Hawai’i Jumps On Top Of Colorado State Early In Route To A 43-34 Victory
Teams Combine For Nearly 1300 Yards Of Offense
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Mistakes Prove Costly In Opener For Rams
It was too little too late for Colorado State in their home opener as they fell to Hawai’i 43-34 at Canvas Stadium on Saturday. A two touchdown favorite entering the game, the Rams went to the locker room down 23 – 7 and later went down by 30 before Colorado State began their comeback. This was Hawai’i’s first victory over Colorado State since 1992 and their first win in Fort Collins since 1988.
Normally the defense is ahead of the offense early in the season. That was not the case in Fort Collins on Saturday as Hawai’i and Colorado State racked up 1270 yards of total offense. Colorado State’s defense could not get off the field on third or fourth down early in the game and never adjusted to some plays that Hawai’i ran over and over again. Hawai’i finished the first half averaging 7.3 yards per play.
Penalties were also killers for Colorado State. There were too many and came at costly points during the game. “We just had too many self inflicted wounds,” Rams Head Coach Mike Bobo said about the penalties. “It was just too much for our offense to overcome.” The Rams finished with 12 penalties for 120 yards.
Hawai’i quarterback Cole McDonald was impressive in his first career start. He finished 26/37 for 418 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also ran for 96 yards and 2 touchdowns. He broke his own Head Coaches school record for passing yardage in a debut at Hawai’i.
All is not lost for Colorado State however. Despite being one-dimensional throughout most of the game, K.J. Carta-Samuels finished 34/50 for 537 yards and 5 touchdowns. The 537 yards was a new school record.
He also found some chemistry with Tennessee transfer wide receiver Preston WIlliams who finished with 9 catches for 188 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Colorado State has little time to lick their wounds as they face their in-state rival Colorado Friday night in Denver. Kick off is set for 7:30pm MST and can be seen on CBS Sports Network.
