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COLORADO STATE RAMS +6 @ NEW MEXICO LOBOS
Colorado State (4-3) at New Mexico (5-3) @ 8: 05 PM. EST.
FACTS & STATS: Site: University Stadium (37,000) -- Albuquerque, New Mexico. Television: ESPN2. Home Record: CSU 4-0, UNM 2-1. Away Record: CSU 0-3, UNM 3-2. Neutral Record: CSU 0-0, UNM 0-0. Conference Record: CSU 3-1, UNM 3-2. Series Record: Colorado State leads, 30-22.
GAME NOTES: With the next victory at Colorado State being the 100th of his tenure at the school, head coach Sonny Lubick hopes to celebrate that milestone this Friday night as the Rams head to Albuquerque to face the New Mexico Lobos in Mountain West Conference play. Lubick and the Rams trail only newcomer TCU in the league standings, with the Horned Frogs going 5-0 thus far against the rest of the MWC, and CSU's only setback in four contests coming versus BYU, 24-14, on the road. Last week Colorado State captured its fourth win in the last five outings with a resounding 39-31 triumph over Wyoming, moving to Rams to a perfect 4-0 at home in 2005. Meanwhile the Lobos, who are in third place in the Mountain West at 3-2, toppled San Diego State last weekend in a 47-24 final. The scoring burst for New Mexico was the school's highest so far this season and also gave the program its second straight victory after beating Wyoming by just a field goal a week earlier. In terms of the all-time series between these two clubs, the Rams hold a 30-22 advantage, however the Lobos have won the last two meetings.
Justin Holland showed once again why he should get consideration for Player of the Year honors in the Mountain West last week as he completed 20-of-37 pass attempts for a career-high 419 yards and tallied four touchdowns in the team's win over the Cowboys. Holland, who has passing touchdowns in each of the seven games he has played this season, was named the Offensive Player of the Week in the MWC as his yardage total ranks third in school history for a single game. He has now passed for close to 2,000 yards this season, leading to 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Holland's favorite target is all- conference wideout David Anderson who already has 48 catches for 693 yards and six touchdowns. And where would the rushing attack be without Kyle Bell? There'd be none considering the rest of the ball carriers have accounted for only 244 yards this season compared to the 763 yards and five touchdowns put up by Bell.
While Holland was making noise on the offensive side of the ball, defensive back Joey Rucks was making sure that the Colorado State defense was not completely overlooked last Saturday. Only a sophomore, Rucks recorded four special teams tackles, of which three were unassisted, and recovered a crucial fumble early in the fourth quarter. Like Holland, Rucks also received recognition from the league as he was named the Defensive Player of the Week. With a 4-3 record overall this season, the Rams have played fairly even with opponents, and that's evident on the stat sheet which shows CSU is allowing 29 ppg while scoring 29.9 ppg. While the offense generates 435.3 ypg, the defense is surrendering 435.9 ypg, permitting 12 touchdowns on the ground and another dozen through the air. The run defense has let the team down the most, ranking last in the conference and 103rd in the nation as it gives up 198.4 ypg. In addition to his team-leading 49 tackles, Robert Herbert also paces the unit with four forced fumbles.
Kole McKamey accounted for three passing touchdowns and another on the ground as he led New Mexico to the 23-point win over the Aztecs at Qualcomm Stadium last time out. McKamey, who was listed as probable for the game with a hip injury, finished the night 21-of-32 for 248 yards, while running back DonTrell Moore rang up a game-high 162 yards and scored once on 36 carries for the Lobos. Making sure he was not overlooked was Hank Baskett who posted two touchdown receptions and cleared seven catches for 141 yards overall. Moore, the leading rusher in the conference at this point with 121 ypg to rank ninth in the nation as well, needs just 32 yards on the ground to record his fourth 1,000-yard season. Moore, who had to battle back from a knee injury that took him out of last season's bowl game, would be just the sixth player in NCAA history to achieve the feat.
In an effort to stick to SDSU quarterback Kevin O'Connell's every move in the pocket, New Mexico pressured the signal-caller the entire night. Not only did the Lobos post three sacks for a loss of 20 yards, they also tallied three interceptions as well, with two of those going to Mike Powdrell. DeAndre Wright, who recorded one of those three sacks, led the team with six tackles overall, while Powdrell came through with four solo stops and one assisted in the lopsided victory. Powdrell now has three picks on the season, but that's barely half of what team leader Gabriel Fulbright has managed to do with his league-high five interceptions. As a team, New Mexico is second in the MWC with 13 picks, but with only two recovered fumbles the unit ranks third in the conference in turnover margin at plus-two. Aleem Harris leads the program with 51 tackles, but the more disruptive performer has been Evroy Thompson who has made more than a quarter of his 32 tackles behind the line of scrimmage and leads the unit with four sacks.
Interesting Note:
With the two top rushers in the league on display in this contest, what it's really going to come down to is how well the respective quarterbacks change up the offense to keep the defense on its toes. Both schools have top-notch signal-callers and outstanding go-to wideouts, so the edge has to be given to New Mexico if for no other reason than the homefield advantage.
New Mex by a FG
Colorado State (4-3) at New Mexico (5-3) @ 8: 05 PM. EST.
FACTS & STATS: Site: University Stadium (37,000) -- Albuquerque, New Mexico. Television: ESPN2. Home Record: CSU 4-0, UNM 2-1. Away Record: CSU 0-3, UNM 3-2. Neutral Record: CSU 0-0, UNM 0-0. Conference Record: CSU 3-1, UNM 3-2. Series Record: Colorado State leads, 30-22.
GAME NOTES: With the next victory at Colorado State being the 100th of his tenure at the school, head coach Sonny Lubick hopes to celebrate that milestone this Friday night as the Rams head to Albuquerque to face the New Mexico Lobos in Mountain West Conference play. Lubick and the Rams trail only newcomer TCU in the league standings, with the Horned Frogs going 5-0 thus far against the rest of the MWC, and CSU's only setback in four contests coming versus BYU, 24-14, on the road. Last week Colorado State captured its fourth win in the last five outings with a resounding 39-31 triumph over Wyoming, moving to Rams to a perfect 4-0 at home in 2005. Meanwhile the Lobos, who are in third place in the Mountain West at 3-2, toppled San Diego State last weekend in a 47-24 final. The scoring burst for New Mexico was the school's highest so far this season and also gave the program its second straight victory after beating Wyoming by just a field goal a week earlier. In terms of the all-time series between these two clubs, the Rams hold a 30-22 advantage, however the Lobos have won the last two meetings.
Justin Holland showed once again why he should get consideration for Player of the Year honors in the Mountain West last week as he completed 20-of-37 pass attempts for a career-high 419 yards and tallied four touchdowns in the team's win over the Cowboys. Holland, who has passing touchdowns in each of the seven games he has played this season, was named the Offensive Player of the Week in the MWC as his yardage total ranks third in school history for a single game. He has now passed for close to 2,000 yards this season, leading to 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Holland's favorite target is all- conference wideout David Anderson who already has 48 catches for 693 yards and six touchdowns. And where would the rushing attack be without Kyle Bell? There'd be none considering the rest of the ball carriers have accounted for only 244 yards this season compared to the 763 yards and five touchdowns put up by Bell.
While Holland was making noise on the offensive side of the ball, defensive back Joey Rucks was making sure that the Colorado State defense was not completely overlooked last Saturday. Only a sophomore, Rucks recorded four special teams tackles, of which three were unassisted, and recovered a crucial fumble early in the fourth quarter. Like Holland, Rucks also received recognition from the league as he was named the Defensive Player of the Week. With a 4-3 record overall this season, the Rams have played fairly even with opponents, and that's evident on the stat sheet which shows CSU is allowing 29 ppg while scoring 29.9 ppg. While the offense generates 435.3 ypg, the defense is surrendering 435.9 ypg, permitting 12 touchdowns on the ground and another dozen through the air. The run defense has let the team down the most, ranking last in the conference and 103rd in the nation as it gives up 198.4 ypg. In addition to his team-leading 49 tackles, Robert Herbert also paces the unit with four forced fumbles.
Kole McKamey accounted for three passing touchdowns and another on the ground as he led New Mexico to the 23-point win over the Aztecs at Qualcomm Stadium last time out. McKamey, who was listed as probable for the game with a hip injury, finished the night 21-of-32 for 248 yards, while running back DonTrell Moore rang up a game-high 162 yards and scored once on 36 carries for the Lobos. Making sure he was not overlooked was Hank Baskett who posted two touchdown receptions and cleared seven catches for 141 yards overall. Moore, the leading rusher in the conference at this point with 121 ypg to rank ninth in the nation as well, needs just 32 yards on the ground to record his fourth 1,000-yard season. Moore, who had to battle back from a knee injury that took him out of last season's bowl game, would be just the sixth player in NCAA history to achieve the feat.
In an effort to stick to SDSU quarterback Kevin O'Connell's every move in the pocket, New Mexico pressured the signal-caller the entire night. Not only did the Lobos post three sacks for a loss of 20 yards, they also tallied three interceptions as well, with two of those going to Mike Powdrell. DeAndre Wright, who recorded one of those three sacks, led the team with six tackles overall, while Powdrell came through with four solo stops and one assisted in the lopsided victory. Powdrell now has three picks on the season, but that's barely half of what team leader Gabriel Fulbright has managed to do with his league-high five interceptions. As a team, New Mexico is second in the MWC with 13 picks, but with only two recovered fumbles the unit ranks third in the conference in turnover margin at plus-two. Aleem Harris leads the program with 51 tackles, but the more disruptive performer has been Evroy Thompson who has made more than a quarter of his 32 tackles behind the line of scrimmage and leads the unit with four sacks.
Interesting Note:
With the two top rushers in the league on display in this contest, what it's really going to come down to is how well the respective quarterbacks change up the offense to keep the defense on its toes. Both schools have top-notch signal-callers and outstanding go-to wideouts, so the edge has to be given to New Mexico if for no other reason than the homefield advantage.
New Mex by a FG