Rams will hope to catch MWC opponents by surprise

Colorado State

Head coach: Sonny Lubick (49-23, 7th season at CSU; 70-42 overall, 11th season)

1998 record: 8-4 (Third, WAC Mountain Division)

Returning starters: 13

Guy they'll miss: All-American guard Anthony Cesario , a third-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars

Player to watch: Fullback Kevin McDougal

Key game: Sept. 16, at BYU

Projection: 5th (MWC coaches' poll)

A year ago, the talk around Fort Collins, Colo., was that the Colorado State Rams might make a surprise run at a national championship.

Instead, the injury-plagued Rams, the team of the '90s in the WAC, found themselves a disappointing 8-4 in 1998 and home for the holidays for only the second time in five years.

So Rams head coach Sonny Lubick wasn't exactly crying crocodile tears when he found out CSU was picked to finish fifth in the new Mountain West Conference in its coaches' poll and sixth in a media poll.

"I appreciate that," Lubick said. "That's good.

"We've always done a little better when we weren't expected to do very much. I think we have a chance to be a pretty good football team."

Especially if explosive fullback Kevin McDougal can stay healthy his senior year.

It wasn't just a coincidence that the Rams stumbled badly when McDougal, who had 1,111 yards and 13 touchdowns in helping lead CSU to the 1997 WAC title, was sidelined for five games with hamstring and shoulder injuries.

With a healthy McDougal, the Rams rallied from a 16-0 deficit to win, 23-16, at Michigan State and gave Air Force all it could handle before losing, 30-27, at Falcon Stadium. Without him, the Rams got whipped by Rice, 35-23.

"When he's healthy -- and he was healthy in '97 -- he's as hard a running back as any in this conference to bring down," Colorado State running backs coach Mick Delaney said.

"A healthy McDougal playing 9 or 11 games and getting 100 yards a game will be a key for us," Lubick said. "There's no doubt that Kevin is the guy who makes us go."

The 6-0, 205-pounder will be counted on even more this season as Colorado State rebuilds its offensive line and breaks in inexperienced quarterback Matt Newton.

Newton replaces Ryan Eslinger, who threw for nearly 2,400 yards a year ago. The 6-3, 215-pound junior had the finest game of his career last year against UNLV -- who didn't? -- when he came off the bench to complete 18 of 28 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-16 victory. He also held off a challenge from highly touted freshman Steve Cutlip, who has been plagued by tendinitis in his right forearm.

"Matt has special qualities," Lubick said. "If he can get off to a good start, I think he can be a pretty good quarterback. The problem is, there are no Montana States coming to town."

Far from it. The Rams face in-state rival Colorado in an emotional season-opener at Mile High Stadium, travel to high-scoring Nevada the following week before opening Mountain West Conference play just five days later at preseason favorite BYU. An 0-3 start is not out of the realm of possibility.

The key for the Rams could be whether a defense led by all-conference players such as defensive end Clark Haggans, linebacker Rick Crowell and strong safety Erik Olson can keep CSU in the early games while the offense develops.

Crowell, upset over the preseason predictions, believes it can.

"For our team, it wouldn't be a surprise if we ended up on top," he said.

"I really like our attitude," Lubick said. "It's an eager football team. They feel they didn't meet the expectations last year. We've always done a little bit better when not much was expected of us."

Colorado State visits Sam Boyd Stadium to play UNLV on Nov. 27.

This is the third in a seven-part series previewing the Mountain West Conference. Tuesday: New Mexico

archive