A New Season Showdown: Huskies vs Rams 2025

Sports spectators, rejoice! We have reached the start of a new season, and alongside its arrival, I take pleasure in revisiting one of my most cherished writing duties: our rival interrogation. This week, we’re connecting with Chase Dulude of Mountain West Connection to delve into the 2025 iteration of the Colorado State Rams! It’s Jay Norvell’s fourth year directing Rams’ maneuvers. As the architect of an impressive 8-5 record last season, culminating in an Arizona Bowl appearance, Norvell’s influence on the team is significant. What can we expect this season, and what’s your assessment of the Norvell era in Fort Collins thus far?

Given the record Norvell created at Nevada and his demonstrative commitment to building a successful football program at Colorado State, his tenure can seem somewhat disappointing. Despite yearly improvement in the team’s win-loss column, the 8-5 record of 2024 was somewhat distortive. The Rams conceded more points than they scored, circumvented both leading conference teams and suffered a beating in the Arizona Bowl from Miami (OH). My prediction for this season is a likeness of the previous, an 8-5 record with a Potato Bowl triumph against Western Michigan, although, in my opinion, they won’t seriously challenge for the conference title.

This is also Brayden Fowler-Nicholosi’s fourth year as the Rams’ quarterback. His performance somewhat dipped from his remarkable performance in the 2023-24 season but has continuously demonstrated strong play. How does he complement Matt Mumme’s offensive strategy, and which other Rams’ players should the Husky defense keep an eye on?

Answering on the key players point, redshirt sophomore RB Justin Marshall displayed considerable progress towards the end of last season, consistently gaining no fewer than 67 yards in five out of the last six games, with less than 18 carries her game. He’s clearly someone who shouldn’t be underestimated. Yet, the core of Mumme’s Air Raid system is aerial movement, not ground-based play. Fowler-Nicolosi’s prodigious arm, as evidenced in the 2023 victory over Boise State, is indispensable to this strategy. Fowler-Nicolosi did underperform in the 2024 season, indirectly due to the inconsistent performances of the receiving unit, particularly with the loss of eventual NFL Draft pick Tory Horton.

Theoretically, transitioning to an Air Raid system would necessitate Norvell to strengthen the receiving unit, but concerns remain about whether enough has been done in this regard. Current starters comprise Ohio State graduate Kojo Antwi, who has made only one collegiate career catch, along with returnees Armani Winfield and Jordan Ross, whose combined efforts totalled a mere 559 yards and 3 touchdowns in the previous season. Consequently, I suspect that the Rams’ offense may encounter some resistance against the muscular defense of the Huskies.

Tyson Summers is the debutant Defensive Coordinator at Colorado State, hailing from Western Kentucky. What do you think of the appointment, and what is noteworthy about his defensive formations? Which Rams can we anticipate impacting the game from the defensive end this year?

Tyson Summers, formerly a Rams defensive coordinator, puts out defences characterized by their predilection for forcing turnovers. In 2022 and 2023, the Hilltoppers topped the FBS with nine defensive touchdowns and achieved 58 turnovers, a benchmark shared with the national leaders. Though turnovers dropped to 20 in 2024, their defense ranked 9th nationally in restricting passing yards per game. This is a promising sign for the reconstituted Rams’ secondary, which was heavily affected by the transfer portal.

Of the eleven projected starters on CSU’s defense, only half played for the Rams in the previous season. Merely three of these exceeded 20 total tackles (Owen Long, Ayden Hector, Dylan Phelps). Long leads returning tacklers with 45, Hector was the top forced fumbler with 3, and Phelps was the only Rams with an interception last year. That means the Rams are largely renewing their defensive strategies with fresh players. Phelps and five-star prospect Jahari Rogers will likely get corner starts with omnipresent threats in interceptions. At safety, Jake Jarmolowich, transferring from Holy Cross, poses a threat with his 46 total tackles and two collegiate interceptions.

The Rams lost their two all-conference linebackers from 2024, Chase Wilson (transferred to West Virginia), and Buom Jock (transferred to Cal), which leaves a void. Incoming Iowa State transfer Jacob Ellis is likely to fill it after showing promising performance for the Cyclones in 2024. Ellis gathered 41 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, one sack and one fumble recovery. At the edge position, Baylor transfer JaQues Evans, who previously worked with Summers at Hilltoppers tallying over 100 tackles in 2022, will seek to placate some of the damage.

The familiar Mountain West Conference will dissolve after this season as Colorado State, along with Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State are transitioning to the Pac 12 from next season. How do you feel about this transition, and where do you think Colorado State will position itself in the Mountain West in 2025?

Setting aside bias as a Nevada fan and graduate, I do believe a merged super conference with the Pac-12 and Mountain West would be incredibly compelling across all sports. For CSU, this transition is unmistakably the correct direction to take. As for Jay Norvell, I propose a pinch of skepticism. Contributing factor to Rams’ successful last year was a comparatively weaker schedule, even by Mountain West standards. Now, they are committed to annually engage five teams where Norvell holds a 2-5 record with CSU. I foresee a challenging next few seasons for Norvell, particularly if the Rams fail to replicate prior performance.

Before we wrap up, can we have your score prediction for the season opener in Seattle, a face-off between Huskies and Rams? I would suggest a 38-21 victory for the Washington team. The Rams might initially establish a lead with their re-engineered offense, but as the Huskies exploit weaknesses in Ram’s defense, the grip will shift. A probable half-time lead of 24-14 to the Huskies will solidify into a solid victory after mid-game revisions successfully quell the Rams’ offense to the closure. We wish the best of luck to the Rams for the rest of their season!