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Special Teams Nearly Cost Colorado State
Rams Defense Stands Tall When It Matters
Contact/Follow @BradHubbard
Colorado State Beats New Mexico For Ninth Straight Time
Colorado State did everything they could to lose homecoming but they somehow found a way to win their ninth game in a row against New Mexico. While the offense was inconsistent and special teams a near disaster, it was the much maligned defense that stood tall when it matter most and gave kicker Wyatt Bryan a shot a redemption as he sunk a 26-yard field goal as time expired to beat New Mexico 20-18.
Colorado State started off with a bang. A quick New Mexico turnover led to a K.J. Carta-Samuels to Preston Williams touchdown to put the Rams up 7-0 thirty seconds into the game. Williams would later drop a sure fire touchdown and continue to have dropped passes throughout the day.
The Rams would put together one of their more impressive drives of the year in a 96-yard scoring drive capped off by a naked bootleg by Carta-Samuels to put the Rams up 14-0 on their way to a 14-3 halftime lead.
The second half would show Colorado State’s true colors once again.
The inconsistent offense returned, New Mexico continued to dominate on special teams and the defense would at times just look disinterested.
Combine all of this and New Mexico climbed back and took the lead 18-17 with 13:01 left in the fourth quarter.
Colorado State would answer. They would go on an 11 play 59-yard drive that ate six minutes off of the clock. Then the all-time leading scorer in Colorado State history missed a chip shot field goal. Wyatt Bryan sailed an 18-yard attempt wide left and the boos rained down at Canvas Stadium.
It was up to the defense and they were up to the task. They forced a three-and-out to give the Rams the ball with two minutes left. A completion here and a run by Izzy Matthews there and Bryan had a shot at redemption. He would sink this one from 26-yards away as time expired.
“I thought our defense played great all night,” stated head coach Mike Bobo after the game.”We were hangin on by a thread but the kids found a way.”
The takeaways are that the defense is coming around. For the second straight week the Colorado State defense held their opponent to under 300-yards of total offense and have had nine sacks in the last two games .
Carta-Samuels finished with 311 yards with one touchdown through the air and another on the ground. Izzy Matthews carried the rock 26 times for 96-yards and Preston Williams, despite the drops, had nine catches for 92-yards.
It’s a short week Colorado State as they head to Boise State for a Friday night showdown. Kick off is set for 7pm and can be seen on ESPN2.
