SB Nation college football analyst Bill Connelly is in the process of previewing all of the FBS in preparation for the 2012 season, and on Friday he turned his attention to Colorado State, where new head coach Jim McElwain likely has a tough rebuilding job ahead of him.
Related: Colorado State Football: Mike Orakpo, Nordly Capi, Colton Paulhus Expelled
The Rams lost several important members of the 2011 team during the offseason, and as Connelly points out, that's left CSU with questions it didn't anticipate having.
Two months ago, Colorado State fans knew that new head coach Jim McElwain was inheriting a defense with a ferocious pass rush, one that had been one of the best in the country for two straight years. (The defense was good at almost literally nothing else, but that's still something on which he and defensive co-coordinators Marty English and Al Simmons could build.) Last week, the primary reason for the strong pass rush (Nordly Capi), along with two other members of the front-seven rotation (Mike Orakpo and Colton Paulhus), were expelled for their roles in what was apparently a pretty ferocious fight.
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