The Huskies play football on Saturday, which means we’re examining the opponent offense. The season is here – let’s get right into it.
Key Players
The Rams are lead by fourth year head coach Jay Norvell and finished third in the Mountain West last season with an 8-5 record. Overall, this is a solid program. Here is the depth chart released by CSU:
At quarterback for the Rams will be Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, a strong armed gun slinger. His 2023 season saw him put up big numbers with 3,460 yards and 22 touchdowns, completing 62% of his passes. He was turnover prone, however, with 16 interceptions. He cut down the picks last season to nine, but threw for only 14 touchdowns on the same 7.4 yards per attempt. His arm strength and overall athleticism shows up in just about any situation, whether on the run, or throwing from the pocket in an awkward position. He plays some hero ball at times, but his arm talent is evident.
Colorado State struggled at times to throw the ball last year, missing a true number one receiver. The Rams are hoping that their transfer receiver additions of Northern Arizona’s Tay Lanier and Ohio State’s Kojo Antwi will strengthen their returning starters in Armani Winfield and Jordan Ross, who combined for only 559 yards and three touchdowns in 2024. Antwi was a national top-150 recruit and only in his second season in college. Tay Lanier had 27 catches for 457 yards and four touchdowns at the FCS level. There’s certainly some potential for this group.
The leading returning rusher is RB Justin Marshall, who ran for 746 yards and four touchdowns last season. Albeit during a 52-0 loss, he ran for 106 yards on a tough 4.2 yards per carry against Texas last season. There’s confidence around the program that he can be one of the Mountain West’s best running backs if the offensive line works out.
The Rams are rebuilding the offensive line and return just one starter from last year’s unit. However, confidence is high as most of the players have some game experience. The critical piece will be LT Liam Wortmann, a transfer from DII Central Missouri, and how he adjusts to the highest level of college football.
The Scheme
Norvell comes from the air raid tree, but hasn’t quite gotten his program to Mike Leach levels of passing. Last year, after an injury to star WR Tory Horton, he evolved his philosophy and relied much more on the run game to propel the offense. The numbers show this: in 2o23, Fowler-Nicolosi threw the ball 470 times, only to throw it 90 fewer times in 2024. Without having seen Colorado State play a game yet this season, it’s hard to say what exactly the plan will be. Most expect the team be more balanced, as the WR group doesn’t seem to be strong enough to carry a pass first approach, unless one of the transfers is a star.
Final Thoughts
Colorado State’s best path to offensive success will likely mirror their late-season formula from 2024: establish the running game early to control the line of scrimmage, use play-action to create explosive opportunities in the passing game. Despite Washington’s lackluster run defense last year, improved talent and depth should prevent Colorado State and a rebuilding offensive line from running the ball effectively with any consistency. That leaves Fowler-Nicolosi and his big arm. Thankfully, if the Rams only chance at success is throwing it, it’ll be right into the teeth of this Washington defense and its biggest strength: the secondary.