The Colorado State Rams will open their 2018 season by hosting the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 EST on Saturday, August 25 at CSU Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado. The game can be seen on CBS Sports Network. The Rams are listed as a 14-point favorite at home with the over/under set at 57 points. Check out the rest of the 2018 week 1 college football point spreads here.
Colorado State has been the definition of consistent under head coach Mike Bobo. In each of Bobo’s first three seasons, the Rams have been 7-6 and 5-3 in Mountain West play. At some point, the Rams would certainly like to take another step forward and perhaps win a conference title. But it’s tough to complain about going to a bowl game every year.
Unfortunately, things are a little different heading into the 2018 season opener. Bobo was hospitalized for over a week after feeling numbness in his feet. He has since returned to practice after being released. However, it’s still unclear if he’ll be on the sidelines against Hawaii on Saturday.
As for the Rainbow Warriors, Nick Rolovich is entering his third season at the helm. His tenure got off to a promising start with Hawaii finishing the 2016 season 7-7, including a win in the aptly named Hawaii Bowl. However, things fell apart last year, as the Warriors went 3-9 with just one win against Mountain West opponents. That schedule included a 51-21 home loss against Colorado State.
It’s now been seven years since Hawaii had a winning season. As a result, Rolovich will attempt to bring back the run-and-shoot style offense that worked so well for June Jones during his years with the Rainbow Warriors. However, it remains to be seen how quickly Hawaii can make that transition and if they have the personnel to improve upon last year’s disappointing record.
Both of these teams enter the season with serious question marks on both sides of the ball. For Colorado State, it doesn’t help that Bobo has been away from the team that past couple of weeks and won’t be on the sidelines. That being said, the Rams don’t have as much rebuilding to do. They are also the more talented team. Being at home will help as well, allowing the Rams to cover a two-touchdown spread.
The key for Colorado State will be how quickly new quarterback K.J. Carta-Samuels has been able to learn the offense. Carta-Samuels is a graduate transfer from Washington who only joined the team at the start of preseason camp. He spent three seasons getting action in mop-up duty behind Jake Browning, one of the best quarterbacks in the country. That means he’s a little short on experience but should have all the tools to step in and succeed right away at a Mountain West school like Colorado State.
It doesn’t help Carta-Samuels that the Rams lost both their leading rusher and leading receiver from a season ago. However, Izzy Matthews does give them some experience at running back after he rushed for over 600 yards and eight touchdowns last year. Olabisi Johnson and Tennessee transfer Preston Williams also provide CSU with two wide receivers who should be capable of making plays against a suspect Hawaii defense.
The Rainbow Warriors were nothing short of atrocious defensively last season. They now have a long way to go just to reach respectable. The defensive line is comprised mainly of junior college transfers and freshmen. It remains to be seen if those players will be ready to hold their own in the trenches right away. The Hawaii secondary also has some questions with a lot of moving pieces after last year.
Hawaii may have just as many questions on offense. Quarterback Dru Brown took off for Oklahoma State after last season, depriving the Warriors of a quarterback with two years of starting experience under his belt. It’ll be up to sophomore Cole McDonald, who has just nine career pass attempts, to take control of the offense.
The Warriors have also lost 1,500-yard rusher Diocemy Saint Juste and key receiver Dylan Collie, so McDonald doesn’t have too many proven playmakers around him. The lone exception could be receiver John Ursua, who suffered a season-ending injury last October after a promising start to the season. His return should help, but Hawaii also has to reconfigure their entire offensive line. With so much inexperience, especially at the quarterback position, it’ll be tough for the Hawaii offense to hit the ground running in 2018.
Colorado State probably isn’t ready to walk all over Hawaii like they did a year ago. But the Rainbow Warriors probably aren’t ready to keep up with the Rams for 60 minutes. Even if Carta-Samuels takes a little time to get going, the Colorado State offense will ultimately move the ball and score points. Meanwhile, there’s a lot less certainty the Hawaii offense will be able to sustain drives. That makes me think the Rams will cover the 14-point spread.