Are you ready for some football? A spring, Saturday party?!
The Colorado State Rams football team kicks off their annual Green & Gold Spring Game on campus, for the first time in nearly five decades. If you’re planning on attending, this is going to be a bit different than the usual spring game at Hughes Stadium. So, here’s all the need-to-know info, stalwarts.
- Schedule: The Green & Gold Spring Game takes place at Lagoon Field, on Colorado State’s campus, with the kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m. MT. Lagoon Field is located just west of the Lory Student Center and also west of the lagoon on campus, and it shares a western border with Meridian Avenue. If you need more help finding Lagoon Field, refer to this map provided by Colorado State.
- Parking: Ram fans are provided free parking for Saturday’s Green & Gold Game, which is part of the Spring Sports Festival. More on the festival in the next bullet point. Parking is free in the following lots: Moby, the parking garages, Lory Student Center and Morgan Library lots. Again, refer to the linked map for locations of all the free parking on campus.
- Spring Sports Festival: This year, the Green & Gold Game isn’t happening alone, there are a total of four sports contests going on Saturday. From 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. there’s the Jack Christiansen Invitational with the men’s and women’s track & field teams. At 10:30 a.m. women’s soccer scrimmages CSU-Pueblo at Lagoon Field. Then, at Noon, women’s softball hosts UNLV at Ram Field (south of Moby), and at 1 p.m. the Green & Gold Game kicks off. All events are free and open to the public, and fans are encouraged to pick up a Spring Sports Festival Passport as well. Fans can attain a sticker signifying they attended all four events, which will then act as an entry for a raffle to win a CSU jacket, $100 Under Armour gift card and much more.
- Pregame festivities: Ram Town will be there starting at 11:30 a.m., and McDonald’s is giving free breakfast burritos to the first 1,000 fans in attendance starting at 11:30. There will also be food trucks set up on Meridian Ave.
- Team information: Colorado State’s head coach is Mike Bobo, entering his third year in charge of the program. In CSU’s previous two seasons under Bobo, they’ve gone 7-5 each year in the regular season, attending two bowl games, yet losing each of them. It’s part of a four-year run which has included a bowl game every season, although Colorado State is only 1-3 in those postseason contests. Colorado State began playing football in 1893 and played all their games on campus until 1968, when they moved over to Hughes Stadium. Now, 49 years later, the team is moving back to campus this fall with the addition of Sonny Lubick Field at the on-campus stadium.
Players to watch:
- Nick Stevens, No. 7: Redshirt senior quarterback who lit the Mountain West on fire last year when he was reinstated as the team’s starter. Benched before the team’s Rocky Mountain Showdown loss was over last season, Stevens waited and then pounced on the opportunity when he regained his starting spot. He was instrumental in the team scoring 47.3 points per game over their final six regular season contests and Colorado State went 4-2 over that time. While sophomore Collin Hill took the starting job for three games as a freshman, he’s still working to heal his torn ACL, meaning Stevens is the likely starter going into the fall.
- Preston Williams, No. 84: He can’t play this year. Start there. End at the fact he was a five-star high school wide receiver who went to Tennessee of the SEC before leaving after one year. Williams transferred to CSU last fall, and while he can practice with the team, he must sit out games this year. Still, he’s pushing other receivers around him to play at a higher level.
- Michael Gallup, No. 4: Gallup went from a JUCO nobody to a superstar with the Rams last year. While he looked lost in the beginning of the season, trying to find himself in terms of what a Division I school looks for in practice and in games, he found himself in Week 3 and never looked back. When it was all said and done, Gallup was named All-MW with 1,272 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns. He’ll be the WR1 for Colorado State this year, but instead of being a lone playmaker, he’s surrounded with the deepest position group on the team.
- A’Keitheon Whitner, No. 3: Flipping to the defense, look for Whitner to have a big Saturday. The Rams currently only have four cornerbacks in Fort Collins and on the roster, and with Whitner being there all spring, it seems likely the former JUCO transfer will be a starter at one of the most important positions on the defense.
- Jamal Hicks, No. 7: Hicks is another defensive back the Rams will rely on playing with consistency this year. The sophomore showed spots of brilliance last season as a freshman, as he improved as the season went on.
- Toby McBride, No. 97: One of Colorado State’s better pass-rushers. Can he generate some pressure on Stevens on Saturday?