The 2018 season had its ups and downs for the Colorado Mesa University football team, consequently, the 2019 season comes with more pressure than this Mavericks may not be prepared for. After going 7-4 and missing the playoffs last season, CMU will need to block out distractions and have to have the next-man-up mentality to get back into the playoffs.
The ongoing quarterback battle between Rope Ruel, Aaron Howard and Hayden Bollinger will continue to be a big question mark, and until one of them steps up, the offense may be able to get its feet off the ground. This offense has explosive playmakers at the skill positions, but the offense will be better off with a consistent quarterback. Each of these quarterbacks showed the ability to be the leader of this offense, and Coach Russ Martin will have a very difficult decision ahead of him.
At running back, after losing Jonathan Beverly, the Mavericks will look to use a backfield by the committee, and this will be the go-to system until one of the backs sets themselves apart as the feature back. If the Mavericks can establish their running game early in the season, it will help to take the pressure off of whoever the quarterback is.
A bright spot for the Mavericks this season will, of course, be wide receiver Peter Anderson who led the team in receiving last year with 1,344 yards and 11 touchdowns. Anderson averaged 122.18 receiving yards per game last year and will continue to be the primary downfield target. Head Coach Russ Martin is also looking to utilize more tight-end play this year as players like Andy Ritter and Dagan Rienks proven they can be prominent threats for the CMU offense.
The defense will be a point of emphasis if the Mavericks want to win an RMAC Championship for the first time since 2017. After giving up 35.09 points and 183.5 rushing yards per game last season, the defense is looking to control the opposing run game and shut down what they couldn’t at times last year. If the CMU defense can control the front-seven this season, the Mavericks control their own destiny.
The Mavericks are only returning one of their top five tacklers from last season in redshirt sophomore Greyson Matalus who had 66 total tackles in 2018. Matalus also was second on the team in tackles for loss with 8.5 for 24 yards. He will need to be the leader of this defense this year to relieve some of the pressure off the rest of the defense.
CMU will be under immense pressure this year after underperforming last season, and everyone on campus is eager to see how they are going to react. So as the team saying for the year goes, who will ‘Man up and Mav Up’?
