Boulder – It might be the longest run of frustration in football outside of Lucy yanking the ball away from place-kicker Charlie Brown in the “Peanuts” cartoon or the Buffalo Bills going to any Super Bowl.
Colorado keeps finding new ways to outlast Colorado State, this time on Mason Crosby’s 47-yard field goal with four seconds remaining. Last year was a goal-line stand, and the year before a late touchdown march. But this time, the Rams vowed not to let Saturday’s 31-28 defeat sour their remaining 10 games.
A year ago CSU came away from Folsom Field with a 27-24 loss and the realization there was no running game. This time the Rams emerged with another three-point loss, no ability in special teams except for kickoff returns and the knowledge they won’t face another field-goal kicker who shortens the field as Crosby does for CU.
“We are not going to let this game get our team down like it did a year ago,” said Rams safety Miles Kochevar, who turned in the best game of his career with a fumble recovery, an interception and six solo tackles.
CSU wide receiver David Anderson caught 12 passes, matching his career high. He didn’t get much post-catch yardage but if not for his sure hands, CU might have made more than four interceptions.
“We can’t let this game get us down,” Anderson said. “Last year following the loss, we had a hangover in our play. We have enough experienced players that we have got to come back and make some plays (at Minnesota on Saturday) in order to avoid running into last year’s situation where we let one loss turn into a losing season.”
A year ago, CSU wasn’t going to beat USC whether or not the Rams won their in-state battle, and the Rams fell 49-0 in Los Angeles. But that hangover continued into the Rams’ home opener the following week, as they fell 34-16 to Minnesota.
In terms of stopping the run, the Rams face perhaps their biggest test of the season in Gophers junior Laurence Maroney. Playing at Tulsa on Thursday, Maroney broke out for 203 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries.
CSU offensive coordinator Dan Hammerschmidt saw plenty of reason for encouragement.
“Obviously we can run the ball better this year,” he said. “I knew we could throw the ball. I liked our protections.”
Footnotes
With running back Nnamdi Ohaeri questionable because of a sprained ankle, Kyle Bell is listed as the Rams’ starter this week. … Minnesota sophomore linebacker Mark Mullaney is the son of the former Ram of the same name. The elder Mullaney was a first-round draft pick in 1975 by the Minnesota Vikings. … Another former Viking with CSU ties, former running back Oscar Reed (1965-68 with the Rams), will be an honorary team captain for CSU on Saturday.
Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303-820-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
