Colorado State preview: Rams bear the marks of a quality team

DEFENSE

Like most teams, Colorado State has followed the trend of moving to a version of the 3-4 over/under Alabama has run under Nick Saban since his arrival in 2007. The Rams were respectable against the pass last year (32^nd) but struggled to stop the run. This year it has reversed, somewhat. The Rams are 88^th against the pass (despite having most of the same personnel as a year ago) and 54^th against the run, for a total defense ranking of 77^th. Alabama is 5^th against the run and 20^th overall, but two games is a small sample size.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Continuing a theme seen throughout the offensive depth chart, the defensive line has three seniors starting. The issue is, they’re simply not that good. On top of that, the best lineman overall, Darnell Thompson, was hurt last week and his availability is listed as unknown for this game. Thompson would be best served playing end, but he’s been forced inside to nosetackle despite not being nearly big enough. The other seniors are tackle Jakob Buys and the hybrid end/linebacker Evan Colorito. The other starting tackle will be Richard King.

If Thompson is out, either Ellison Hubbard or Colton Foster will get the nod. Foster is borderline in regards to size; Hubbard would be one of the smallest interior players Alabama sees all year (6’0”, 270). There would also be no depth behind them – maybe. There has been no word on the availability of Christian Colon, the huge (6’3”, 340) nosetackle the Rams managed to pry away from bigger schools. Colon has yet to play this year yet is not listed as suspended or injured.

Alabama counters with a defensive line that has certainly exceeded expectations so far. Da’Ron Payne will start in the middle flanked by Da’Shawn Hand on one side and some combination of Isaiah Buggs and Raekwon Davis on the other. Joshua Frazier, Johnny Dwight, Quinnen Williams and Jamar King are around to add depth. This one isn’t close to begin with, then add Thompson’s health status and it gets into mismatch territory. Advantage: Alabama

LINEBACKERS

This is probably the best unit on the team now that the secondary has begun to struggle a bit, but this group is not immune to injuries. Deonte Clyburn was lost, potentially for the year, with a scary blod-clotting issue. That forced a bit of shuffling of personnel, but somehow yet another senior rose to the top (Kiel Robinson). He’ll start next to MLB Josh Watson and across from SLB Tre Thomas. Watson is the team’s leading tackler by a large margin and is capable of confounding quarterbacks as well. Max McDonald and another senior, Patrick Elsenbast, provide depth.

Alabama is also coping with players lost to injury. Jamey Mosley started at the Jack position last week and did a passable job at worst. But Christopher Allen seemed to struggle a little in his first action at strongside linebacker. Keith Holcombe doesn’t have Rashaan Evans’ playmaking ability, but he doesn’t make many mistakes, either. Evans would likely be playing this week if this was a conference game, and he still might. But the safer bet is he waits to come back against Vanderbilt.

Shaun Dion Hamilton and Mack Wilson give Alabama good options in the middle, while Mekhi Brown, Ben Davis and Josh McMillon provide depth. This one is closer than you’d think given Alabama’s injury situation, but the presence of Hamilton offsets that of Josh Watson for CSU, and the Crimson Tide has a speed advantage just about everywhere else. Advantage: Alabama

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Part of the reason for CSU’s struggles in the back end has been the loss of FS Braylin Scott to off-field issues. He’s still expected to be out for this game, if not the whole season. Jake Schlager, the starting strong safety, has stepped up his game to help account for Scott’s loss, but it hasn’t been enough. Jamal Hicks and Jordan Fogal will bolster Schlager at safety. Anthony Hawkins and Kevin Nutt will start at corner, with Robert Awunganyi and Justin Sweet provide depth. Again, senior experience runs throughout this group.

Alabama’s secondary gave up more yardage than it would have liked against Fresno State, but the starters have allowed very little to opposing offenses this year in the way of big plays. Anthony Averett and Levi Wallace have settled in at corner, and Wallace in particular has been tough to work against. He allowed no completions against the Bulldogs and has essentially frozen half the field for two weeks now. Trevon Diggs, Tony Brown and Shyheim Carter offer depth. At safety, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Ronnie Harrison are about as good a 1-2 punch as you’ll find. Laurence Jones, the aforementioned Tony Brown and Deionte Thompson provide most of the depth there. This one’s not very close at all, somewhat of a disappointing surprise for the Rams given their attempt to build on 2016 successes. Advantage: Alabama

SPECIAL TEAMS

Placekicker Wyatt Bryan picked up right where he left off in 2016, and hasn’t missed a kick yet. On top of that, Colorado State managed to sign the next J.K. Scott this past spring, getting Ryan Stonehouse, and Stonehouse has not disappointed. He averages 47.1 yards per punt, has 5 50-plus-yard punts and 5 downed inside the 20. The only concern is the protection units, as Stonehouse has suffered one blocked punt so far. The Rams are mediocre on punt returns but very good on kickoff returns.

Alabama’s Andy Pappanastos is developing some welcomed consistency on short field goal attempts, but the Crimson Tide needs a reliable longer-range option to complement him. Scott is once again proving to be one of the finest punters in the country. Alabama has been successful in going after kicks, and the return game will come around eventually. But since we weight this category heavily toward the kickers themselves, the combination of the freshman Stonehouse along with the consistency and track record of Wyatt Bryan, the Rams get this one. Advantage: Colorado State

OVERALL

Alabama leads in six categories, Colorado State in two, but the Rams could make a case for leading the offensive line category as well. In regards to OL-DL head-to-head matchups, though, Alabama wins both comfortably.

Comparing Colorado State to an SEC program, one would probably have to say a decent mid-level program like Kentucky. The uncommon thing about this CSU team is the striking number of seniors present in the two-deep on both sides of the ball. This is a team expected to hold its composure even though it is making the trek into Bryant-Denny Stadium.

As such, Alabama can’t sleepwalk this one and expect the Rams to turn to lambs and just lie down. Colorado State probably isn’t good enough to seriously threaten an upset, but this could end up being the second straight week that Alabama makes bettors look like fools – for the wrong reasons.

Alabama 34
Colorado State 13

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