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FORT COLLINS, COLO. -- The season looked bright for the Colorado State Rams in the early going. They were 3-0 heading to Provo to face BYU. Even after losing to the Cougars, the Rams had reason to be confident. Take away three early turnovers and 21 points and Colorado State arguably outplayed the Cougars.
Fast forward a week and the Rams good start looks like a fluke. The Rams (3-2, 0-1) lost to the WAC's Idaho Vandals 31-29 and head back to Fort Collins with a two-game losing streak, a slew of new questions and undoubtedly a shaken psyche.
"I am disappointed in the outcome of the game last week," Rams' Head Coach Steve Fairchild said stating the obvious. "We made too many errors in every facet of the game."
But Fairchild said they have put the loss behind them and have "all of our energies focused on a very good Utah team."
Utah (3-1) opens up conference play coming off a bye week spent dealing with the loss of running back Matt Asiata, who injured his knee in the Utes win against Louisville.
With Asiata lost for the season, backups Eddie Wide and Shaky Smithson will be relied on to carry the bulk of carries. Utah fans are anxious to see how the loss of Asiata affects the Ute offense.
Despite the shakeup in the backfield, Fairchild doesn't think the Utes or Head Coach Kyle Whittingham with change what they do on the offensive.
"I don't think they're going to change much, so we're not going to change much," Fairchild said matter of factly. "Matt (Asiata) sure was a tremendous player; a very, very good running back, but I'm sure they've got guys coming in there that can play, so I don't anticipate either one of us changing the game plan very much."
Fairchild noticed Utah didn't change much when Terrance Cain took over at quarterback for Brian Johnson.
"(The offense) hasn't looked a whole lot different. With Brian last year they had a very experience guy. The guy playing now, being a new player, has conducted himself very well. I think they look similar," Fairchild said, "They are very talented. They are well-coached and we're going to have to do a number on them defensively to have any chance."
To have any success against Cain and the Utah offense, Fairchild said the key is pressure. "Against any quarterback you've got to be able to pressure them."
Fairchild also said his offense, particularly his receivers, need to do a much better job to have a chance against Utah and avoid last year's fate, a 49-16 loss in Salt Lake City.
Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. in Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins, Colo. Log on to KSL.com and follow the action with a live game blog.
