Their D may not be as bad as last year, but I fully expect they'll start the year by giving up more than 25 to Hawaii and more than 40 to CU and after those two games their confidence may be destroyed. Hawaii's offense started off really well last year and then had injuries that really slowed them down (o line and WR). I'd be surprised if a full off season to prep for CSU's defense didn't lead to Hawaii putting up a lot of points (I'd expect a CSU win something along the lines of 31-28). CSU will play better against Colorado, but without the full off season to focus solely on CU, they will give up big points to Montez and company.
Very good point. After their FCS team, they travel to SJSU which has quite a lot of experience coming back. CSU could very well drop that game.
Going to be a tough season in Ft. Collins.