FORT COLLINS — Coaches preach the mentality all the time, and Colorado State’s football team will have to see what the next man up can do this week.

In the 27-24 victory over New Mexico, the Rams had a host of players go down with injuries throughout the game, and while some were able to return, the Rams will be without the services of wideout Bisi Johnson and safety Jamal Hicks this week, possibly the remainder of the regular season.

Head coach Mike Bobo told the media at Monday’s press conference Hicks, a sophomore, was to have his pre-operation meeting during the day and have surgery this week for the broken right forearm he sustained during the win.

Johnson will avoid surgery, but has a sprained MCL that will keep him out this week, possibly longer, with Bobo calling it a week-to-week process.

“That’s why you practice. That’s why guys get reps,” Bobo said. “We’ve got to get the right guys in the right spots, and we’ve got to figure out how we’re going to put them on the field this week and execute our game play. I don’t know the answer to where everybody is going to be and who everybody is going to play yet.”

Cornerback Shun Johnson and defensive tackle Darnell Thompson both went down during the game and returned, and Bobo expects both to play this week. Linebacker Max McDonald is under concussion protocol, so his status is up in the air, and slot receiver Detrich Clark did not play with a shoulder injury, and his progress will be monitored, calling him questionable.

When Hicks and McDonald left the game, both were the leading the team in tackles at the time, and Hicks is fourth on the team with 33 stops and is tied for the team lead with two interceptions. McDonald has started the past four weeks and has 29 tackles on the season.

Senior Jake Schlager is an experienced replacement for Hicks, but depth is a bit of an issue for the Rams at linebacker, though Kiel Robinson returned to the starting lineup last week at strong as the team went with a pair of rush ends for the third week in a row, though it was the first game CSU did not start in a nickel package.

“You lose your starting will linebacker and your starting safety,” Bobo said. “We’re going to have to figure out who’s out there and get those guys ready to play.”

The loss of Bisi Johnson goes beyond his 27 catches and 385 yards because the junior is also the punt returner and carries multiple tasks within the offense, not to mention is blocking on the perimeter, which is what he was doing when he was hurt.

Warren Jackson played more with the loss of Clark, and Marcus Wilson came in when Bisi Johnson went down. Trey Smith has been playing on special teams the past few weeks, but no real offensive snaps as of late.

What it led to was a lot of shuffling in meeting rooms before practice has ever taken place.

“A lot of yesterday, last night and then this morning has been about personnel,” Bobo said. “As a coach, you’re figuring out how you’re going to align your personnel to give you the best chance to be successful. You’ve got some guys out, so you’ve got think about moving some personnel around to put people in position where we can be productive and execute, offensively, defensively and special teams. These injuries we’re talking about, we’re focusing on offense and defense, but it hurts you in special teams, too.

“So it’s getting a plan. The good thing is we played an option style last week, so schematically we’ll be similar and repping those assignments and what we’ve got in the area of responsibility.”

Trophy time — Colorado State plays for three trophies every season, and as of right now, the Rams’ trophy case is empty with having lost the past four. This week starts a run of two in a row, starting with the Ram-Falcon Trophy this week.

Bobo fully expects the enthusiasm to run high.

“Now, you hope that because you’re playing Air Force — it’s a rivalry game, at home, 1 o’clock, sellout — there’s going to be a lot of other energy that’s going to help us get ready for this week,” Bobo said. “It ought to be more energy in this week’s practice because you’re playing Air Force, a school in state. There ought to be more energy in this practice because you’ve got at chance to go to 5-0 in conference, what you’re playing for, you’re coming back home.”

The home team has won the past five meetings in the series.

Still good — Colorado State allowed one sack last week, the first time Nick Stevens went down in five weeks and the first time in conference play. The Rams rank second nationally in sacks allowed at just .38 per contest.

Michael Gallup had 66 yards receiving last week, making him the first wideout in the country with 1,000 on the season, 1,006, to be exact. He is second in yards per game (125.8) and third in catches per game (8.1).

Mike Brohard: 970-635-3633, mbrohard@reporter-herald.com and twitter.com/mbrohard