Head Coach: Jay Norvell is entering his 4th season as the head coach of the Rams with a 16-21 record. It’s been a steady progression for Norvell going from 3, to 5 to 8 wins last year. This all occurred after he made a rare in-conference change going from Nevada to CSU. Now he looks to bring the Rams another step forward.
Program Outlook: Colorado State like all Colorado programs has a stadium that backs up to the scenic Rocky Mountains. This is a program with good resources and rather new facilities. It’s been shocking that they haven’t seen more success until recently, still despite recent it’s clear the Pac-12 saw what they can be. Now the Rams look to finish strong in their last season in the Mountain West.
How does the 2025 Roster look?: Colorado State ranks 99th in the country returning 45% of their production per Punt and Rally’s returning production rankings. Key players starts with QB Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, he has immense talent although last year didn’t quite click as well as expected for him. He’s a guy to watch because if he’s on he can torch a defense. There’s help with his targets, they suddenly lost their star Tory Horton to injury early in the year, and that gave them a head start on life without him. Armani Winfield proved to be next in line to be a star and Jordan Ross will factor in as well. The portal will help too with Ohio State transfer Kojo Antwi and FIU transfer TE Rocky Beers, YES ROCKY BEERS! The Rams have an experienced starting line up back up front, this unit performed pretty well last year. They have a good back in Justin Marshall, he was the backup last year but he’s more than capable of leading the way, transfers Lloyd Avant (Tulsa) and Vann Schield (Northern Colorado) will battle for the opportunity to spell Marshall in the backfield. Colorado State’s defense is often led by the secondary and they could be the case again. The Rams have safety Ayden Hector as the lead returnee but they made a couple fantastic pickups in former Holy Cross safety Jake Jarmolowich and SMU corner Jahari Rogers. The LBs will be led by Owen Long who played well when asked upon as a freshman and transfer Jacob Ellis who comes in from a crowded situation at Iowa State. The defensive line seems a similar theme with impact portal guys Paul Tangelo (Saint Francis) and Moso’oipala Tuitele (New Mexico) are poised to step in and make an impact right away. Mukendi Wa-Kalonji is the returnee who is a big factor, he has the upside to be this program’s next great pass rusher. The interior Dline is a bit of a question mark, and they lack depth in particular.
Screenshot from FBSchedules.com
2025 Schedule Thoughts: Colorado State’s schedule is challenging. The Rams have a non-conference slate highlighted by games against Washington, Washington State and UTSA who will all be tough. In-state FCS foe Northern Colorado is coming off a 1 win season so they give the Rams a reprieve. The Mountain West schedule is tougher too, the Rams avoided Boise State and UNLV last year but that is not the case in 2025. They do avoid San Jose State which helps some.
Final Thoughts: Last season was strange for Colorado State, it felt like they weren’t as good as expected but their win total surpassed expectations. Diving deeper only makes it more bizarre, the Rams have clear talent on offense but it didn’t click, their defense wasn’t particularly strong they weren’t great against the run, nor did they pressure opposing QBs but it played well overall. Ultimately the pass game will determine if this is just a decent season or another really good one for the Rams.
Welcome to Updog Sports Talk 
Leave a comment