Betting on the Colorado State Rams 2020 Regular Season Win Total
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The Mike Bobo era came to an end at the conclusion of the 2019 season.
Bobo was the head coach in Fort Collins for five seasons, and his last two years with Colorado State were disappointing given his start. The former Georgia offensive coordinator led the Rams to three consecutive 7-6 campaigns from 2015 to 2017, but this program bottomed out over the last two years. Colorado State followed up a 3-9 year in 2018 by going 4-8 last season, and that led to the school making a change.
Steve Addazio was brought in to turn the program around, and he was certainly consistent during his time at Boston College. Addazio led the Eagles to either six or seven wins with a bowl game in six of his seven seasons in Chestnut Hill, and Colorado State would appreciate that kind of consistency after what they saw the last two years.
Let’s take a look at what the CSU Rams forecast looks like in 2020 at SportsBetting.com.
Colorado State Rams 2020 Regular Season Win Total
Over 5.5 Wins (+105)
Under 5.5 Wins (-125)
Betting on Colorado State Rams 2020 Offense
Patrick O’Brien became the starting quarterback for the Rams after Collin Hill suffered a torn ACL last September, and he is the nominal starter coming into the 2020 campaign. O’Brien completed 61.8 percent of his passes for 2,803 yards with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions in Bobo’s quarterback-friendly offense, but he may be challenged by Temple transfer Todd Centeio.
Whoever starts under center won’t throw the ball as much as this team did in the past. Addazio is a run-first head coach that loves to pound the ball with bruising running backs, so you can expect Marcus McElroy to run for at least 1,000 yards if he stays healthy. McElroy averaged 4.6 YPC as the backup to Marvin Kinsey last season, and he wears down opposing defenses at 230 pounds. Jaylen Thomas and Christian Hunter will see carries too with Thomas likely logging the most time given his larger frame.
The offensive line will return only two starters from last year as T.J. Storment and Nouredin Nouili both transferred to Power Five schools. That won’t be as big of an issue as it would have been under Bobo as Addazio is an excellent offensive line coach, but it’s still something to watch early in the year.
Colorado State’s receivers are good enough that this team can’t eschew the passing game entirely. Warren Jackson is one of the best receivers in the Mountain West, and he caught 77 passes for 1,119 yards and eight touchdowns in 2019. Jackson will likely hear his name called at some point in the first two days of the 2021 NFL Draft. Dante Wright has the speed to stretch the field, and Nate Craig-Myers still has plenty of untapped potential. Additionally, Trey McBride was a First Team All-Mountain West selection at tight end.
Betting on Colorado State Rams 2020 Defense
The Rams were solid in pass defense last season, but they had a major problem stopping the run. They ranked outside the top 100 in run defense, allowing 4.9 YPC, and that might not improve considering they lost a lot of their depth when three linebackers entered the transfer portal after the season. Dequan Jackson and Cam’ron Carter must stay healthy or else this unit could be a disaster.
Fortunately, the pass rush should be strong. Manny Jones and Ellison Hubbard are both skilled pass rushers, with Hubbard getting pressure up the middle and Jones making quarterbacks uneasy off the edge. Graduate transfer Scott Patchan will provide another experienced body after playing in all 13 games for Miami last year, but depth is an issue.
This CSU secondary has the potential to be the best in the MWC. Keevan Bailey and Brandon Crossley are both very talented cornerbacks, and Logan Stewart has great ball skills at safety. The pass defense ranked above average nationally per Bill Connelly’s SP+, and it should be even better in 2020.
How to Bet on Colorado State Rams Schedule
Colorado State might start the season 1-3 with three games against Power Five schools. However, the good news is that all three games are winnable even though two of those are on the road as Colorado and Vanderbilt are projected to be the worst teams in their conferences, and Oregon State’s win total is set at 5.5 games at SportsBetting.com.
The MWC isn’t as strong as it has been in recent years, and the only game where the Rams will definitely be double-digit underdogs per the college football betting odds is on the road against Boise State in the season finale.
Colorado State Rams Odds Prediction
This feels like a 6-6 team. Colorado State is good enough to knock off at least one of the Power Five teams, and the Rams have enough talent to go .500 in conference play.
This program will have an advantage over other teams installing a new system with a new coach given the simplicity of Addazio’s scheme, and that will help given the condensed offseason that every team will experience in 2020.
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