There was plenty of off-field drama surrounding the Rocky Mountain Showdown last year.

There were barbed comments from coaches Jay Norvell and Deion Sanders, plus an ugly turn on social media directed at CSU's Henry Blackburn after a hit on Travis Hunter.

It's expected to be a fiercely contested a game this year when the Colorado State football team hosts Colorado at 5:30 p.m. (CBS) on Saturday, Sept. 14.

Here's a look at what Norvell said Monday in his weekly press conference ahead of the Showdown.

"We have a lot of respect for Colorado. We have a lot of respect for what they're capable of doing. They have a lot of talented players and experienced coaches. The team that is prepared, that plays the best on Saturday, makes the least amount of mistakes will win the game. That is certainly something that we're working to prepare to do."

"It's a very different year. The circumstances are completely different. I will say this, this is an emotional game. It has been for well before I ever came to CSU and well before this season and there's been a lot of bad blood over the years in this game. But, rivalries are what make college football special and really it's insignificant, the things that happen that surround the game really don't affect the game. It's what happens on the field that matters. That's all we're focused on. I'm glad that Travis is healthy after last year. Him and Henry (Blackburn) had an exchange after the game. They're kids. They're college kids that are in college to play football and there's no ill feelings or bad blood in any of that. We're going to keep our focus on playing the game and we're excited to play the game here and it should be a great game."

"Very similar to last year in the personality of their team and the strengths of their team. Everything starts with their offense and their quarterback. They're very, very capable of being very explosive. They have a lot of speed at wide receiver with Hunter and Horn and Wester. They mostly attack through the air and everything goes through the quarterback, through (Shedeur) Sanders. We're going to have to do a good job containing that. They can be explosive and when they make explosive plays they're very hard to slow down."

"They have a new defensive coordinator in Robert Livingston. Very experienced, comes from the National Football League. They really have built this defense to rush the passer and play man coverage and that's what they do. They play a lot of man. They try to rush the passer."

"Obviously, I'm very impressed with Travis Hunter and was impressed with him last year. Really dynamic player playing at a high level."

"When you play a passionate, rivalry game, there's going to be energy. I think we have to do a better job of controlling that and really focusing it the proper way. We had too many penalties last year. We had a team meeting today and we kind of framed the game and talked about last season. We lost a double overtime game where we had 18 penalties, we had four turnovers, two in the red zone. We had three touchdowns called back. You just can't win games that way. It was still a double overtime game and a game we should have won. We have to correct those areas and we have to be better."

"I was proud of Brayden this past week. Brayden really handled the game plan well. Spread the ball around to 10 different receivers, didn't turn the ball over. It's going to be important not only that Tory is ready to play, but all of our skill guys are ready to contribute. ... I thought (Fowler-Nicolosi) really showed a lot last week. He probably checked 10 or 11 plays and got us into good runs. He's certainly capable of that. What we're doing is really like an NFL offense. He's got to really manage the run game as well as the pass game. We're putting more on his plate that way. A lot of things that don't show up in the stat line."

"We've talked what we can control as a team. I think it's difficult for young people because there's so much information out there and it's all designed to get you to react to something. You guys are in that business, the reaction business. Some of you are more into it than others. We're living in a time where social media, technology is a big part of our lives. If you don't understand how that works, it can really take over your life a little bit. ... Don't get all excited about the headlines you see and all that stuff on social media. I think we've tried to educate our kids about that. We want them to be mature, but more importantly, we spend a third of our lives sleeping. What are you going to do with the other two-thirds of your life? Are you going to let other people dictate that or are you going to dictate it? That's what we want our kids to do. We want our kids to be the very best they can be."

"I think of Sonny all the time and he's told me a lot of stories about these games. It's good to get that kind of perspective. These are the games you remember when you get done playing, get done coaching, you think about these rivalry games. I've been a part of a lot of them and this one is unique. It's really unique and it means a lot to the people in the state. It means a lot to our alumni, means a lot to our fan base. It means a lot that it's here in Fort Collins and in Canvas Stadium. ... I just think there's a lot of anticipation and excitement about playing in Canvas."

"I don't know that Nuer will be back this week. It's unlikely that he will be back. That's why it's so important the development of kids like Kenyon Agurs, Gabe Kirschke, Mukendi (Wa-Kalonji)'s playing so well. Those guys are going to continue to get opportunities. We have to do a great job with our pass rush. We have to keep this quarterback in the pocket. We have to get push inside."

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Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on X and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.