peek at his game plan to beat the Colorado Buffaloes and an update on his star wide receiver Tory Horton.
Norvell first went through his team’s rushing success against Northern Colorado. “We had over 200 yards rushing, I think we had over 180 yards after contact,” said Norvell.
In Colorado’s previous two games, the defense has had a rough time containing its opponent’s rushing attack, whether that be North Dakota State’s quarterback Cam Miller or Nebraska’s running back Dante Dowdell. Colorado State will put a focus on their rushing attack this week to further exploit Colorado’s weak run defense.
Norvell also revealed his opinion on Colorado’s offense, and what he believes will help his team stop the explosive offense.
"(The Buffaloes are) very similar to last year in the personality of their team and the strengths of their team. Everything starts with their offense and their quarterback,” said Norvell “ They are very capable of being very explosive, they have a lot of speed at wide receiver. They mostly attack through the air. Everything goes through (Shedeur) Sanders. I thought Nebraska did a good job against them.”
Norvell believes that putting an emphasis on containing Sanders in the pocket will help limit Colorado’s superstar receivers from making big, explosive plays.
Norvell also had high praise for Colorado linebacker LaVonta Bentley and superstar wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter. Norvell believes that these two players will be key to Colorado’s success.
Colorado State’s head coach also took time to reflect on last year’s Rocky Mountain Showdown. He knows that his team should have won the game, but 18 penalties, four turnovers and three disallowed touchdowns came back to bite CSU. He knows they beat themselves last year, and he hopes that they have learned enough from last year's loss to win the showdown this year.
Coach Norvell also provided an update on fifth-year receiver Tory Horton, who had 16 receptions for 133 yards, a touchdown and a passing touchdown at last year’s showdown.
“Tory is sore, but I think he will be available,” Norvell stated. “I am hopeful he’s able to play.”
It was revealed Horton suffered a groin strain at last week's matchup against Northern Colorado. If Norvell is wrong and Horton is unavailable, it would be a huge loss for the Colorado State offense, as a lot of CSU’s offensive success is created through the high-caliber play of Horton.
Norvell knows the importance of this matchup, and what it means to all parties involved. Norvell has huge respect for Colorado, but still believes his squad has a real chance to shock the world on Saturday night.
“We know who they are, we know what they are trying to do. I want my guys to be great,” stated Norvell. “(The) only thing we can do is play well. These are the games we remember.”
The Colorado Buffaloes (1-1) visit the Colorado State Rams (1-1) Saturday night at Canvas Stadium in Ft. Collins, Colorado in the 93rd meeting between the two schools. The game will be broadcast at 5:30 p.m. MT on CBS.
Cover photo by 9News Denver/YouTube
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