Running back Justin Marshall’s hot start brings added element to CSU Rams offense

FORT COLLINS — Jay Norvell heard all the talk after yet another rivalry game loss in his tenure at Colorado State.

After last week’s loss to Colorado, the Rams are now 0-6 against the program’s three biggest rivals (Air Force, CU and Wyoming) since Norvell took over in 2022.

The biggest concern with this latest defeat was the fact that CSU just doesn’t look like a typical Norvell team. The ‘Air Raid’ offense that was promised has only shown in spurts over the course of the first 27 games with Norvell in charge.

CSU only had 209 yards passing against the Buffs and lacked big play ability outside of one big run late in the game when the outcome was decided.

But Norvell doesn’t care about substance. He cares about results, and that’s not changing, especially after a 1-2 start to the season.

“I was looking at this team in the long run,” Norvell said. “My charge is to get this team to be a national program. To do that, we’ve gotta play defense and we’ve gotta run the ball. We can’t just throw it all the time. I knew we played Texas all offseason, I knew we played Colorado all offseason. Quite frankly, I’m getting our team ready to play in our conference and to win in our conference consistently.”

Well, the most difficult part of the schedule is over. There are no more Power 4 teams left to play starting this week against UTEP — although Oregon State in early October is a traditional ‘Power 5’ team. The Rams have a chance to start playing more the way they want to, but that still doesn’t mean they’re going to be throwing it 50 times per game for 400 yards.

“We gotta have different ways to be able to attack people,” Norvell said. “We’ve always been (at) our best when we can be explosive in the run and the pass.”

With the way CSU has run the ball to start the season, there’s really no reason to abandon it just because the games going forward can be more open offensively. The Rams have rushed for over 100 yards in each of the first three games and may have a star on their hands in the form of redshirt freshman Justin Marshall.

The Merrillville, Ind. native burst onto the scene last season with 119 yards against San Diego State in his first college game and he continued to have similar success in the final two games of the season.

In the season opener this year, Marshall’s 106 yards against Texas was the lone bright spot. He’s averaging over 4.6 yards per carry through three games and is on pace for one of the best seasons by a freshman running back in program history.

“It’s not a surprise,” running backs coach Jeremy Moses told The Denver Gazette. “It’s more of the expectation that we had, especially with him having the whole offseason to get more comfortable in the offense. It was my anticipation that he was gonna come out bigger, stronger, faster and be able to be more productive than he was last year.”

Coming out of high school, Marshall had a couple of offers from Big Ten schools as a three-star recruit, including from his home state Hoosiers, but he chose the CSU coaching staff. Oh, and of course, the scenery.

“That was a big part of me coming here,” Marshall told The Denver Gazette. “I like being outdoors.”

In the Rams offense, Marshall has the freedom to run around all day in the Colorado sunshine and he’s thriving. The rest of the country may still be learning his name, but the way Marshall is running, everyone will soon know how talented No. 29 in green and gold is.

“I get to watch him every day in practice, I know how twitchy he is compared to the rest of the guys in the country,” Moses said. “The talent level wasn’t a surprise to me, it was really how quickly he picked up (the offense) and was able to be successful on a college campus.”

Players to watch vs. UTEP

QB Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, WR Jamari Person

We're going with a pair of offensive players this week as the Rams will be desperate to show improvement through the air after a disappointing effort in the Rocky Mountain Showdown. Fowler-Nicolosi will have to shake off a tough, emotional game and he'll need guys like Person, who will likely see an increased role with star WR Tory Horton out, to get open downfield.

King's prediction

Colorado State 34, UTEP 17

It's the end of a three-game homestand for the Rams, who have seen two really good crowds at Canvas Stadium. They've got a chance to get back to .500 (2-2) with a win over a winless Miners team that has struggled to start the year. Even shorthanded, CSU should win comfortably.