Monday Morning Quarterback: San Diego State

It’s Monday, which means it is time for Monday Morning Quarterback - which is generally posted in the afternoon. Today, we take a painful look back at a game the Rams let slip away in the second half Saturday, a 42-28 loss to San Diego State at Hughes Stadium. As we do each Monday, we look at the stat sheet and discuss what worked, what didn’t work and what we learned about the Rams.

What worked:
Getting going on the ground: Colorado State came into the game with a plan to run the ball and they did so with great success. The Rams averaged 5.4 yards per carry and ended the game rushing for 151 yards and two scores. The Rams’ offensive line dominated in the first half of this one and produced a 100-yard rusher as John Mosure rushed 20 times for 130 yards.

An imaginative offensive gameplan: While the Rams came into the game looking to run the ball right at SDSU, a look at the stat sheet sees several players getting to touch the ball in new ways. The wide receiver screens resulted in first downs, The Wildcat formation kept the Aztecs guessing, John Mosure’s touchdown pass was unusual and a Dion Morton run on a reverse resulted in a score. While the Rams’ offense may be a little stagnate as of late, it is hardly without imagination.

Getting the run defense back on track: While the passing numbers for San Diego State were impressive, the Colorado State offense did stand strong against the Aztec running game. The Rams held SDSU to just 72 yards on 32 carries, which included one sack on SDSU quarterback Ryan Lindley. Brand Sullivan carried the load for the Aztecs and averaged just three yards per carry. Looking for positives from a defense that allowed 531 total yards can be tough, but this is an aspect of the game the Rams won.

The return of Rashaun: After being largely absent from the Ram attack over the past couple of weeks, Wideout Rashaun Greer made his presence felt Saturday, catching five passes for 93 yards. The Las Vegas native now has 29 catches for 544 yards on the season as he attempts to get back to the 1,000 yard mark by the end of the year.

What didn’t work:
459: It is becoming obvious that there simply isn’t anything else Colorado State Defensive Coordinator Larry Kerr can do, the Rams simply don’t have the horses on defense and the Colorado State secondary seems lost in pass defense. The Rams don’t have the pass rush without blitzing linebackers and when they blitz linebackers, they give up a pass defender. The result this weekend was a 459-yard passing day by Aztec quarterback Ryan Lindley. The Aztecs scored on passes of 33, 33, 38 and 60 yards, illustrating the Rams’ inability to provide anything but a token resistance to the pass.

The third quarter: Let’s face it, this game was lost in the third quarter. San Diego State picked up 268 yards in that quarter as a whole, converted on all six of its third downs and possessed the ball for 12 of the quarter’s 15 minutes. More importantly, the Aztecs out-scored the Rams 20-7 in the period and got back into a game that it looked like they would be blown out of.

The fourth quarter: While the third quarter was where the game was lost, it was the fourth quarter where the team started to slump its shoulder, got more sloppy about tackling and, although the offense managed 87 yards, the Rams fourth quarter drives ended in two punts and an interception

Not making DeMarc Sampson the Mountain West’s Player of the Week: All right, it may be early for this (written Sunday night), but can you imagine anyone not voting for Sampson as the Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Week, previously known as the Max Hall Trophy? Sampson caught 15 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns against Colorado State. Saturday’s performance by Sampson would have put him third on the Rams’ season list of receptions and yards for the season.

What we learned
We continue to learn that if you are a Rams fan, you don’t want to see Colorado State come into the fourth quarter if the score is close. The Rams lost the fourth quarter - and by extension the game - against Idaho, Utah and now San Diego State. The offense can’t move the ball for a game-winning score and the defense seems paralyzed to get a third down stop in the final stanza.

That brings up other questions. Are we seeing a “here-we-go-again,” mentality? Are the Rams pressing too hard in the final quarter on offense (fourth quarter interceptions against Utah - 2 - Idaho and San Diego State); is a young defense without much depth wearing out late?

Unfortunately for the Ram fans, right now more questions than answers exist and it is up to the coaching staff to find the answers.