Previewing CSU’s Week 2 matchup with UNC with Mike Sanford | DNVR Rams Podcast

Start [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] good morning y'all welcome in to another edition of dnvr rams live as always I'm your host Justin Michael I hope everybody has had a good week excited for AG day this weekend uh the annual orange out one of my favorite Traditions it's always a a really good time I'm excited to see the new uniforms obviously and obviously we have the the special twist this weekend with the Jersey retirement of Lieutenant Colonel John Mosley honestly a long overdue recognition of one of the greatest men in the history of this school so slam dunk move from the admin I think it's cool of all the players to to be the last to wear 14 the fact that it's Tory Horton is pretty special I wrote a piece on that if you want to check it out you can go check that out on the website you can also watch that interview on YouTube so lots of stuff happening before Saturday I caught up with Mike Sanford who is a daily radio guy for altitude sport Sports uh covers the Mountain West he does a a show with Bronco news Nation Setting the scene he covers the Broncos the Denver Broncos as well for CBS and a variety of outlets uh he's coached all over the country really bright football mind a guy who I respect a lot and and I'm I'm glad that I finally was able to catch up with him have him on this on this show we're going to play that here in a couple minutes so make sure you guys stay tuned in for that definitely not going to want to miss his Insight he's I mean him and Bray Hull might be the only people in the entire uh state that have been to a grey practice and a CSU practice maybe there's one other person out there I'm not sure but he does a really great job and it was awesome to pick his brain on everything kind of talk to him about what he saw from CSU from a scheme standpoint this past weekend he talked about why the ram shouldn't Overlook UNC you know they were in it with incarnate Ward this this past weekend and that's a pretty good program they're playing hard if nothing else so it's it's a game where you can't get too cute you know you can't Overlook obviously the week three matchup with the Rocky Mountain Showdown being in Fort Collins for the first time since 96 it's in the back of everyone's Minds it's in the back of the fans Minds The Players Minds the coaches Minds this is a really important weekend though for CSU to to get on track and you know I would have been a little bit more worried about the possibility of of CSU overlooking UNC had they played a little bit better against Texas especially with CU looming I mean given the way that that game went I don't think there can be a whole lot of of overlooking anyone at this point I think it's a team that is going to be hungry I feel like there's a lot of guys on that offense that feel like they have something to prove and probably the same goes for the defense who got put in a pretty tough spot as that game went on I thought they had some good moments early on but I mean the offense just did them no favors I'm not going to rip the the defense for that one and there were some times where some really good Texas players made some incredible plays and you know CSU was outmatched we talked a lot about the game plan and how it was different from what we're going to see for the rest of the season we're going to play clip here uh from Jane orell and he'll mention that here in just a second it's an interesting spot I'm not sure even the players understood quite what CSU was trying to accomplish in this past weekend they were really trying to shorten the game obviously they ran the ball they really leaned on that ground game first time you know since 2022 that the CSU had less than 30 pass attempts in game it was it was not what we expected I think there's some logic to it especially if you're trying to hold back and I mean if you could have made some plays offensively if you for instance could have taken advantage of that early turnover if you don't have the the failed either fake punt or maybe it was just a muffed punt from Patty Turner either way it ends up being a turnover deep in your own territory and that game just broke open in such a hurry I mean I think he gave up three touchdowns in five minutes you know 24 points in that second quarter it just it got out of hand really quickly and then I think you know they were already kind of cautious going in but then you know essentially a business decision was made in that second half and I'm not sure that's necessarily wrong I mean at that point it's probably best to just try and get out of there healthy but it still sucked it was it was a big let down for the fans you know I wrote about it in my column you can debate about the strategy all you want um but what's not up for a debate is losing to 50 2 to zero on national TV that sucks and I think there's some bruised egos in that locker room and there should be I mean if there if if those guys are not upset about how last week went that would be upsetting to me and I I think you're going to see a team that comes out eager to to put up some points and you know hopefully you know kind of release some demons here you know kind of let out some stress after a really tough week again I don't think you can Overlook UNC they've got some Talent on that Ro they've got a really nice Back Field they've got a quarterback that can run the ball as well uh so you know they're going to have to tackle really well you you're going to have to be you're going to have to be sound in the secondary you know I could see some situations where they try and get cute with some play action stuff especially if if they are running the ball with success so it's going to be interesting to see how CSU can respond on on both sides of the ball I think this is deceptively a pretty big game uh if you're looking for somewhere to watch it you can come through and I watch at the dnvr bar it is at the same time as the CU Nebraska game so there will be people there watching that as well but if you are looking for somewhere to watch we will have that going at the dmvr bar just a heads up every game this season you know if you're looking for somewhere to watch the Rams all their games are on cable this year we will have them on it's exciting what's also exciting a day weekend the Rams did have a winning record at home last year which was a step in the right direction they need to build off of that you know it had been I think 2018 through 2021 that was not the case I guess technically uh 2020 because they only played one at home but they're five- two in their last seven games at canis they really need to take advantage of this home slate this year you got seven home games you've got so many first year programs on the schedule and honestly if you if you want to expect to contend on a conference level if you want to compete nationally competing locally is a pretty good place to start they have not had a lot of success in these Front Range games I know they don't typically play UNCC this will be the first time since 2016 uh but it's it's a good place to start you know you've got Wyoming at home you've got CU at home you've got Northern Colorado at home you've got that trip to Air Force you know I think ideally you'd really like to go at least three in one over those four games with the experience you have on on both sides of the ball obviously the Rams have not had a lot of success against any of those other teams there's a big uh big chance to to get things going in the right direction I asked Jane orille about that just kind of how you have an opportunity to own the Front Range if you play the way you are capable of and this is uh this is the first opportunity here so this was Jay norell after practice yesterday uh and then after that we're going to get to our interview with Coach Mike Sanford who I did a really great job kind of helping me preview this big week two game against Northern Colorado you approach this game week have you like the approach of your Jay Norvell availability team uh heading into this game no I mean this is an important um you know home stand we're coming in we're coming home and we want to you know we didn't play the way we wanted to play last week we want to get in the groove and really just everything we've been talking about all season we want to see from this team so uh our approach is to you know to get after it and and uh have high intensity workouts and getting a good rhythm of playing with so the response you wanted to see is the response you've seen yeah so far yeah yeah so far especi like offensive side do you feel guys you kind of jump at the bit a little bit to you know get a zero I mean we played a little differently than we normally did last week we tried to um kind of slow the game down a little bit and um you know we we weren't able to accomplish our our game plan so you know guys are anxious to get going and and and uh you know we want to spread the ball around get it in a lot of people's hands and um and play with a little bit more Tempo this week do you feel like the skill guys like in particular the receivers understood that this wasn't what it was going to be I don't know that I don't know that to be honest if we were have a mature enough team to understand that this kind of game plan to be honest with you know so um you know this is this is uh was a pretty complicated game plan we had last week a lot of things had to go our way for it to be good and it just didn't and so um but we'll get them back at it and we'll get back in a how much does it help uh we talked a little bit about money but just being home getting the rhythms of that and everything that can come with kind of Comforts no it's good to be home it's good to be home and get some rhythm going with what we're doing playing front of the home crowd um and just not have to travel and and um you know it'll be good it'll be good to get three weeks of it too and so you know this is the big start of that and um you know obviously we want to get a lot of guys involved we want to see a lot of guys play well and at a high level unique opportunity this year just given that you play all the local Front Range schools is that a big point of emphasis of kind of dominating that portion yeah you know it's a big uh big part of what we get to do here is play all these Front Range schools and you know Hank reminded the guys of that today and so this is the first one um so it's it's important we get off start on the right foot when you think about one of the things you wanted to establish here when you first got here was canvas becoming a place where you won where there's a home field advantage because that hadn't been that way um is this an important First Step because you did have a winning record of canas last year to get that reestablished again to continue yeah I mean we made some strides last year it's always our goal to play well at home and we made some strides last year and you know this is the start of making those strides again this year and so um you know it's our first opportunity it's a day it's always a fun day to play here and and um you know we'll get in our our uh orange jerseys and be ready to roll so noticed on the to deep that newer still let sit out still going to be out this week yeah he's not going to participate this week you know and you know he's got a pretty serious foot injury we're hoping we're going to get him back back but he will not be back this week all right I appreciate the access as always always appreciate J orille willing to answer some occasionally difficult questions honestly as well I mean you know I asked him if the skill guys understood what the Rams were trying to do last weekend and it was very similar to what Chad Savage had said to me earlier the week and I think it's clear that they kind of didn't I think you have some receivers who again are are probably looking forward to to letting off some steam this weekend I think this is a really important game you've got to get the offense on track you've got to see some success uh I I do want to continue to build off of what you've done in the Run game over these last four games going to to last year you know Justin Marshall looks great and you've got a bunch of other guys that are really encouraging Keegan Hollis cracks the two deep this week I I don't think that's surprising if you've been following along he is he is a guy who can really fly in the open field you know didn't have a ton of success this past week also didn't get a ton of opportunities my guy Nick here in the Toyota chat uh he says I understand the game plan but I still hate it want to see this team throw it all out next two weeks no more conservative play we're not wanting to show your hand I'm really interested to see what the philosophy is this weekend you know I I think in some ways there's probably definitely going to be some things that you hold back you know for CU it's a huge game like that that's just that's part of it like I don't think you necessarily throw the kitchen sink but at the same time like maybe you do maybe you get really creative and you put a lot of different stuff out there and you make see you have to game plan for that I mean there's there's a lot of different ways to look at it I will say you need to see a lot more success within the passing game than what you saw in that first game I mean that's that's obvious like if if it's another situation where BFN has less than 30 pass attempts for for any reason outside of you know you went crazy and ran for like 300 yards or you you just broke off a bunch of big explosive plays I mean that could be a situation too where you don't have a ton of completions but you have a big you have a ton of big explosive plays in the passing game something we didn't see last week something we saw a ton of against Utah Tech in the orange out last year that said I think if the game is as much of a struggle as that one against Utah Tech was at times I mean there was sweating a little bit at halftime that'd be a disappointment like I I think this is a game from an expectation standpoint with the fan base where you've got to roll pretty comfortably you know UNCC they're going to play a lot of man coverage on the defensive side you have a lot of speed at receiver and a quarterback with a huge arm you've got to be able to exploit that and then you know hopefully in the second half we're able to see some of those other guys get in the mix as well you're able to rest some of your you know your starters I think it'd be cool to see you know some of the freshmen get involved some of the sophomores as well I mean there's a lot of guys in their their first and second years in this program who I think have a ton of potential know Caleb goodie is a guy who I've talked about a lot at receiver I i' really expecting a breakout Year from him cool to see Jordan Ross get a catch against Texas we didn't see a ton of him obviously but they do have a lot of young talent and I'd like to see some of those guys hopefully get to play you know in the third and fourth quarter because the Rams are up big and you're not in a situation where you know you still have to lean on your starters there because UNC does play tough and you don't want to overlook them we're going to play the interview with Mike Sanford previewing this game real quick I do want to shout out our friends over at Kors light guys life can be stressful I know we were all feeling stressed after last weekend when you have those days where it just feels overwhelming it can very easily put you in a really rotten mood you know you can be really just a bummer to be around and nobody wants to be that way you know you you don't want to bring the Vibes down you want to be the guy that brings the The Vibes up that lightens room when you walk in that's why it's important to be mindful and you got to choose a chill mindset you know do what you got to do go on a walk take a deep breaths I got to do all of it you know sometimes I'm a hotthead I know it you guys probably know it but much like my friends at cor is like I am encouraging you to choose a chill mindset then when you're kicking back when you're when you're just having a good old time crack open and ice cold cores light when the mountains are blue it's as cold as the Rockies cold filtered cold package cold logger the Holy Trinity for beer you love Kors light make the most out of the times you choose to chill choose coorsite get corite delivered straight to your door with instacart by going to kite.com dnvr please celebrate responsibly Kors Brewing Company Golden Colorado I also want to talk to you guys about game time if you do not have tickets yet for CSU UNC I encourage you to check out game time even if it's Saturday morning and you're not sure that you can go as of yet maybe Saturday comes around it freeze up your day perfect hit- up game time they've got the best 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tickets with Game Time download the game time app create an account use a code dmvr for $20 off your first purchase terms to apply again create an account redeem that code dmvr for $20 off download game time today what time is it game time all right as I have been talking about here really pleased to had Mike Sanford on the show he was the interm head coach at CU actually in 2022 post Carl derell uh he was the quarterback coach for Boise State in 2014 when they won the Fiesta Bowl it's coached at Western Kentucky coach Jordan love at Utah State he's been around the block he knows ball he is talking ball everywhere all over the state this year and he took some time out of his busy schedule this week to preview the matchup with me I's actually going to be doing color commentary for this matchup for altitude on Saturday that game is also streamable on the Mountain West Network so if you don't have cable don't worry you'll be good there I really appreciate him I think you guys are going to enjoy this conversation quite a bit here is Mike Sanford of altitude Sports previewing this matchup against UNCC right I'm really excited because we have Mike Samford Interview Mike Sanford joining the show today for the first time ever Mike does great work for altitude he has coached all over the country and he will be doing a color commentary this weekend for CSU Northern Colorado on altitude you can also catch that on the Mountain West Network I'm sure you've got a busy week how's it going Mike yeah I'm excited it's I got actually a double header of of doing color commentary I'm doing the altitude high school game of the week on radio on Friday night um so that'll be Legend is hosting Coline the 5A state champs defending state champs and then uh on to on to FCO to for for a battle for Supremacy in Northern Colorado so it's going to be a whole lot of fun shoot you might have felt like you were prepping for that Coline matchup watching csu's game plan against Texas uh obviously not the results the Rams were looking for that said I think stylistically it was very clear uh that they were trying not to show Too Much norvell's talked about how they were trying to change the game plan a little bit um obviously you're a guy who has a ton of experience coaching in these unique situations uh was that surprising at all to you how CSU approached the game plan against Texas a little bit I mean you still have all your goals out in front ahead ahead of you I mean that's the big thing that that you do come out of that game I mean I after going to practice and and I was there with you Justin it it felt like this roster could compete on that level but maybe you get into two three series the game and you just realize you know hey let's shorten the possession as much as we can um you know for for for Texas's explosive athletes on the offens side of the ball and you know I think even just the Huddle mechanism that there was there was a lot of use of the QBC com um you know by Jay norell which which ultimately does take longer I mean it's it's a lot uh it's less of the air raid or uh what do they call it Fort raid uh offense in that particular game and a little bit more of um of a pro style kind of thought process to to to eliminate as many possessions as you possibly can from Texas but hey you know what uh just I've been a part of games like this myself um you know buy games money games you you sometimes just gota you got to look at the film you got to throw it away you got to move on and turn the new Turn the Page to the next game I understand the financial necessity for schools like CSU but I am curious from a scheduling philosophy as someone who's worked at you know mid major programs around the country what are your thoughts on these bu games like as a coach would you rather open up against a smaller opponent maybe get some confidence going or is it kind of nice to have that measuring stick right off the bat and get it out of the way uh man you could go one or two ways I mean you could ask App State about their program and what that Michigan did win did for them um you know it's like you you paid me a million dollars to go beat you um you know I i' I've even been a part of the other side where you know at Minnesota we lost to Bowling Green State and that that win held their program um and then you know I was at Western Kentucky and we hosted Maine who had done really nothing as of late in the FCS and they end up going to the semifinals this that year we lost at the end of that game so it does go both ways um you every time you have one of these games I think the competitor comes out and and dang near all of us that you want to go and and showcase your brand on a national Spotlight see if you can take it into the third fourth quarter and I just just to be clear I don't think that Jay Norville strategically wanted to not compete like I I don't a distinction yeah I don't think it was like they're just hting on the game but I don't think it was what we're gonna see the offensive approach be for the rest of the season yeah I think it was much more of a of a conservative offensive approach to keep that clock ticking um certainly the offensive um you know the Firepower wasn't necessarily on display in the past game um to the tune of only 59 passing yards um you know for BFN so I I I'm looking forward to a game I just did some study on Northern colado watched their game against UIW Incarnate Word who's one of the powers in FCS in the last couple years and I do think there going to be some opportunities to to push the ball vertically down the field for CSU I think that that's going to be something that they they need to they need to send it and and allow that that skill to show up uh in a very important game I mean it is what it is you you you didn't start the season off on a on the right foot and now you got to you got to go let it let it let it fly a little bit and you got the sweet uniforms you got AG day we got Mosley being honored for all of his uh his just Legacy that that he left not just the CSU Community but shoot the entire United States um and so I think this is a game where you you want to you want to have a statement opportunity and uh I mean it'll be broadcast you know in eight states at least by altitude so I you you want to get the brand out there as much as possible I mean I I it is one of those deceptively important games obviously sandwiched in between Texas and and the CU game which is massive and then you've got the looming trip to Oregon State like these these are the games they've got to find some confidence establish a little bit of momentum you mentioned you know when you came up to practice a couple weeks back that you thought this was a much improved team you mentioned athletically and and from the size standpoint that they kind of stood out to you what else kind of stood out about this CSU team to you and what about this group gave you some confidence going into the season I mean obviously week one was tough for the fans to to kind of stomach but maybe kind of talking him off the ledge here like why do you think this team could maybe compete yeah I mean we didn't have a chance you know as as fans as consumers of of watching the game on on Saturday in in Austin to see the extent of what I believe to be one of the best receiving units um outside of just Tyler uh Tyler Horton I say he played for he played for us at Boise State when yeah Tory Horton um Freudian slip there but you have I mean the receiver depth I think is going to be on display um starting this weekend starting with ag day uh I I was actually really impressed with the defensive unit and that's that's an area that of course you look at the scoreboard you see 52 to zero you're like ah that wasn't very good defensively I mean they slowed down the rushing attack for a good chunk of that game and and I thought for as good as um you know Texas's offensive line was supposed to be going into this year I I actually thought that that the front of CSU which was the big question mark I think it stood tall um you know certainly there were opportunities to push the ball down the field but you know I I was impressed with csu's defense overall and I think they did get some short Fields um that they had to defend and and I think the 52 to zero uh score line for the defense is slightly misleading I thought it was a fairly good performance on the defensive side I'm with you that was the funny thing is a lot of people want to play the comparison game and the week one openers against these power four teams have been rough for CSC the last couple of years like you get stomped by Washington State last year going to the big house year before that and I think it's easy to just look at the scores and say there's been no improvement with this program but when you look at what the Rams did in the trenches really on both sides of the ball they ran you know Justin Marshall at 100 yard performance 4.2 yards per carry they weren't doing that two years ago so I mean if there is anything positive to take out of that you establish the run and and you did have some success in the trenches which you know I don't think you're going to face a lot of defensive fronts quite like that moving forward no it's going to be the best defensive front you see all year it's going to be the best and most athletic secondary you're going to see all year um that's that's for sure and so you know the the turnovers weren't egregious um and I think that's going to be the key to this game is the CSU attacks plays an attacking brand of football because I think that's this this team's best shot to make some serious noise in the mount West conferences behind the pass game in the arm of Braden fer Nicolosi having some semblance of balance certainly uh which they prove to have against Texas with the Run game but um you just can't turn the football over in this game and UNC had four four four turnovers in the game against uh UIW and if you take those away which obviously is a huge part of a game if you take those away I actually think that that uncc's playing into the you know into the fourth quarter with a team that's that's picked by a lot of people to be in the championship game and the FC has playoffs so um the the the only path forward in my opinion for UNCC to compete and make this a four quarter game is to win the turnover battle so I think that's going to be really important uh CSU blending that attacking stock pushing the ball down the field but also taking care of the rock I do want to ask you a little bit more about UNC specifically but you know you mentioned having been on both sides of winning a bu game or or losing a bu game obviously a lot different context in this matchup if you're CSU you know playing a a lower team I mean I don't think gy is quite on par with some of these other FCS programs but as a coach is it tough to balance of like we want to get the offense going we want to have some success especially after last week but I also got to imagine there's a little bit of we don't want to show too much with the game that we have coming up the week after too can you think about that or do you really have to do it one week at a time like how much gamesmanship is involved in this type of process Justin having coached for 18 years I sure as hell hope that there's not a whole lot of games gamesmanship because uh if there is any thought of what's what's lying a week from Saturday as opposed to what's right in front of you UNC can a way to win this football game and we all know that would be the most that'd be the worst possible scenario for this season to start out 0 and2 and see you looming so this is a this has got to be a game where you're you're kitchen and sink in UNCC and ideally you kit and sink them in the first half you get a lead and then you can call off the dogs and you don't show the entirety of what you had from a game plan perspective you don't have to use your trick plays but man you look at teams like boisey State you know in the Mountain West that go and are are heavy favorites at Georgia Southern you know if if you're holding anything back you're you're you're in danger um you know I see you in their opening game against North Dakota State I don't think they held anything back I think that's who they are but you find yourself in in really with four yards away from losing a football game against an NCS team with all the um you know all the hype that surrounds that program would have been a terrible outcome for CU um so Jay norell in this staff understands the severity of this game and if if there's any thought of holding anything back um you know that that's going to be to the detriment of this football team for the entirety of this season because you can't go two two weeks uh holding back and I'm not saying they held back but I mean you got to play ball I mean you go you gota I mean when are you gonna get into any form of Rhythm you know offensively is it just gonna hey let's just save it for CU that I I just don't think there's a world where that exists yeah I think that'd be getting a little cute with it um you know UNC it was a really tough spot for Ed lamb going in there I mean it's a really tough gig in general they obviously don't have the reason sources that the rest of the conference does but I do think there is some belief that he's a guy that's kind of right suited for that re build that that can get it done it seems like the the players are playing hard for him which is about all you can ask for at this stage um you know what stands out about UNCC do you I noticed they played castelli and Gibbs at quarterback last week obviously afari and Van Shield that's a nice little running back Duo they've got there but what stands out most to you coach about these UNCC Bears yeah you know for team like UIW that runs an aade offense one of the higher scoring teams in FCS football over the last five seasons I was really impressed with the tackling on the defensive side of the ball um you know that you did have some some opportunities for UIW to get out in space um and the limiting of big plays by by uncc's defense was was impressive now there is a lot of man-to-man coverage um there is a lot of downfield opportunities for 50-50 balls and that's where UIW created a good chunk of their offensive yards where on those downfield throws um but I was impressed with UNC in terms of how they tackled how they played defensively um you know they ended up having uh one of their turnovers the scores 14 to7 in the third quarter an opening kickoff of the second half and um you know there was a there was a muff kickoff return by UNCC and so UIW gets the ball inside the 20 yard line to start the second half and make the make it a 217 game so this is a team that overall is much improved they just got to get out of their own way um on the offense side of the ball I really like these two quarterbacks um castelli is a player that ran a 10800 meter uh in high school um this is now his third school he started out at the University of Utah transferred to DET Troy and now he's at UNCC I think he's found a really good fit for his personality I think Troy was not a great fit for for just his background being in the down down in the South um and then you have Gibbs coming off the B Off the Bench in you know third down situations uh got to have it kind of big physical Runner and he's a transfer from Wyoming um which we we all know that they they just grow their quarterbacks very large so um you know they they do some things that are pretty interesting I like afari the running back uh he's a really good kind of uh you he gets tough yards but he also can make you miss in the open field um and then van Shield had the had the biggest play of the game for UNCC a 58 yard touchdown run uh which was part of his 80 yards on the day so um I'm I'm excited to watch this matchup I think it's a better matchup than probably most CSU fans want it to be um but I I like what Ed Lamb's doing and building his culture uh he's doing it you know behind toughness behind uh just willingness to be a physical outfit and I think that's what you saw in the UIW game I know you're you're doing TV for this game so you probably can't give like an official prediction but what needs to happen from CSU for this to be a success obviously win the game but what do you want to see from the Rams to to feel good kind of going into that huge week three game well you got you got a force turnovers um from from UNCC you got to get the ball back on short fields um it's one thing that you know one one takeaway was was good and it gave CSU an opportunity to make the game at least interesting in the early going against Texas but you need to see that more often and you got to see an offense that's um that's just chopping at the bit to put last week to bed um you know like I said you create explosive plays you get you're going to have more size more athleticism more speed on the perimeter and for all the single High coverage that you're going to see um it's going to be opportunities for these receivers to show what they can do with the ball in the air are they going to be a to come down uh with that ball and and make plays against a team that gave up some big plays um so that's that's a big thing and then you know you got to win the turnover battle I already said it I can't say that enough um you know force force UNC into into more more turnovers you know they had four in their first game you'd love to see four five turnovers and that's how this game will get out of hand uh if if indeed they can create those takeaways I don't want to take up too much your time I know you've got a lot going on production meetings radio you're a busy guy but you are one of the few people in all of sports media that can talk about the Mountain West as a whole which is obviously something near and dear to my heart I'm a big Mountain West guy you follow the league you've coached at Utah State you've coached at Boise State who has stood out the most to you and that can be a positive or A negative in the the Mountain West we're got two weeks worth of games now with with some of the teams only one week with others but who's kind of stood out to you or surprised you in the early stages and and that can go either way well I mean the offensive line and the running back over in boy ATO and their true freshman tailback good yeah I mean you know RG3 just released his um you know his his Heisman after one week you know contenders and he had Ashton jenty at number one if you watch the entirety of that game you would agree with that because um you the stats are going to be there a tough tough week against Oregon but the stats will be there um it because the offensive line is so stinking good and so experienced um so I I look forward to to seeing what happens up in Eugene with that game um and and then Nevada you know I mean I've been really impr impressed with Nevada what they did at home in their opener in week zero against SMU they should have won that football game I thought the Jeff Cho the new head coach that has ties to Boise state has ties to Texas um was most recently there at the University of Texas was a a program altering head coach at Montana State he's done a phable job I mean making that team believe playing physical playing gritty uh he's the kind of guy I interviewed him at Mount West media days uh he's the kind of guy you want to run through a wall for I did shoot I mean I'm just interviewing him on on Bronco nation news and I'm like I'm G to go run through that damn wall for that guy um really like what he's done you know Brennan Lewis a guy I coached at CU I love that they're playing to his strengths he's a tremendous quarterback run game guy um you know can manage the short and intermediate passing game very well uh I think Nevada is the team that's going to be the most improved team by far in the mount West Conference um a game that you probably circled early in your year as a as an automatic win wherever you're at uh I don't think that's the case at all after they go and beat Troy um Wyoming and CSU two teams that I think are way better than their week one showings I really do I think that both those programs are in a good spot particularly with the returning depth on defense uh and and in the offensive lines I think both those teams will end up competing at a high level in the mount West Conference but have huge games against FCS teams this weekend uh the pokes playing against Idaho who denier uh knocked off uh one of the top five six teams in the country up at Oregon um last week so uh I I like that that storyline UNLV man what a what a what an opener you you'd think that losing Jaden mava to the transfer portal a quarterback that was just all world everything in his first year as a full-time starter he goes to USC's backing up Miller moss and UNLV goes straight down to Houston on the road and just dominates the entire football game um so I think the mount West can be very competitive I think there's a lot of parity there's some teams that um that I think that weren't necessarily uh The Darlings of the conference going into the season that are going to end up being that I'd put Nevada and Bronco men Hall's New Mexico Lobos they're a dangerous group behind Devon Danier playing quarterback that's what I wanted to ask you before I got out of here I'm I'm a big Devin dampier fan is it a hot take if I say he's a top three quarterback in the league right now I mean all he's all he's done is is move the football make make highlight plays I mean I watched his his opening game against Montana State and I was like dude I wish I would have coached that guy at some point in my career I I love him he plays within an offense very well but man as a second play player um as we all know the game's kind of evolving into that second play nature at the quarterback position uh I'd say that he is the best second play player at the quarterback position without question in the mount West Conference right now um and so I I really like what I see out of him um you know I think bfn's got a lot to prove uh in the in the coming weeks uh but I think he is he can be the class of the of the league um I do think that you know matx madson's a bit of a game manager game manager up at boisey State um probably all that team is going to need to to compete at least for a Mountain West Championship um but yeah I really like Deon gamp here he's he's one of my most uh he's one of the most electrifying players to watch and he's he must watch TV for me I've never said that about a New Mexico player um but you got a two probably since Brian eracer uh which predates your your existence uh maybe on planet Earth uh I'm not sure about that but yeah man he's he's a lot of fun and it's cool to see some of those teams like Nevada New Mexico turning it around because it's obviously been a rough stretch coach thank you so much for doing this I've got a ton of respect for everything that you do I told you that when you were in Fort Collins but I just I love to see everything that you do from a m West standpoint obviously it's cool to see everything you're doing with the Broncos and everything else uh tell the people where they can find you because you're all over the place you got Bronco nation news and altitude like what you've got going on yeah well coming up I mean this week's probably one of my busiest weeks since my my post coaching life I mean this is compared to that it's it's very light U but yeah you know I'm I'm on the airwaves on altitude sports radio 10 to noon um 92.5 if you're up in for Fort Collins you can catch us on the app uh you can download the altitude app which I highly recommend there's some great content covering Broncos nuggets ABS CSU CU uh I know I didn't want I should have said that on these Airways but um but we we definitely try to cover all Denver Sports um and then I'm gonna be doing a Broncos analyst on Monday morning on 9 news so you can catch that um kind of uh whatever happens in the Broncos game uh I'll be breaking it down from a coach's perspective uh in the morning shows from I think 5:30 all the way till about 7:30 so you can catch that as well um Saturdays on CBS Sports Colorado I'll be doing a show with Romy bean and Nate Jackson uh it's going to be the the NFL Blitz or the football Blitz um we're going to be doing that in between typically the SEC game and whatever the night cap is on on CBS from a college football standpoint um Bronco nation news catch a ball talk every Wednesday tonight at 8 o'clock we have a special guest Mark sareth is going to be joining us tonight all right yeah just a lot of stuff going on and um altitude sports radio High School game of the week I'll be doing that and then a couple CSU games next weekend I'll be doing a pregame tailgate show with with LG which will be a whole lot of fun and Brady hle my guy up and gy he and I are teaming up uh to to put on a really fun tailgate show out where everybody's going to be tailgating um and then I'll be doing the postgame show for C CU CSU on uh on CBS Sports Colorado so uh just pretty pretty light work um hopefully I can keep vocal cords intact we'll see how it goes no shortage of Mike Sanford coming your way Mike this was great uh real quick before you get out of here gut do the Broncos pull the upset against Seattle this weekend yes or no no I I I just I think too highly of Mike McDonald as a as a defensive mind um I think he's going to do everything he can to be a Sinister uh just evil scientist to to to just ruin B Nick his first day as a NFL starter uh and it's going to be loud up there uh I think there's a I actually have Seattle as a bit of a I think they're going to be a Cinderella team uh in the NFC this year this is why you follow Mike Sanford he knows ball he can talk at all college football NFL high school he's doing a lot of everything I make sure you're following him on Twitter make sure you're keeping up with all the great content he does I we'll certainly try and get him on the show again at some point later on down this season much love man this was a lot of fun we we defin hey I know probably looks uh my lights crazy but I even rocked a little orange right there for AG day I like it yeah a little uh there's a lot of orange things in my life right now I'm a San Francisco Giants fan AG day this weekend boisey State Alum and not don't not gonna say on these Airwaves that I I prefer the Broncos over the Rams and then we got the Bron the Denver Broncos opening week so a lot of orange man it's all orange this weekend it looks good on you man it looks good you're doing great work so once again you on so are you man huge shout out to coach Mike Stanford uh we're obviously going to try and get him on the show again at some point I really appreciate his perspective I thought so much of what he had to say was spot on I think it's a huge Pro it game for CSU and I wanted to pick his brain a little bit on the Mountain West as a whole and I I really think that was a great kind of segue into the end of the show here where we give the updated Power Rankings I give my picks against the spread for the week normally I have Andre here with me I be solo maybe a little bit quicker I'll try not to Ramble On too much I do want to shout out our friends over at Premier Members Credit Union there are a lot of financial institutions out there here's the one I want you to remember pmcu they're not a bank they do things differently which is great for the customer they've got higher savings interest lower loan rates they're they're interested in serving the community in the Colorado Community in general with pmcu you get local branches friendly tellers uh it's it's awesome and one of the things that they do is they help you save smarter check out their new high yield savings account or earn 5% apy on your first 2,000 bucks with their reverse tier money market whatever your goals they can help pmcu is all about creating a better banking experience for their Community they have the tools to help you save smarter when you become a new member at pmcu you're going to get 200 bucks all you got to do open a checking account sign up for E statements it's that easy this will be your best money move yet uh head to BEC premier.com to find out more I also am so excited that we have partnered with UC Health they do awesome stuff and one of the things that they're really doing is a great Initiative for the entire State uh it's called Ready Set Co a little play on Colorado there I was saying it wrong last week you see Health Ready Set Co is a Statewide challenge to help everyone be a little healthier one pillar of this year's challenge it's nutrition UC Health is here to set the tone and get you thinking about choices I've talked about this a lot but one of the things about bettering yourself that I think is a big misconception at times is that it has to be all or nothing you know you've got to take every vitamin you know you can't have anything good anymore you can't you got to cut out everything that's fun you got to eat nothing but broccoli and kale or you know you can't do it you just you're going to be unhealthy that's not the truth it's about balance you know it's about small decisions each and every day you know taking walks you know ordering a healthier side maybe instead of the french fries but still letting yourself you know en enjoy that burger and again you know I've talked about this a lot but being mindful it can happen in so many different ways you know for me mowing the lawn is like a great stress reliever I love getting in the sun I love getting a sweat going I take great pride in it and when it's done you feel good it's little things each and every day it's what it's all about if you want to join UC H Ready Set Co challenge click the link in the show notes or go to www.u .org ready setco love that love the message from them uh really love that interview with Mike Sanford as Eric says in the Toyota chat although Mike has Boise and CU ties he's incredibly unbiased has great takes good for the Mountain West I could not agree more it's great to have people that can just talk ball you know can put some of the nonsense aside he is one of the best in the biz at that and we're definitely going to get him on at some point he's also doing color commentary for the New Mexico game so I'll be bugging him before that honestly going to just try and bug him as much as possible always got to be mindful though got to keep a rotation a homies on the show you know you don't want to put too much on anyone uh but he he's definitely one of the better guys that we can have on the show and you know it's funny like as somebody that has those ties like I would so I would so want to dislike someone like that inherently you know somebody that coached at CU coached at Boise especially in 2014 I mean that's we all think back to 2014 as RAM fans he's awesome though really insightful really knows his stuff and I'm really gracious so you know shout out to him looking forward to having him on the color commentary when I do my uh rewatch of the game uh by the way tomorrow make sure you don't miss out I'm going to have CSU athletic director John Weber on the show I'm going to catch up with him this afternoon to kind of talk about a big weekend on campus some of the cool initiatives they're doing I'm excited you know to see the band be a bigger part of the student section again I I'm a sucker for tradition but I am really excited for this weekend and so make sure you're tune in tomorrow 10: a.m. don't miss my interview with CSU ad John Weber I'll also be going live Saturday night roughly 9:30ish 10ish we'll kind of have to see depending on how quickly things go you know sometimes the postgame interview process takes while I got to do all that got to get home got to get the the studio set up and all that but I will be going live Saturday night to break down that game before we get out Mountain West Power Rankings of here we are going to do the M West Power Rankings um I'll be honest I tried not to overreact too much to week one and I know I'm going to get some push back on some of these um but a lot of this you know some of my opinions on some of these teams have changed drastically you know New Mexico's offense they're incredible Nevada I agree with Sanford they're the most improved team in the entire conference other teams at horrible showings like CSU and Wyoming you know kind of rate everything different I still have confidence in some of these teams even though I've dropped them or some teams know I've moved up knowing there's probably a pretty good chance that I move them back down in a couple of weeks uh but you all know how the process goes we're going to start at the bottom we're going go to the top uh at 12 I I think it's got to be Wyoming and I it's not like a CSU Wyoming thing again this isn't you know me kind of it isn't me trying to come on here and have the the haters ball or anything like that but you know I talked to a lot of people around that program in the summer and that was a matchup that they expected to win you know they they kind of considered it a disappointment if they couldn't go on the road and and pick up that win I do want to be fair to them and the context of that matchup changed drastically when Harrison wayy got hurt not having John Michael Gillen Borg that that was brutal as well he's probably their other best offensive weapon so you basically went into this fight with at least one hand tied behind your back and maybe a fractured wrist on the other side that said said you know that's not that's not getting rolled by Texas that's a three- win ASU team that is projected to finish somewhere near the bottom of the conference it was bad saota really struggled a couple ugly turnovers I mean they got a lot to prove and I'll be honest you know it's it's tough sting ahead for Wyoming it's it's big matchups against the FCS teams for a lot of Mount West teams this week Idaho might be the the most brutal draw to all of them I mean we saw them push organ into the brink last week that's a really good program under coach E I believe Jason e uh so I'm I'm interested to see how they respond but I'm not sure anybody has more to prove than than Wyoming after this past weekend and obviously csu's in that conversation as well at 11 I'm going Utah State they pulled out the win uh over Robert Morris but man was at a struggle admittedly I've been kind of down on them ever since the coaching situation went down I just I think this late in the cycle having that instability could really hurt them in a way that I'm not sure it's going to hurt Fresno the same amount they do have talent obviously and they pulled away in the end but not super high on them at the moment San Diego State I got him at 10 scored like 42 points in the second half against Texas A&M Commerce it was a 6-3 game in the third quarter though I don't know what to expect with that team defensively um ready and willing to acknowledge that they have some explosiveness on the the offensive side they ran the ball well you know I think they will be higher than what they are right now but I was a little bit more impressed with what I saw from San Jose State against a good Sacramento State program so I've got San Jose State at nine but I think San Jose State and San Diego State are right there in that that same vein both going to be you know relatively competitive also going to have some defensive issues I think um so that that's where I'm at with those teams I dropped CSU from four all the way to eight um if I would have done these power rankings in the moment when I was upset last Saturday I probably would have put him 12 because I mean it was 52 to zero that said you know it it it was by far the best opponent that anybody in the league had to play this past weekend that was really tough circumstances it was ugly I'm not trying to make excuses but I thought they showed some things in the Run game and the trenches and I still think they have the talent moving forward that I'm not super worried about them and you know they didn't the turnovers they had they were frustrating but it wasn't I mean the the ones faota had were were really confusing and he's a guy that I'm pretty intrigued by he's a great athlete again the point of this is not to be just a total hater and have CSU glasses on um but I the results have to matter you know I don't want to be too over reactionary but the results do have to count for something so they drop significantly we got Air Force at seven defensively I still believe in some of that Talent they've got zidro in particular as a stud offensively I am very skeptical of the Falcons this year and that's where I'm at uh New Mexico at six they should their defense has a real liability and I thought about putting them below some of the other teams because that I I think it's really going to hold them back from honestly competing in a way that they should with how explosive they are offensively dampier is a dog as top three QB in the league that's why I've got them at like six and instead of 10 or nine what we've seen out of him is as impressive as what we've seen from anybody in the league thus far so I'm giving them some love knowing dwell they're probably a bottom third team in the league overall I think they going to be really frisky and I don't think any of those games are gimmies anymore uh which brings us to our next team Nevada at five I mean you've got to give them credit they went in and they beat a really good Troy program that's won the Sun Belt back-to-back Years True Road wi coming off of a heartbreaking loss at home I'm impressed and again you know those those games against Nevada and New Mexico felt like kind of the gimmies from a conference perspective I don't know if there's any gimmies in the League this year I think that the bottom of the league is is solid the parody is going to be really good Hawaii at four I've got love for the Warriors I should have beat UCLA they they kind of choked it away there at the end and that was heartbreaking but covered the spread with ease the island back as a tough place to play I love the talent they have out wide they can run the ball Braden Trager is is a stud intrig by Hawaii Fresno stayed at three went into the big house hung tough Fresno Don't Give A F man they they'll go in and they'll fight anyone anytime any place they've always been a tough program I got a lot of love for Fresno State Tim Skippers obviously my boy rooting for him to have success and ultimately land that head coaching gig uh permanently I owe a lot of my career and where I am today to him so great to see Fresno State compete I will say though that Michigan team is not the Michigan of last here it feels a lot like TCU like coming off of the playoff it's they just lost so much so much talent and losing Harbaugh and and having all the distractions like not trying to take away anything from Fresno really impressed with their composure their ability to fight back strike back but I'm also trying to be realistic and again like when you look at these power four results they're all different and you know going up against Texas that was the toughest draw ASU in theory that was more winnable um Michigan you thought was going to be really good it's still a tough environment I'm not so sure they're going to be the team that they were these last couple years uh Houston obviously UNLV beat up in them and we'll get to them in a second I don't think Houston's very good but still to go into their house and kick their ass that way that makes some noise so that gets us to the top of the league Boise State I got at two I dropped him from one uh defensively I've got some questions at the moment for a team with that much experience they sure struggled to play with a lead last week while also having a dominant Run game uh UNLV going into Houston's house kicking their butt that that was impressive I knew they were going to be a good team defensively still still going to be uh physical you wondered how much losing Maya would hurt him seemingly not too bad at all we're going to fly through these Mountain West picks uh before we get out of here I will do an audio only podcast later on so maybe I'll I'll go back more in depth and talk about this Mountain West slate but before we get out of here a lot of FCS games this week so we actually don't have available spreads as of for a lot of these matchups including CSU Mountain West picks UNC Georgia Southern they are onepoint favorites at Nevada I give me Nevada I think they're frisky I like them at home San Jose State getting Five Points Air Force fivepoint favorites in these Springs I like sanos day state to cover I think that's a tough game I'm going with my gut Boise State 20-point dogs at Oregon both teams kind of have something to prove here um man I'll say Boise covers but I think I'll be sweating that one the entire time I think organs get some demons to release in this game as well uh Oregon State going to San Diego State San Diego San Diego State Sixpoint home dogs uh give me Oregon State I like Oregon State to win that game by a touchdown although I I am kind of skeptical of them still so big time matchup for San Diego State an opportunity to earn some respect and and get some positive momentum going for a new coaching staff finally Utah State at USC USC 28 and a half Point favorites man USC looked good I'm not sure there was a matchup I was more wrong about than USC LSU in week one uh give me the Trojans to cover I think there's just too much going on for Utah State at the moment big week for the Rams you know opportunity here to release some demons to get some positive vibes rolling into that huge week three matchup against Cu uh you can't Overlook them though you can't this is a team that runs the ball they obviously would love to play spoilers I mean even hanging in this game would be a moral victory for UNC and if you're CSU I I think you really got to get it on track here on both sides of the ball so I'm interested to see how the Rams respond shout out to Mike Sanford again tune in tomorrow I'll have CSU athletic director John Weber on the show really looking forward to catching up with him today you guys don't want to miss that interview much love y'all always proud to be go Rams [Music] [Applause] peace like the May