Colorado State is making a quarterback change and will start redshirt freshman Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi for this week's road game against No. 18 Colorado in the Rocky Mountain Showdown.
Fowler-Nicolosi replaced Clay Millen in Colorado State's season opener Sept. 2 against Washington State, after Millen sustained a shoulder sprain in the second half. Coach Jay Norvell told ESPN that Millen is healthy after an open week and available for the Colorado game, but he wanted Fowler-Nicolosi to get the start. Fowler-Nicolosi helped Colorado State score 21 fourth-quarter points against Washington State in a 50-24 loss, passing for 210 yards and two touchdowns with an interception.
"The time is right for Bray to get an opportunity," Norvell said. "He sparked us, drove for a couple scores. The bottom line is we've got to score points and be more effective, and we've got to be competitive and lead at that position.
"We've got a lot of confidence in Clay, but Brayden played for us last year as well."
Millen started most of the 2022 season, setting the team's single-season completion percentage record (72.2). But Colorado State finished 128th nationally in scoring, and it got one of its three wins on the road against Nevada when Fowler-Nicolosi started.
"When the game was on the line, he drove us down the field with the two-minute drill for the winning touchdown," Norvell said. "He can run, he's got good feet and a strong arm, and he's excited and his teammates are excited. We've got to rally behind him."
Colorado State has dropped five straight to Colorado, last facing the Buffaloes in 2019. Colorado, which went 1-11 last season, is 2-0 under new coach Deion Sanders and averages 40.5 points per game, a significant jump from last season, when it averaged only 15.4 points per game.
"Offensively, we've got to convert third downs and finish drives and score points," Norvell said. "We need a breakthrough game, and it's important that we keep pushing until we get it."