Colorado State and Oregon State meet in the first ever game in the Rams’ new on-campus stadium Saturday. Here’s the preview, and predictions.
Welcome back college football. Sure it’s still a week before eagerly anticipated top 25 matchups; but this game between Colorado State and Oregon State should be a good one to kick the season off. It’ll be a chance for both the Rams and Beavers to show their improvements from last year. It also gives both teams the shot at a quality win to begin 2017.
Both teams face tough conference slates (relative to each conference). Colorado State also gets the fortune of facing two other power five schools (CU and Alabama) this season, so a win over a Pac-12 team to begin the season will go a long way towards confidence for those other two games in the season. For Oregon State, a win over CSU gives them a better shot at continuing to elevate their program and reach a bowl this season.
This could be an offensive shootout as both teams bring in pretty good offenses. Colorado State looks to be one of the better offenses in the Mountain West, if not in the country. Oregon State has a stable of running backs but stability at quarterback behind, Jake Luton. CSU does have a defense that was none for giving up points aplenty last season, but should be improved for 2017. How much they improved will be seen on Saturday.
Here is how you can watch Saturdays game between Colorado State and Oregon State:
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Date: Saturday, Aug. 26
Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
Location: Fort Collins, Colo.
Venue: Sonny Lubick Field
TV: CBS Sports Network
Live stream: CBS Sports Network Live
Keys to Victory
For Colorado State, the Rams simply need to put points on the board. The offense was slow out of the gate last season, a theme that cannot carry over into this game. Oregon State may be seen as a bottom of the rung Pac-12 team, but they have the talent to carry themselves in this game. CSU also needs to get stops on defense. The defense has to show improvement, particularly in the run game, and stopping Ryan Nall and Thomas Tyner will be key for a Ram win.
Oregon State has to be able to keep up with the potential offensive fireworks from Colorado State. Nick Stevens, Michael Gallup, Izzy Mathews and Dalyn Dawkins are all lethal for the Rams offense. Slowing those players down is essential for the Beavers to be able to get a win. To go along with the offense keeping up pace, the Beaver defense has to show up.
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Prediction
Despite outside perceptions of these teams, both of whom seem to be improved compared to last year, this matchup should prove to be a good game. Colorado State will be motivated to beat a power five team, as well as win the first game in their new stadium. Oregon State will be motivated by showing improvement and the opportunity to get an important win when looking for that bowl eligibility mark.
In this game, however, I think that Colorado State just has way too much on offense for the Beavers to keep up with. Especially when OSU is breaking in a new starter at quarterback. It should be a memorable day for Ram fans as they open their new stadium in winning style.
Final Score: Colorado State 38, Oregon State 20