Las Vegas – Going into the Mountain West’s version of Upset Saturday, lowly Air Force was a longshot against bowl-eligible New Mexico. Conventional wisdom also dictated that Utah, without its starting quarterback, couldn’t topple league runner-up Brigham Young.
Air Force and Utah weren’t favored, but they did win.
And according to Colorado State defensive tackle Erik Sandie, “I knew we couldn’t lose to UNLV. I mean, they are a good team but we’re better.”
That point was up for debate as the last-place Rebels led by 10 points in the third quarter. Then CSU backup quarterback Caleb Hanie came off the bench in the third quarter to rally the Rams to a 31-27 win and bowl eligibility.
CSU (6-5, 5-3 Mountain West) finished tied with BYU for second place. UNLV ended its season 2-9, 1-7.
After watching UNLV quarterback Shane Steichen run the ball with great success (20 carries, 80 yards, one touchdown), the light came on like blazing neon for CSU to put a running quarterback into the game.
Hanie immediately drove the Rams 80 yards in six plays for a score. It ignited the defense to shut down the Rebels the rest of the way, then Johnny Walker returned a punt 75 yards with 13:51 left for the winning score.
It was the first punt returned for a CSU touchdown since current Philadelphia Eagles returner Dexter Wynn scored against Louisville in 2002.
“Any time the offense scores, it fires up the defense big time,” said Sandie, who in the second quarter blocked a 42-yard field-goal attempt by Sergio Aguayo.
“There was a time I thought the game was out of reach,” CSU coach Sonny Lubick said.
He insisted he wants to spend another month with this team despite the wear and tear of falling behind in every league game this season. The bowl picture remained even more confusing, with four 6-5 bowl-eligible MWC teams (BYU, New Mexico, CSU and Utah) finishing behind 10-1 league champ TCU.
Lubick said the staff talked all week of possibly using Hanie as a spark. Starter Justin Holland, the only MWC quarterback who is not a threat to run, struggled the last two weeks with seven interceptions. He wasn’t picked off by UNLV but fumbled, setting up a 65-yard drive for UNLV’s 27-17 lead.
“Justin wasn’t playing at the top of his game,” said CSU offensive coordinator Dan Hammerschmidt, who made the call to switch quarterbacks. “It’s always a lot easier when you can run your quarterback.”
After calling a timeout before taking his second snap of the game, Hanie ran for a 19-yard gain. He completed a 30-yard pass to Dustin Osborn to the UNLV 28. Kyle Bell finished off the drive with the score from a yard out.
“We hadn’t practiced the quarterback draws in about a month,” said Hanie, who hadn’t gotten into a game since the 41-23 blowout of Air Force on Sept. 29. “We caught them off guard. It’s not fun sitting on the sidelines, but when you get in there you get those feelings back.”
Said wide receiver David Anderson: “Caleb came in for a change of pace, ran the ball a couple of times and got us fired up. That’s what Justin did the last time we were in Vegas. It’s so fitting. It’s going to be his team next year so it’s good he got in.”
Holland came off the bench to rally the Rams into a bowl two years ago when starter Bradlee Van Pelt broke his hand.
“It didn’t surprise me when they made the decision. Caleb did a heck of a job,” Holland said.
“We liked to go with what got us here,” Lubick said.
As soon as Hanie opened up the offense, the defense became serious. The Rebels didn’t cross midfield again until their final drive.
Instead of trailing at halftime, the Rams had a 17-13 halftime edge before the Rebels scored 17 straight points, starting two drives on the CSU side of the field following fumbles.
Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303 820-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
