The Colorado State Rams christen their new palace against the Oregon State Beavers in the opening game of the 2017 NCAA Football season. Originally, the game was slated to take place in week four. Instead, the Beavers agreed to play it in week one because the Rams’ conference schedule left them without a bye. The contest between the two clubs is the first part of a two-part series. For the second half, Colorado State will travel to Corvallis to play the Beavers in 2020.
Last year, Oregon State was 4-8 and went 3-6 in the PAC-12. The Rams finished 7-6 with a Mountain West record of 5-3. To conclude the season, Colorado State came up empty in the Arizona Bowl.
Oregon State is rebuilding with hopes that they can end a streak of three straight losing campaigns. The Beavers last accomplished that feat in 2013, where they finished 7-6 and notched a victory in the Hawaii Bowl. Now, new head coach Gary Anderson will step in for former leader Mike Riley. Anderson will be a familiar face to the Rams fans. He used to be the Utah State coach.
The Colorado State Rams can’t wait to take the field after losing to Nevada in the Arizona Bowl last season. The Saturday afternoon match-up should be a good opening test for the Rams. The Beavers are a lower level Power 5 club. Obviously, this will be a key game to gauge where Colorado State is under the third year tutelage of head coach Mike Bobo.
Oregon State Beavers
Oregon State suffered through some growing pains last year, after claiming victory only times. However, there were plenty of positives to take into their 2017 season. A year ago, the Beavers’ offense put up 26 points per game. That output ranked them 86th in the Country. The Oregon State defense wasn’t much better. The unit allowed 30.5 points a game, placing them 82nd overall.
Gary Anderson’s team will be featuring a new face under center. A change was needed after the Beavers received very little production from that position last year. For the opening game, junior Jake Luton will be getting the starting nod. The 6-foot-7 quarterback has very little experience. With Idaho in 2015, he threw just one touchdown with four picks in limited action.
The Oregon State running game blossomed under Ryan Nall. Nall put together an impressive sophomore season, rushing for 951 yards and 13 touchdowns. The 6’2″ running back is poised to break the 1000 yard mark in 2017. The converted tight end also added 22 receptions for 214 yards and 2 scores out of the backfield.
The receiving corps will have to go without 2016’s leading receiver Victor Bolden. Fortunately, they do get back their second and third best options from a year ago. Jordan Villamin and Seth Collins will be the new one-two punch for the Beavers. Combined, the two pass catchers reeled in 57 balls for nearly 700 yards and two touchdowns.
The Oregon State defense showed some signs of life last year, especially in their secondary. The back half ranked 44th in the nation, playing a lot of games against the pass-happy PAC-12. Conversely, they constantly struggled to stop opposing team’s rushing attacks. As a result, they finished 102nd in the country, allowing a whopping 218 yards a game.
Oregon State does return several of their defensive starters, and their defense as a whole should be improved. Inside linebacker Manase Hungalu is one of those players. In 2016, the run stopper finished with 83 total tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 5 passes defended, and 3 fumble recoveries.
Colorado State Rams
The Rams return several players that contributed to their powerhouse offense in 2016. Most importantly, quarterback Nick Stevens. Stevens was good under center last season, accumulating over 1900 passing yards with 19 touchdowns and only five interceptions. Remember, he only played in eight full games of action in 2016. Overall, Colorado State was pretty productive. The Colorado Springs’ unit averaged 35.3 points per game, good for 28th in the nation.
To help ease the pressure on their starting signal-caller, Colorado State Colorado returns two their running backs. Both Daylon Dawkins and Izzy Mathews made strong contributions on the ground. Dawkins tallied 919 rushing yards and four scores while Izzy Matthews notched another 734 yards. Mathews was a beast in the red zone, collecting 13 touchdowns for coach Mike Bobo’s offense.
To provide pop to the Rams’ passing game, senior receivers Michael Gallup and Bisi Johnson are back. Michael Gallup was easily Colorado State’s best target and contended for the top wideout in the Mountain West Conference. He reeled in 76 catches for almost 1,300 yards and an impressive 14 scores. On the other side, is the elusive receiver, Bisi Johnson. Johnson held his own, catching another 28 passes for an inflated 613 yards and four more touchdowns.
Defensively, the Rams also struggled at times to put a halt to competing teams’ drives. They should be able to exceed last season’s defensive numbers be as they gain more experience.
The Rams did lose their leading tackler from 2016, Kevin Davis. Although they do feature senior Deonte Clyburn who is ready to step up after missing last year with an injury. Last season, Colorado State allowed an average of 30.4 points per game, positioning them 81st overall. Obviously, there is plenty of room for the young defense to improve on that statistic.
Prediction
The Rams steadily improved as last year and they return most of their starters. In fact, I expect they will be quite the force to be reckoned within the Mountain West. In this match-up, one of the glaring weaknesses on the Beavers is their pass defense. Their secondary has been depleted due to graduation.
Unfortunately for the Beavers, Colorado State features a strong passing game led by the experienced quarterback Nick Stevens. Furthermore, Oregon State is going with an experienced quarterback in Jake Luton. It could be tough for Oregon State to keep up with the Rams’ proven offense. Especially, with a fired-up home crowd that’s opening their first game ever in their new home stadium.
Las Vegas has set the line in this contest at -3.5. That is up from the -2 that it opened up at. They also have the over/under penciled in at 61. I’m going to lay my hard-earned greenbacks on Colorado State in this game. I’m also buying the -3.5 down to -3 at (-125), to cover my bases so to speak. Even so, I think they could beat the Beavers by 10 points or more. I’m staying away from the total because I’d like to be confident that both teams will score, and I’m not.
Trends
Oregon State is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games
Oregon State is 4-17 SU in its last 21 games
The Under is 5-2 in Beavers last 7 non-conference games.
Colorado State is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games
Colorado State is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Colorado State’s last 5 games at home
