4 bold Colorado State football predictions vs UNLV in Week 11
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Can the Colorado State football team pull a big upset to fully derail UNLV’s season?
UNLV started the season 6-0 but back-to-back league losses have conference title hopes for the Rebels hanging by a thread. CSU, on the other hand, is coming off a bye week following a chaotic October that saw Jay Norvell fired as head coach.
CSU hosts UNLV at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8 (FS1). Here are four predictions for the game, including a final score:
UNLV QB Anthony Colandrea has another 300-yard day
Virginia transfer Anthony Colandrea is a dangerous threat at QB for UNLV with both his arm and his legs.
“I think the quarterback’s ability to be an elite runner and passer. He does that with designed QB runs and he does that with breaking the pocket and keeping his eyes down field. I think those are the challenges because of what he creates,” CSU interim coach Tyson Summers said.
CSU’s defense is built on aggressive attacking, but the Rams have to be careful or Colandrea will escape pressure and make big plays. He’s gone over 400 total yards of offense twice this season and over 300 yards four times.
He’ll add to that against the Rams with another day over 300 yards of total offense. CSU’s defense has gone through a non-stop flux of change due to injury and Colandrea will be able to make plays.
The key for CSU will be if the Rams can force him into turnovers (he’s thrown just four interceptions this season).
Colorado State has a strong first quarter
The Rams have only scored four first-quarter touchdowns this season and in four games CSU has been scoreless after the first quarter.
After being shutout last game (a 28-0 defeat at Wyoming), the early-start focus has been key for Summers and company. The interim coach says he’s built extra periods of “good on good” competition into practices in part to help the start.
“We’ve talked a lot about being able to get into a rhythm and gain momentum. The only way you can do that is if you’re put in a position to start fast or you’re put in a position to continue to translate things from the practice field to the game. That’s what we’re really trying to do,” Summers said.
There are plenty of questions about CSU’s offense. The Rams were shutout against Wyoming and Jackson Brousseau struggled mightily (he’ll start again at QB this week). The hope for CSU is the bye week allowed everyone to settle down and get used to what Grant Chesnut wants to do as offensive coordinator.
This is a prime time for CSU to have a strong start schemed up. And this is not the Wyoming defense. The Cowboys are good defensively and excellent in pass defense. UNLV? Not so much. The Rebels are 124th in FBS in scoring defense (34 points allowed per game) and give up a whopping 470 yards per game, third-worst in FBS.
The Rams will score at least twice in the first quarter, with at least one a touchdown.
Colorado State pulls out a special teams trick play
UNLV’s offense is electric, scoring 37 points and averaging 450 yards per game. It’s unlikely the Rams can simply trade scores with UNLV and end up on top.
There’s nothing from this season to suggest CSU could keep that pace.
“Complimentary football doesn’t have to just be you run the football and you hold somebody to 14 or less. That’s hard to do today,” Summers said. “That’s going to be really challenging to do against a good offense like UNLV has. We’ve got to play complimentary football a little bit differently and we’ve got to do that with all three phases together.”
Reading between the lines, that could mean the Rams know they have to steal a possession or two. One way to do that is with turnovers, but as discussed above it’s going to be a challenging day for CSU’s defense.
Another way? Trick bag. It may be a fake punt or field goal or an unexpected onsides kick, but look for CSU’s special teams unit to try something sneaky.
Colorado State vs. UNLV score prediction
UNLV 34, Colorado State 20.
UNLV’s last two games have shown the Rebels to be a bit of a fraud that had been hidden with a 6-0 start against a weak schedule. That also means UNLV will come into this one with plenty of motivation to get things righted.
Discussions with Summers make me think CSU will throw plenty of different wrinkles into this one to try and pull a win. And, despite what some have suggested, the energy around CSU’s practices has been quite high.
The Rams will do some good stuff in this one, but the defense is too limited with injuries and the offense is lacking the playmakers to hang with UNLV throughout. It’s tight at half and Rebels pull away late.
Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on X and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado State vs UNLV predictions for Week 11 game
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