Fort Collins – Kyle Bell got Colorado State started in the Mountain West Conference at the same time Air Force’s league hopes all but evaporated.
Bell, a CSU sophomore from Weld Central, ran wild for 197 yards and three touchdowns on 32 carries, and wide receiver David Anderson added two TDs in a 41-23 MWC-opening romp Thursday. Air Force (2-3, 1-3) has already played half its MWC schedule. CSU (2-2, 1-0) won its second straight before 26,711 at Hughes Stadium.
“CSU will be right up here with all of them from what they did to us tonight,” Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry said. “I thought we did a good job against Kyle Bell in the first half, but he was the difference in the game in the second half.”
It was a turnover-plagued first quarter and a relatively quiet first half for both sides. Then CSU quarterback Justin Holland (318 yards passing) needed only 58 seconds to move the Rams 88 yards just before halftime.
CSU then erupted for 28 second-half points. Unlike in earlier games, which saw the Rams squander an 11-point fourth-quarter lead against Colorado and fail to put away Nevada early after a 21-0 start, CSU was determined to finish the job.
CSU offensive coordinator Dan Hammerschmidt said the Rams were trying to get too fancy in the first half. Then Bell and previously little-used wide receiver Luke Roberts (five catches, 123 yards) rose up in the second half. The Rams started getting the passing yards out of their two-back sets. When the safeties committed to the run, the corners were outnumbered by CSU’s receiving depth.
To the Falcons’ credit, Air Force did more to stay in the game than the Rams did in a 47-17 season-ending loss a year ago. As Bell said: “I thought they brought it all game. They hit on every play.”
Anderson said: “Those guys have no quit. It’s almost like winning two games.”
Bell said he had no idea he was close to 200 yards but didn’t mind taking a seat for Nnamdi Ohaeri’s first appearance since he was injured in the first half of the opener.
With 380 yards in the past two games, Bell has the school’s most productive two-game stretch since Calvin Branch’s had the same yardage against San Diego State and Fresno State in 1996.
The teams traded leads until 10:30 remained in the third quarter when CSU pulled ahead for good, 20-16, on a 19-yard Holland pass to Anderson, who was uncovered in the end zone. Roberts, who had an earlier 27-yard TD catch, set up the go-ahead score with a 44-yard reception that withstood an instant replay review.
The quick scoring swap ended when CSU forced Air Force to punt on its next possession.
Bell became the first CSU running back to rush for more than 100 yards in back-to-back games since current Broncos fullback Cecil Sapp in 2002.
CSU put some distance on the Falcons when Holland hit Anderson with a 23-yard scoring pass for a 27-16 lead.
After taking 15 minutes to score three field goals, Air Force opened the second half with a three-play outburst to regain the lead 16-13 just 52 seconds into the third quarter. Chad Hall outraced the secondary down the sideline for a 43-yard gain to the 30, and Chad Smith took it the rest of the way with a sprint up the middle.
An early exchange of four turnovers resulted in a CSU touchdown and two Scott Eberle field goals for Air Force.
The Falcons took a 9-7 lead with Eberle’s third field goal, a 30-yarder, with 1:24 left in the first half. The highlight of the 10-play drive was DeBerry throwing a flag on a coach’s challenge, just as Eberle was about to line up for a 39-yard attempt. The challenge was unsuccessful.
Staff writer Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303-820-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
