The First Test - Az2k12's Dynasty

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The First Test

Posted on July 30, 2011 at 10:32 AM.

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Wile has his fair share of critics. The Athletic Director confirmed that with a seemingly casual statement. �Winning our first game against Northern Arizona University would be a great thing for you, Jeremy.� Jeremiah hated that. He also expected the criticism. The Rams went 3-9 last year behind true freshman Pete Thomas. There was a lot of pressure to improve that record this year. Most of that pressure is going to be directed towards Jeremiah and the way he handles Thomas, MJ McPeek and explosive halfback Chris Nwoke.

Wile decides to start junior quarterback MJ McPeek despite Coach Fairchild�s recommendation of sophomore Thomas. MJ looked better in practice, and Wile has always preferred left-handed quarterbacks. The Rams offense opens its season inside the opponents 50 after a good defensive stand. After a quick out to TJ Borcky, and a solid run by Nwoke, things were starting to look great. MJ caps off the drive with a beautiful 22-yard pass to Matt Yemm in the in-zone. On NAU�s second drive of the game, defensive captain Mychal Sisson intercepts a careless pass and returns it 75 yards for a touchdown. After another stop, McPeek and the Rams are back out on the field. MJ throws an early pass to TJ on a curl. Coach Wile cringed before it even happened. The Northern Arizona senior cornerback takes one step in and easily picks him off. MJ was not prepared for the earload he would receive upon returning to the sidelines. After throwing another interception on the very next drive, Wile had had enough. He could feel the angry glares of fans through the television screen. So Pete Thomas was back in it, and he had not come soon enough. NAU had tied the game off of MJ�s passes, but Pete was not satisfied with going into the half tied. He and his offense march up the field into the opposing red-zone. With 3 seconds left on 3rd and 3 to goal, Pete throws an off-balance pass to Lou Greenwood, who makes an absolutely spectacular catch to go up 21-14 at the half.

The second half was practice for Pete Thomas and the Rams. Although he had a great game running the ball, Chris Nwoke had no touchdowns this game. Thomas went on to throw three more touchdown passes, and only one interception.

Aug 27, 2011 - CSU at NAU
TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Colorado State (1-0)	14	7	14	7	42
Northern Arizona University (0-1)	7	7		14	28

Team Stats Comparison
CSU		NAU
442	Total Offense	384
212	Rushing Yards	116
230	Passing Yards	268
21	First Downs	20
10	Punt Return Yards	10
52	Kick Return Yards	69
504	Total Yards	463
4	Turnovers	4
5-8 (62%)	3rd Down Converstion	6-14 (42%)
0-0 (0%)	4th Down Conversion	5-5 (100%)
0-0 (0%)	2-Point Conversion	0-0 (0%)
4-3-0 (75%)	Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	5-2-0 (40%)
6 - 42	Penalties	3 - 25
17:50	Posession Time	14:10

Colorado State Boxscore
PASSING	RATING	C/ATT	YDS	TD/INT	AVG
Pete Thomas	240.5	11/15	189	4/1	17.1
MJ McPeek	71.7	3/8	41	1/2	13.6
RUSHING	ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Chris Nwoke	25	148	5.9	0	16
Pete Thomas	10	24	2.4	0	16
MJ McPeek	2	34	17	0	22
Raymond Carter	1	6	6	0	6
RECEIVING	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
TJ Borcky	8	99	12.3	2	22
Byron Steele	2	31	15.5	0	18
Lou Greenwood	2	40	20	2	37
Matt Yemm	2	60	30	1	38
DEFENSIVE	TACK	SACK	INT	PDEF	TD
Mychal Sisson	7	0	2	0	1
Tejay Brown	8	1	0	0	0
Michael Kawulok	10	0	0	0	0
James Skelton	3	0	1	0	0

Coach Wile and his offense ultimately win the game for the Rams. The Lumberjacks were simply outscored. TJ Borcky is awarded Player of the Game honors for his 8 catches and 2 touchdowns. After this offensive showing, it is certain that many of the critics will be silenced. However, the Lumberjacks of NAU are certainly not known for their defense. The next few weeks will show how effective Wile's Run & Shoot offense really is.

Colorado State Rams 2011 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Aug 27	at Northern Arizona University	Won, 42-28
Sep 3	at New Mexico
Sep 10	vs Hawai'i
Sep 17	vs Colorado*
Sep 24	at Utah State
Oct 1	vs San Jose State
Oct 8	vs Fresno State
Oct 15	vs New Mexico State
Oct 29	at UNLV
Nov 5	at Navy*
Nov 12	at San Diego State
Nov 26	vs Arizona*

* - Out of conference game

Notable Week 1 Upsets
UCF defeats LSU at home 31 - 24.
North Carolina defeats South Carolina at home 20 - 10.

Notable Week 2 Match-Ups
Game of the Week Tulsa at Oklahoma
Boise State at Arkansas
LSU at Georgia Tech
N.C. State at Notre Dame