COLORADO STATE PASS OFFENSE vs TEXAS PASS DEFENSE
CSU quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi had a bit of a coming out party last year in throwing for 3,460 yards so he’s more than capable of putting up solid numbers. Only a sophomore, Fowler-Nicolosi has nice tools and a good arm but is also prone to making mistakes, as his 16 interceptions last year show. His top weapon, and the top player on the entire CSU team, is wide receiver Troy Horton. The 6-3, 185-pound grad student has gone for more than 1,100 yards in each of his last two seasons at CSU. Former Texas commitment and Baylor transfer Armani Winfield is listed as a starter at one other receiver spot and senior Dylan Goffney (13 career starts) works out of the slot. This is a Texas secondary that really struggled statistically last year but there is quite a bit of talent in the back end for the Longhorns.
Edge – Texas *
COLORADO STATE RUN OFFENSE vs TEXAS RUN DEFENSE
The Rams didn’t run the ball particularly well last year, averaging just 92 yards per game on the ground last year (123rd in the nation). Justin Marshall did emerge late last season, rushing for more than 300 yards in CSU’s final three games, so he’ll look to build on that success. Grad transfer Kobe Johnson has a lot of experience and should figure into the rotation as well. Texas has a lot to prove after losing some key components from last year’s run defense, but the Longhorns should be up to the task this week.
Edge – Texas **
COLORADO STATE OFFENSIVE LINE vs TEXAS DEFENSIVE LINE
It’s actually expected to be a pretty solid offensive line for CSU with three starters returning. Center Jacob Garnder has a lot of experience (45 career starts) and was a second-team all-Mountain West Conference selection last year. Right guard Drew Moss has 34 starts of his own and left tackle Saveyon Henderson started all 12 games last year. As a team, Colorado State gave up just 14 sacks last year. The Texas defensive line still has some things to prove but it did have a good fall camp. We’ll get our first taste of what this new group is made of on Saturday.
Edge – Texas **
TEXAS PASS OFFENSE vs COLORADO STATE PASS DEFENSE
Some of CSU’s top talent is in the secondary, with first-team all-MWC selection Jack Howell leading the way. A Thorpe Award watch list member, Howell and fellow safety Henry Blackburn have combined for 45 starts. Neither is that strong in coverage, but both are active, especially Howell, who led the team in tackles last year and went over 100 tackles for the second consecutive season. Blackburn led the team in interceptions last year. The corners bring some experience through the transfer portal and the starters have good size at 6-3 and 6-0. The Texas receiver rotation will be interesting to watch and we’ll see if the timing is there in week one, but the Longhorns obviously have a lot of weapons in the passing game.
Edge – Texas ***
TEXAS RUN OFFENSE vs COLORADO STATE RUN DEFENSE
Colorado State runs a base 4-2-5 on defense. Linebacker Chase Wilson is one of the defense’s better players and he was a second-team all-conference selection last year. Buom Jock (great name) is a player CSU is high enough on that they moved Wilson out from middle to get Jock in there. This will be his first career start. Jaydon Blue is expected to have a big year but the lack of depth in UT’s running backs room is a bit frightening.
Edge – Texas **
TEXAS OFFENSIVE LINE vs COLORADO STATE DEFENSIVE LINE
Colorado State will actually be without its best defensive lineman in this one (Nuer Gatkuoth) so that’s not a good starting point. Defensive tackle Cam Bariteau is a solid player with a lot of experience. The top four defensive ends on CSU’s depth chart for this week have a combined zero starts. This is a Texas team with a load of experience and talent up front. On paper, the Longhorns should have little trouble in the trenches but week one is always a bit of a wildcard.
Edge – Texas ***
SPECIAL TEAMS
The most interesting thing about CSU’s special teams (maybe the entire team?) is that its kicker is from England, is 32 years old (second oldest in FBS) and has three children. He was pretty good last year and his long last year was 55 yards so he has a decent leg. CSU has an Aussie Punter with an Aussie name (Paddy Turner) who is pretty good as well. Bert Auburn is fantastic and the return games should be good, but Michael Kern is a total unknown as a punter (although Sark seems confident) so we’ll give CSU the slightest of edges here.
Edge – Colorado State *
