Mike Bobo proving why he was the right hire for CSU football

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Mike Bobo’s play calling.

Mike Bobo’s use of Rashard Higgins.

Mike Bobo sticking with Nick Stevens at quarterback.

How about just Mike Bobo?

Through the first 10 games of the first-year head coach’s tenure at CSU, there have been plenty of complaints directed at Bobo. Some were valid; most weren’t. But when a hotshot Southeastern Conference offensive coordinator takes over a Mountain West program that won 10 games the previous year, outside expectations are high.

Even when said program lost the best quarterback in its history.

Bobo proved Saturday, in the best head-coaching performance of his career, why he was the right man for Colorado State University.

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CSU did Saturday what Boise State and Utah State failed to do, beat New Mexico, by coming from behind in the fourth quarter to win 28-21. It spoiled the Lobos’ magical run at a Mountain West title, and the fashion in which the Rams did so showed how far the program has come in a matter of weeks.

Struggles CSU displayed during the first half of the season can be blamed on an unfamiliarity between two parties. What we had here was a failure to communicate. There was coaching, but not teaching. Talking, but not understanding. Like a new couple trying to figure out a partner’s quirks, it can be maddening at times and nearly sever a relationship until finally something clicks.

Since a 41-17 loss to San Diego State, nothing has been lost in translation, with the Rams (6-5, 4-2 MW) winning three in a row and becoming bowl eligible for the third consecutive season.

“We had that meeting after San Diego State, and we talked about we have to trust each other to do (our) jobs. It’s not just (players), it’s coaches, too,” Bobo said. “I have to trust you to do what we call. I just made a commitment to myself that I was going to trust our players to go out and execute. We practice it, we feel good about it, I put it on the call sheet, then let them go do it.”

And it’s that trust that’s made the biggest difference for CSU on either side of the ball.

For an offense that’s accumulated 1,367 yards over the past three weeks, it’s meant a more comfortable Stevens under center. The first-year starter said after the game Saturday that his maturation since a 51-yard, two-interception performance in an overtime loss to Minnesota in Week 2 could be attributed to more to the relationship he’s fostered with Bobo and the other coaches than mere experience.

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He completed 70 percent of his pass attempts for 264 yards and a touchdown against the Lobos. Had this been four weeks ago, that touchdown pass he threw to Kivon Cartwright on Saturday would have been an interception by forcing the ball to a well-covered Higgins, who was the primary target on the play. But he made the correct read, and, immediately before making the throw, moved his eyes to a wide open tight end.

Defensively, CSU has come a long way as well, intercepting two New Mexico passes in the fourth quarter (and three on the night) to thwart potential game-tying drives.

Four weeks ago, the defense bites too hard on the option fake and gets killed by the pass. Four weeks ago, CSU doesn’t win this game. But it did, thanks to Bobo realizing that the approach he was using wasn’t panning out.

“It’s hard to see from an outsider’s standpoint, because if you don’t get results, fans automatically jump on a head coach,” Stevens said.

“If you’re able to be within this program and see what goes into every week and how much (Bobo and coaches) do upstairs with the preparation for every game, and then some of the great calls he makes against certain coverages — he just knows what’s coming. I think he’s a genius in this game, and I definitely know why he got hired.”

The changes Bobo and the Rams have adopted over the past month haven’t been drastic. Most seem like common sense: Communicate better, trust more and get Higgins a couple extra chances to make his magic happen (15 catches for 242 yards and three touchdowns in the past two games). But there has to be a sense of humility to adapt late in the season.

Bobo did. And the Rams are rumbling toward a bowl because of it.

For insight and analysis on athletics around Northern Colorado and the Mountain West, follow sports columnist Matt L. Stephens at twitter.com/mattstephens and facebook.com/stephensreporting.