The Colorado State football team opens Mountain West play this week amid what one has to imagine is an unexpected quarterback controversy.
Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi opened his third season as the Rams’ starter as one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the Mountain West. But that lasted just over two games. Redshirt sophomore Jackson Brousseau replaced him against UTSA and led two late touchdown drives.
Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell saw enough to name him the starter last week against Washington State. Unfortunately for Brousseau, his first career start was a 20-3 loss. He wasn’t stellar, but his debut could have been worse. Brousseau completed 19 of 28 passes for 188 yards and would have been the Rams’ second-leading rusher if he wasn’t sacked four times.
The question permeating the streets of Fort Collins, Colorado, this week is which quarterback will lead Colorado State onto the field against San Diego State on Saturday.
Norvell wasn’t about to spill the beans on Monday, but he was quick to compliment Brousseau on his preparation, his efficiency as a passer, and his willingness to scramble against Washington State.
“I think one of Jackson’s strongest qualities is that he’s a student of the game,” Norvell said. “He threw the ball at a high clip in his first start, made a lot of smart plays, checked when he had to, got us into some good plays, and kept us out of some bad plays.”
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Whoever takes the snaps for Colorado State (1-3) is going to need some help from a running game that ranks No. 9 in the 12-team Mountain West with 153.5 yards a game and a defense that is giving up 169 rushing yards a game.
That will be especially true Saturday when the Rams face the top defense in the conference. San Diego State (3-1) has already shut two teams out this season, and the Aztecs lead the Mountain West in scoring defense (9.7 points a game allowed), total defense (237.2 yards per game allowed), rushing defense (91.2 YPG allowed), and passing defense (146 YPG allowed).
The Aztecs are coming off a 6-3 win at Northern Illinois. They held the Huskies to 169 yards of total offense, just 57 of which came through the air.
Colorado State Football at San Diego State Betting Line
San Diego State is a six-point college football betting odds favorite as of this writing. The Over/Under is 40.5 points. The moneyline is at -235 for San Diego State and +190 for Colorado State.
San Diego State is 16-4 overall and 9-11 against the spread in its past 20 regular season games as the favorite at home. Colorado State is 4-16 overall and 11-9 ATS in its past 20 regular season games as the underdog on the road.
Colorado State at San Diego State On TV
The Mountain West game featuring San Diego State and Colorado State at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California, will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
Kickoff is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. ET.
Colorado State at San Diego State Prediction
I predict Colorado State wins 24-14.
I think Colorado State is a mess this year. The Rams came into the year with concerns about replacing top receivers such as Tory Horton and rebuilding a defense that was decimated by graduation, transfers, and injuries. Those concerns are still there, especially for a defense that has produced the fewest sacks in the Mountain West so far this season.
The Rams aren’t getting much out of the running game, either. They’ve committed the second-most penalties in the conference, behind only UNLV, and now they have a quarterback with one start under his belt taking the snaps.
San Diego State’s defense has looked like a world-beater so far, in my opinion, but the offense has been average at best. Quarterback Jayden Denegal hasn’t taken over games the way many hoped he would, and he was intercepted twice against Northern Illinois. And while running back Lucky Sutton has been solid, I expect the Aztecs are going to have to find a way to put more points on the board if they plan to compete for a Mountain West title.
