Tag: Jay Norvell

Air Force at Colorado State: How the Falcons can defeat the Rams

Air Force at Colorado State: How the Falcons can defeat the Rams The Battle for the Ram-Falcon Trophy Contact/Follow @Sean or @MWCWire Can Air Force win their 7th straight against the CSU? WEEK 9: Air Force Falcons 7-0 (4-0) vs. Colorado State Rams …

Air Force at Colorado State: How the Falcons can defeat the Rams

The Battle for the Ram-Falcon Trophy

Contact/Follow @Sean or @MWCWire

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Can Air Force win their 7th straight against the CSU?

WEEK 9: Air Force Falcons 7-0 (4-0) vs. Colorado State Rams 3-4 (1-2)

WHEN: Saturday, October 28th — 5 P.M. MT/ 4 P.M. PT

WHERE: Canvas Stadium (Fort Collins, CO)

WEATHER: Snow in the evening will give way to lingering snow showers overnight. Low 19F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 80%. 1 to 3 inches of snow expected.

TV: CBS Sports Network
Rich Waltz (play-by-play), Aaron Taylor (analyst), Brandon Baylor (sidelines)

RADIO: KVOR AM 740 in Colorado Springs, 104.3 the Fan in Denver, SIRIUS XM 380, SXM 970
Jim Arthur (play-by-play), Jesse Kurtz (analyst)

SERIES RECORD: Air Force leads the series record 38-21-1

WEBSITES: CSURams.com, the official Colorado State athletics website | GoAirForceFalcons.com, the official Air Force athletics website

GAME NOTES (PDF): CSU | Air Force

SP+ PROJECTION: Air Force by 17.3

FEI PROJECTION: Air Force by 18.6

PARKER FLEMING PROJECTIONS: Air Force has an 72.25% chance to win (27.17-18.31)

Don’t blink, somehow we are already at week 9 of the college football season. Wedged in between games against Air Force’s primary rivals Army and Navy, is a “trap game” versus the CSU Rams.

The Falcons have been rolling through the season like a finely tuned F-22 Raptor. The most recent victim enroute to Air Force’s 7-0 start was their rival brethren of the sea. If you look at the score, nothing about their win over Navy is really eye popping. If you watched the game, your eyes would affirm what the story of this season has been telling you; The Falcons have an elite defense, completely suffocating the Mids. Navy wouldn’t have recorded a score, or even much more than 50 yards of offense were it not for Air Force playing an overtly conservative final drive to wind down the game. And news flash; their offense is not one dimensional.

Zac Larrier was a masterful conductor of the offense in a game that by most accounts, he was not expected to play. He was surgical throwing the ball completing 4/5 passes for 151 yards, which included a 94 yards touchdown pass to Dane Kinamon. He’s yet to throw an interception on the season. All of this couched with the obligatory nod to the fact he is the Mountain West Track champion. Larrier is playing his position at a level equal to or above anyone else in the MWC, period.

Awaiting the Bolts in Fort Collins is a more than capable Colorado State Rams team. Understanding the term capable is in no way a promissory note for victory. CSU has been very up and down this year, and in typical Jekyll and Hyde fashion, it’s going to be a matter of which variety of the Ram’s team shows up Saturday that will dictate how much of a threat they are to hand Air Force their first L of the season.

Jay Norvell and Matt Mumme seem to have settled on their quarterback now, which is essential in their pass heavy approach. Braden Fowler-Nicolosi has gotten a lot of attention for the statistics he’s posted in his time as a starter. And a major factor in those numbers would be the plethora of weapons he has to throw to. There are Bonafide Biletnikoff and Mackey award candidates on that CSU offense in Dallin Holker and Tory Horton. The production doesn’t stop there though, they have great depth in their pass catchers.

Air Force have not faced the kind of passing attack like they will this week. However, weather doesn’t look like it will be endearing to a pass heavy approach. And conversely, CSU has not faced a team like Air Force on either side of the ball. That’s not to inflate the greatness of the Falcons, it’s more of a reference to their unorthodox offense, and unprecedentedly stifling defense.

HERE’S HOW AIR FORCE CAN TOPPLE THE RAMS

The talent on the CSU offense is well documented. This isn’t the first time they have featured tandems of wide receiver and tight end quality that rival anyone nationally. It’s almost what we have come to expect from the Rams. What we haven’t come to expect is wins as a result of the talent. One of the major reasons they’ve struggled to peak above mediocrity is their defense.

One of the worst defenses in the nation, the Rams are as bad as anyone at defending the pass, and their run defense is nothing to write home about. Air Force is not going to be met with the same resistance to the run as they did last week, in particular allowing their fullbacks to be the catalyst to their offense. CSU ranks 91st in run defense, surrendering 160 yards per game on the ground. Take a look at their schedule, there aren’t many elite rushing attacks on that schedule. Air Force must impose their will, leaning on the country’s number one rushing attack to lead the way.

If the stable of fullbacks don’t have a big game on the ground, it probably means John Lee Eldridge has some eye popping yards per carry numbers getting the ball on the edge. It is also likely that the 131st pass defense is taken advantage of by Larrier and crew while they load the box to try and contend the run.

Historically, even when Air Force has had a good defense, their achilles heel has been the secondary exposed by an effective pass game to open things up. It seems contrary to make that remark considering they rank 4th nationally at defending the pass, but their dominance at time of possession helps skew that statistic. This could be one of those games that the numbers don’t tell the story. Success defending the pass is going to be a group effort, getting after the quarterback and communicating at the second and third level. The experience of an Alec Mock and Trey Taylor will key in that regard.

The last area of focus is going to lean in on the Falcons strength, which is in the trenches. CSU has done a great job of getting after the quarterback, averaging three sacks per game. They have also protected the quarterback very well, especially when you consider how often they throw the ball.

The Air Force defensive front has line wreckers in Bo Richter and Peyton Zdroik. They need to be able to generate pressure on Saturday so Nicolosi isn’t comfortable working through his reads to these talented receivers. Meanwhile, the ‘Diesels’ up front for the Falcons need to keep Mohammed Kamara and company out of their backfield. Expect a blocking scheme that accounts for the Rams strength to be deployed to allow for steady gains in the snow.

It’s really interesting looking at the how the Rams have fared defensively, despite four of the better defensive players in all of the conference. This lends a lot of credence to the reality that teams that function as a unit are often far more formidable than one that might have highly talented individuals but lack communication or are more significantly flawed at other positions. Air Force feasts on a defense that is not on top of its’ game communicating.

You are in for a treat especially if you enjoy good secondary play as four of the best safeties in the conference will be featured in Jack Howell, Henry Blackburn, Trey Taylor and Jayden Goodwin. Unfortunately for CSU fans, I don’t see this game setting up to end their losing streak to Air Force at six. Weather could be a factor for both teams, but precision and execution will be the biggest factor. And no one has proven better than Troy Calhoun’s squad at that thus far.

Air Force 28 – Colorado State 20

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Deion Sanders doesn’t mind criticism: ‘I came out the womb and I was booed’

You merely adopted the haters. Deion Sanders was born in it, molded by it.

Deion Sanders is comfortable with his haters. He says they’ve been around his whole life.

In the words of Rico Richie, if you ain’t got no haters, you ain’t poppin’. From his NFL career to his current job as head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes, Sanders has always done things his way.

Naturally, that’s gotten the attention of other people. Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell didn’t like Sanders wearing sunglasses and a hat when addressing the media. Oregon head coach Dan Lanning used the spotlight Sanders and the Buffs have been receiving to motivate his team. “They’re fighting for clicks. We’re fighting for wins.”

Yet, “Coach Prime” isn’t bothered by what others say.

Sanders was recently asked about the messaging from others this season. He quickly said, “”I came out the womb, and I was booed.”

Seemingly unfazed, “Coach Prime” said he doesn’t have a message for detractors or haters and doesn’t take his time to respond.

“I’m not new to this. I’m true to this,” Sanders said emphatically.

Carry on, everybody — nothing to see here.

Jay Norvell asked about seemingly dirty hit that injured Travis Hunter

Jay Norvell didn’t have much to say about Henry Blackburn’s seemingly dirty hit that injured Travis Hunter

Colorado is preparing to be without two-way star Travis Hunter for a few weeks — at least — after he left Saturday’s game following a seemingly dirty hit by Colorado State Rams safety Henry Blackburn.

The hit has become a central talking point from the Buffs’ thrilling come-from-behind win, and Rams head coach Jay Norvell was asked about the seemingly dirty play (h/t Jake Shapiro of Denver Sports):

“I mean, I don’t know. He hit him on the sideline,” Norvell said. “It was hard for me to see over there. I can’t answer that.”

The entire game had plenty of antics, and it began earlier in the week with Norvell’s sunglasses comment toward Deion Sanders, which brought a response from Coach Prime.

After the hit by Blackburn, things escalated, and CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders immediately approached Blackburn and got in his face in anger.

READ: Takeaways from Colorado’s wild Rocky Mountain Showdown win

The hit by Blackburn on Hunter suddenly has the Buffs without one of their most important players for the next two weeks against Oregon and USC, and Norvell’s unapologetic comments here are a bit surprising.

Contact/Follow us @BuffaloesWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Colorado news, notes and opinions.

It sure seems like Jay Norvell is walking back his jab at Deion Sanders and Colorado

Sure, let’s go with that.

Colorado State coach Jay Norvell probably saw this all going differently in his mind.

Earlier this week, ahead of an in-state showdown with No. 18 Colorado, Norvell took the ill-advised action of commenting on how Deion Sanders runs his Buffaloes program.

“I don’t care if they hear it in Boulder, I told [the team] when I talk to grownups, I take my hat and glasses off,” Norvell quipped on his coach’s show. “That’s what my mother taught me.”

You can absolutely guess what came next. The Buffs took it personally.

Well, now it seems like Norvell realized he made a mistake and is attempting to revise a bit of history with a late-night tweet on Friday.

It’s hard to square Norvell’s clarification with his initial comments. At the very least, it seems like he does care about how they heard it in Boulder. Nevertheless, Denver 7 reporter Troy Renck said he did reach out to Colorado State for a comment but the Rams were content to let Norvell’s words stand on their own.

Anyways, Sanders has already prepared the perfect response in person when he goes to shake Norvell’s hand at the end of the game. And there will be no misinterpreting that.

Deion Sanders mercilessly mocked Jay Norvell by taking off hat in a post-game handshake preview

Deion Sanders has officially won his beef against Jay Norvell.

The Deion Sanders/Jay Norvell beef reached its peak on Saturday morning as Sanders landed a devastatingly hilarious blow to his Colorado State counterpart.

The Colorado football coach has turned Norvell’s trolling against him in epic fashion as the Rams coach making fun of Sanders wearing a hat and sunglasses ahead of this week’s game has backfired spectacularly.

Public betting on Colorado Buffaloes outpaces NFL at BetMGM

Well, Sanders landed the final blow during Fox Sports’ Big Noon Kickoff as he mimicked how he’s going to shake Novell’s hand after the game ends.

Yes, he absolutely took his cowboy hat off without wearing sunglasses and stuck his hand out at the camera as the Big Noon Kickoff crew burst out in laughter.

Like, c’mon, that’s objectively funny. Regardless of how you feel about Sanders, you have to admire his ability to entertain.

He’s already become one of college football’s great personalities, and his team is No. 18 in the country for a reason. We’re not sure how long this moment will last for Colorado as their schedule heats up in the season, but it’s been a heck of a ride so far.

If anything, opposing coaches are going to think twice about trying to trash-talk Sanders ahead of their game against Colorado.

Deion Sanders using Jay Norvell’s jab as ‘ammunition’

As expected, Deion Sanders is using Jay Norvell’s comments as “ammunition”

For some reason, people keep poking the Deion Sanders bear. The Colorado Buffaloes head coach has been the subject of controversial comments, including some from Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi and plenty of others.

Now, with Colorado State coming to town on Saturday, Rams head coach Jay Norvell fired a shot at Coach Prime about him wearing sunglasses and a hat during interviews.

During practice on Thursday, Coach Prime and his team huddled up, and he responded, saying:

“I’m minding my own business, watching some film, trying to get ready, trying to get out here and be the best coach I can be and I look up and I read some bull junk that they done said about us. Once again. Why would you want to talk about us when we don’t talk about nobody? All we do is go out here, work our butts off and do our job on Saturday. But when they give us ammunition, they done messed around and made it what? Personal.”

The Buffs are already a heavy favorite against the Rams in Boulder, and after Norvell’s comments, things might get out of hand on Saturday.

Contact/Follow us @BuffaloesWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Colorado news, notes and opinions.

Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell fires shots at Deion Sanders

Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell fired shots at Colorado’s Deion Sanders ahead of their week 3 matchup

On Saturday afternoon, the Colorado State Rams and Colorado Buffaloes will faceoff in their rivalry matchup, the Rocky Mountain Showdown, at Folsom Stadium in Boulder.

The Saturday night showdown will be the first matchup in the rivalry since 2019. Since that last meeting, both schools have seen new head coaches take over their respective programs. With that, Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell has decided to ensure the fire in the rivalry hasn’t smoldered despite the recent struggles and coaching changes for both programs.

On Wednesday night, Norvell fired shots at Colorado head coach Deion Sanders during his weekly coaches show.

“I sat down with ESPN today, and I don’t care if they hear it in Boulder, I told them, I took my hat off, and I took my glasses off, and I said, ‘When I talk to grownups, I take my hat and my glasses off. That’s what my mother taught me,” Norvell said in reference to Sanders’ frequent attire of wearing a baseball cap and a pair of sunglasses during his interviews and press conferences.

 

Sanders would appear to respond to Norvell’s comments on Thursday morning via X. 

“Forget what they think or say about u because the only that matters is what you think & say about yourself,” he posted. “I need u to stay Positive & persistent. Today will be better than yesterday but not as good as tomorrow. Believe that!”

Considering the circumstances, Norvell’s willingness to stoke the fire is bold.

The Rams are in their second season under Norvell after going 3-9 in 2022, thanks mainly to having the country’s 129-ranked offense that averaged just 13.2 points per game last season. The Rams fell to Washington State 50-24 in week one before having off week two.

On the other hand, despite going 1-11 in 2022, Colorado has been very impressive in Deion Sanders’ first season with the program. In week one, the Buffaloes upset last year’s national championship runner-ups, the TCU Horned Frogs, 45-42 before thrashing Nebraska in week two, 36-14. With the back-to-back victories, the Buffaloes find themselves within both the US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Poll’s top 25.

The Buffaloes’ offense has posted over 450 total yards of offense in each of their first two games, including 906 passing yards as quarterback Shedeur Sanders, son of Deion, has been spectacular, completing 69-of-89 passing attempts for 903 yards and six touchdowns.

Entering the matchup on Saturday, the Buffaloes are considered more than a three-touchdown favorite over the Rams. In a game that was already anticipated to be a blowout, could Norvell’s comments backfire for Colorado State?

If Saturday’s game does end up being a blowout, don’t be surprised if Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes’ keep their foot on the pedal. This past weekend, Shedeur Sanders called Colorado’s win over Nebraska “extremely personal” after he believed the Cornhuskers disrespected Colorado by meeting on the Colorado logo at midfield before the game. The younger Sanders also referred to comments made by Rhule in the offseason about how Deion Sanders was rebuilding the Colorado program.

It’s already clear that Sheduer doesn’t take disrespect to his team or his father lightly, which will surely make his performance on Saturday all the more intriguing to watch.

With Colorado being the media darling of the college football season thus far, Norvell’s comments will surely become another layer of storylines discussed ahead of Saturday night’s kickoff in Boulder.

Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. MT in Boulder and will be televised nationally on ESPN, while Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff show will be live from Boulder on Saturday morning for the second straight week.

Social media reacts: Jay Norvell takes apparent shot at Deion Sanders ahead of Colorado-CSU

Jay Norvell is no longer playing nice with Deion Sanders

Colorado hosts the Colorado State Rams at Folsom on Saturday in search of a 3-0 start to its season. After this game, the Buffs’ schedule gets much tougher with a road game against Oregon and another must-see Sept. 30 home game against the USC Trojans.

Ahead of this matchup with the Rams, CSU head coach Jay Norvell poked the bear that is CU head coach Deion Sanders. During an episode of his coach’s show, Norvell said the following in regard to Coach Prime’s tendency to leave his hat and sunglasses on during press conferences:

“I sat down with ESPN today, and I don’t care if they hear it in Boulder,” Norvell said. “I told them, I took my hat off and I took my glasses off. I said when I talk to grown-ups, I take my hat off and my glasses off. That’s what my mother taught me.”

Of course, this isn’t going to go over well with the Buffs, and social media instantly got a hold of this and had a field day:

Colorado State’s Jay Norvell took a not-so-subtle shot at Deion Sanders with ‘grownups’ talk

Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell appeared to take aim at Deion Sanders.

The Colorado Buffaloes set the college football world ablaze earlier this year when they hired NFL Hall of Famer and former Jackson State head coach Deion Sanders to lead their team.

Sanders, known for his elite playing and larger-than-life personality, nearly gutted the entire roster, bringing several players to Boulder and telling others to find new homes in the transfer portal.

It seemed unconventional then, but those choices have the Buffaloes playing their best football in years. Colorado knocked off TCU, the 2022 national championship runner-up, and dismantled Nebraska in a 36-14 rout in their first two weeks.

Now, with a rivalry game on the line in Week 3 against Colorado State, the Buffaloes may have some bulletin board material from Rams head coach Jay Norvell.

“I don’t care if they hear it in Boulder,” Norvell explained during his weekly show he hosts with other locals from the area.

Norvell refers to Sanders regularly wearing a hat and glasses in his media interviews and press conferences, insinuating that it’s not becoming of grown-ups and goes against how he was raised.

Truthfully, Norvell is entitled to his opinion, but he should also know this is who Sanders is. He has always done things his way and knows it may not suit everyone.

Unfortunately, this likely adds fuel to the fire of many not taking the Buffaloes seriously and should make for an exciting matchup on Saturday, September 16.

Grab your popcorn. It’s going to be a movie.

What CSU coach Jay Norvell said about Michigan football after the 51-7 loss

He was very complimentary of the team he just saw! #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It was tough sledding for Colorado State coach Jay Norvell in his first game leading Rams: a trip to Ann Arbor to take on a 2021 College Football Playoff semifinalist, the Michigan Wolverines.

While the former Nevada head coach was encouraged by what he saw from his team, obviously, a 51-7 drubbing is never an easy pill to swallow.

“Good football team,” Norvell said of Michigan. “I thought we did some good things, the game was pretty much penalty-free on our side of the ball. And I was proud that Clay (Millen) took care of the ball offensively. And the most part, he had one bad read in the game, where he didn’t really see the roll of the coverage. But for a guy playing in his first game, I thought he did a lot of good things, threw for 16-of-20. And saw open receivers, delivered the ball pretty good.

“We got some pressure, got overpowered at times. I thought late in the game, their offensive line started leaning on us, and we got overpowered a couple of times in our line. But, overall, not discouraged about our guys at all.

“You know, this a good football team. They’re pretty different than everybody else on our schedule. And so I’m proud of our players, I think we’re doing a lot of good things, and a lot of things right. And if we continue to do those things, we’re going to see improvement as we go through the year.”

One of the things that really stood out was how much pressure the Wolverines were able to get without Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo in the lineup. With the duo heading to the NFL this offseason, expectations were that the maize and blue would struggle to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks. However, Michigan produced seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss in the Week 1 contest.

The Wolverines certainly presented challenges for the Rams up front, and Norvell was impressed with the amount of pressure the new-look defensive line was able to generate.

“We didn’t execute on third down when we had to, to keep the chains moving,” Norvell said. “And that’s what good defenses do — they did that all last year. They’re very talented, they have good players up front.

“We were concerned, we had a bunch of new guys playing up front — the offensive line never played together. And they made some plays on us, they sacked us a couple of times, we got behind in the score as well. So it is what it is.”

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Beyond the personnel, Michigan lost defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald to the Baltimore Ravens, but brought in former Ravens defensive backs coach Jesse Minter to continue the scheme. Norvell didn’t expect much of a change, and as far as he saw it, aside from the players being different, it looked pretty much as he anticipated.

“We prepared for the same scheme as (they had) last year,” Norvell said. “I didn’t feel like they were going to change much. And they really didn’t — and why would you? They gave up 17 points a game last year, they played very well defensively. So that’s what we prepared for.

“We figured that with the success that they had a year ago that they would continue with that (and) they pretty much did. And they played well. They’re a good coaching staff. I’ve known Jim a long time. They have good players and they got the makeup of a good football team again this year. But we didn’t anticipate being much different than a year ago.”

On the other side of the ball, Norvell knew that Cade McNamara would start at quarterback, but also knew he’d have to prepare for J.J. McCarthy.

He feels that both are as advertised, but he particularly noted how dynamic of a player the former five-star in McCarthy is.

“I think they are what people say they are. I’ve known McNamara a long time. He’s from Reno,” Norvell said. “No. 9 is athletic. I mean, he goes in here and runs his the zone-read and keeps the drive alive. He’s different. So, I’ll let Jimmy worry about that!”

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