2018 Colorado State Rams football team

The 2018 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rams were led by fourth-year head coach Mike Bobo and played their home games at Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado as members of the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 3–9, 2–6 in Mountain West play to finish in fifth place in the Mountain Division.

2018 Colorado State Rams football
Conference	Mountain West Conference
	Mountain Division
2018 record	3–9 (2–6 MW)
Head coach	Mike Bobo (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Dave Johnson (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	John Jancek (1st season)
Home stadium	Canvas Stadium (Capacity: 41,200)
Uniform

2018 Mountain West Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Mountain Division
No. 23 Boise State x		7	–	1					10	–	3
No. 22 Utah State		7	–	1					11	–	2
Wyoming		4	–	4					6	–	6
Air Force		3	–	5					5	–	7
Colorado State		2	–	6					3	–	9
New Mexico		1	–	7					3	–	9
West Division
No. 18 Fresno State x$		7	–	1					12	–	2
Nevada		5	–	3					8	–	5
Hawaii		5	–	3					8	–	6
San Diego State		4	–	4					7	–	6
UNLV		2	–	6					4	–	8
San Jose State		1	–	7					1	–	11
Championship: Fresno State 19, Boise State 16 (OT)
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Rams finished the 2017 season 7–6, 5–3 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for second place in the Mountain Division. They were invited to the New Mexico Bowl where they lost to Marshall.

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Award	Player	Position	Year
Doak Walker Award[1]	Izzy Matthews	RB	SR
John Mackey Award[2]	Cameron Butler	TE	SO
Lou Groza Award[3]	Wyatt Bryan	K	SR
Ray Guy Award[4]	Ryan Stonehouse	P	SO
Wuerffel Trophy[5]	Adam Prentice	RB	SO
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award[6]	K.J. Carta-Samuels	QB	SR

Mountain West media days

During the Mountain West media days held July 24–25 at the Cosmopolitan on the Las Vegas Strip, the Rams were predicted to finish in third place in the Mountain Division.[7]

Media poll

Mountain Division
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Boise State	132 (22)
2	Wyoming	95
3	Colorado State	82
4	Utah State	78
5	Air Force	52
6	New Mexico	23

Preseason All-Mountain West Team

The Rams had one player selected to the preseason all-Mountain West team.[8]

Specialists Ryan Stonehouse – P

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 25	5:30 p.m.	Hawaii	Canvas Stadium Fort Collins, CO	CBSSN	L 34–43	31,007
August 31	7:30 p.m.	vs. Colorado*	Broncos Stadium at Mile High Denver, CO (Rocky Mountain Showdown)	CBSSN	L 13–45	70,158
September 8	5:30 p.m.	Arkansas*	Canvas Stadium Fort Collins, CO	CBSSN	W 34–27	31,894
September 15	2:00 p.m.	at Florida*	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	SECN	L 10–48	80,021
September 22	1:00 p.m.	No. 16 (FCS) Illinois State*	Canvas Stadium Fort Collins, CO	ATTSNRM	L 19–35	26,259
October 6	8:30 p.m.	at San Jose State	CEFCU Stadium San Jose, CA	CBSSN	W 42–30	13,802
October 13	2:00 p.m.	New Mexico	Canvas Stadium Fort Collins, CO	ATTSNRM	W 20–18	36,514
October 19	7:00 p.m.	at Boise State	Albertsons Stadium Boise, ID	ESPN2	L 28–56	32,299
October 26	8:00 p.m.	Wyoming	Canvas Stadium Fort Collins, CO (The Border War)	CBSSN	L 21–34	32,125
November 10	8:30 p.m.	at Nevada	Mackay Stadium Reno, NV	ESPNU	L 10–49	13,755
November 17	12:00 p.m.	No. 14 Utah State	Canvas Stadium Fort Collins, CO	ATTSNRM	L 24–29	19,226
November 22	1:30 p.m.	at Air Force	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (Ram–Falcon Trophy)	CBSSN	L 19–27	17,432
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

Source:[9]

Game summaries

Hawaii

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rainbow Warriors	10	13	14	6	43
Rams	7	0	13	14	34

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP HAW CSU 1 10:02 10 75 4:58 HAW John Ursua 4-yard touchdown reception from Cole McDonald, Ryan Meskell kick good 7 0 1 5:26 14 85 4:26 CSU Bisi Johnson 10-yard touchdown reception from K.J. Carta-Samuels, Wyatt Bryan kick good 7 7 1 1:18 9 72 4:08 HAW 21-yard field goal by Ryan Meskell 10 7 2 11:32 9 67 3:53 HAW Cole McDonald 12-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass failed 16 7 2 0:28 6 46 1:43 HAW Cole McDonald 6-yard touchdown run, Ryan Meskell kick good 23 7 3 8:48 7 75 3:34 HAW John Ursua 19-yard touchdown reception from Cole McDonald, Ryan Meskell kick good 30 7 3 3:35 3 70 1:24 HAW Cedric Byrd 55-yard touchdown reception from Cole McDonald, Ryan Meskell kick good 37 7 3 2:20 3 75 1:15 CSU Preston Williams 7-yard touchdown reception from K.J. Carta-Samuels, Wyatt Bryan kick good 37 14 3 0:08 2 72 0:24 CSU Bisi Johnson 58-yard touchdown reception from K.J. Carta-Samuels, 2-point pass failed 37 20 4 8:15 4 99 1:06 CSU Preston Williams 26-yard touchdown reception from K.J. Carta-Samuels, Wyatt Bryan kick good 37 27 4 6:42 5 63 1:33 HAW 30-yard field goal by Ryan Meskell 40 27 4 4:42 8 75 2:00 CSU Izzy Matthews 9-yard touchdown reception from K.J. Carta-Samuels, Wyatt Bryan kick good 40 34 4 0:44 9 58 3:58 HAW 35-yard field goal by Ryan Meskell 43 34 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 43 34

vs Colorado

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buffaloes	21	7	17	0	45
Rams	7	3	0	3	13

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP CU CSU 1 13:36 5 75 1:24 CU Steven Montez 38-yard touchdown run, James Stefanou kick good 7 0 1 8:17 5 87 1:37 CU K.D. Nixon 46-yard touchdown reception from Steven Montez, James Stefanou kick good 14 0 1 5:54 7 75 2:23 CSU Bisi Johnson 26-yard touchdown reception from K.J. Carta-Samuels, Wyatt Bryan kick good 14 7 1 3:25 9 75 2:29 CU Beau Bisharat 4-yard touchdown reception from Steven Montez, James Stefanou kick good 21 7 2 6:14 8 48 3:23 CU Juwann Winfree 4-yard touchdown reception from Steven Montez, James Stefanou kick good 28 7 2 0:00 7 31 0:52 CSU 51-yard field goal by Wyatt Bryan 28 10 3 12:41 3 85 1:18 CU Laviska Shenault Jr. 89-yard touchdown reception from Steven Montez, James Stefanou kick good 35 10 3 8:46 5 70 1:32 CU Travon McMillian 49-yard touchdown run, James Stefanou kick good 42 10 3 3:23 9 45 4:03 CU 39-yard field goal by James Stefanou 45 10 4 8:39 10 49 3:41 CSU 27-yard field goal by Wyatt Bryan 45 13 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 45 13

Arkansas

	1	2	3	4	Total
Razorbacks	7	6	14	0	27
Rams	3	6	8	17	34

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP ARK CSU 1 12:26 4 6 1:31 CSU 55-yard field goal by Wyatt Bryan 0 3 1 2:02 14 73 6:06 ARK Devwah Whaley 3-yard touchdown run, Connor Limpert kick good 7 3 2 9:37 10 70 4:04 ARK 28-yard field goal by Connor Limpert 10 3 2 6:28 8 65 2:40 ARK 31-yard field goal by Connor Limpert 13 3 2 3:00 10 47 3:28 CSU 46-yard field goal by Wyatt Bryan 13 6 2 0:32 5 18 0:25 CSU 44-yard field goal by Wyatt Bryan 13 9 3 8:35 9 91 3:51 ARK La'Michael Pettway 25-yard touchdown reception from Cole Kelley, Connor Limpert kick good 20 9 3 7:28 1 64 0:11 ARK T.J. Hammonds 64-yard touchdown reception from Cole Kelley, Connor Limpert kick good 27 9 3 2:46 7 70 2:41 CSU Preston Williams 4-yard touchdown reception from K.J. Carta-Samuels, 2-point pass successful 27 17 4 11:07 9 96 3:29 CSU Preston Williams 10-yard touchdown reception from K.J. Carta-Samuels, Wyatt Bryan kick good 27 24 4 5:19 11 60 4:03 CSU 22-yard field goal by Wyatt Bryan 27 27 4 0:08 6 59 2:30 CSU Izzy Matthews 1-yard touchdown run, Connor Limpert kick good 27 34 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 27 34

at Florida

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	0	3	7	0	10
Gators	6	21	0	21	48

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP CSU FLA 1 10:48 4 4 1:37 FLA 24-yard field goal by Evan McPherson 0 3 1 2:14 4 -2 0:56 FLA 48-yard field goal by Evan McPherson 0 6 2 11:49 5 65 1:44 FLA Jordan Scarlett 30-yard touchdown run, Evan McPherson kick good 0 13 2 6:24 6 44 3:13 FLA Freddie Swain 18-yard touchdown reception from Feleipe Franks, Evan McPherson kick good 0 20 2 4:02 FLA Tyrie Cleveland 0 Yd Return of Blocked Punt, Evan McPherson kick good 0 27 2 0:00 9 13 3:53 CSU 53-yard field goal by Wyatt Bryan 3 27 3 11:75 7 75 3:33 CSU Trey McBride 48-yard touchdown reception from K.J. Carta-Samuels, Wyatt Bryan kick good 10 27 4 13:25 FLA Freddie Swain 85 Yd Punt Return, Evan McPherson kick good 10 34 4 9:21 4 54 1:47 FLA Van Jefferson 38-yard touchdown reception from Feleipe Franks, Evan McPherson kick good 10 41 4 6:17 1 68 0:12 FLA Dameon Pierce 68-yard touchdown run, Evan McPherson kick good 10 48 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 10 48

Illinois State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 16 (FCS) Redbirds	0	14	7	14	35
Rams	6	0	7	6	19

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP ILST CSU 1 2:21 14 80 5:27 CSU Bisi Johnson 9-yard touchdown reception from K.J. Carta-Samuels, Evan McPherson kick fail 0 6 2 10:42 6 20 2:02 ILST James Robinson 2-yard touchdown run, Sam Fenlason kick good 7 6 2 0:02 16 80 5:16 FLA Markel Smith 1-yard touchdown run, Sam Fenlason kick good 14 6 3 12:35 5 75 2:25 ILST Tylor Petkovich 12-yard touchdown reception from Brady Davis, Sam Fenlason kick good 21 6 3 4:00 7 60 3:02 CSU Nikko Hall 17-yard touchdown reception from K.J. Carta-Samuels, Wyatt Bryan kick good 21 13 4 9:25 3 51 1:17 ILST Markel Smith 60-yard touchdown reception from Brady Davis, Sam Fenlason kick good 28 13 4 2:48 1 57 0:10 ILST James Robinson 57-yard touchdown run, Sam Fenlason kick good 35 13 4 1:36 5 40 1:01 CSU Marvin Kinsey Jr. 14-yard touchdown reception from Collin Hill, 2-point pass failed 35 19 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 35 19

at San Jose State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	14	14	0	14	42
Spartans	0	0	30	0	30

New Mexico

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lobos	0	3	8	7	18
Rams	7	7	3	3	20

at Boise State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	0	7	7	14	28
Broncos	21	14	7	14	56

Wyoming

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	0	3	21	10	34
Rams	0	0	7	14	21

at Nevada

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	0	0	0	10	10
Wolf Pack	7	21	21	0	49

Utah State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 14 Aggies	3	7	10	9	29
Rams	0	7	3	14	24

at Air Force

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	0	13	0	6	19
Falcons	7	10	0	10	27

Players drafted into the NFL

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
7	247	Bisi Johnson	WR	Minnesota Vikings

References

1. "2018 Doak Walker Award Candidates". July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
2. "2018 John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List Released" (PDF). July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
3. "Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Announces 2018 Preseason Watch List". July 25, 2018. Archived from the original on August 17, 2009. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
4. "Ray Guy Award preseason watch list unveiled". July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
5. "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
6. "Watch List for 2018 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award ® Presented by A. O. Smith Announced". August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
7. https://themw.com/news/2018/7/24/boise-state-fresno-state-picked-to-win-2018-mountain-west-football-divisional-titles.aspx
8. https://themw.com/news/2018/7/24/2018-mountain-west-football-preseason-all-conference-team.aspx
9. 2018 Colorado State Rams football schedule. CSURams.com. Retrieved March 30, 2018.