San Diego – Colorado State had its fun in the sun all week. As soon as the fog rolled in late Thursday afternoon, the Rams’ already suspect defense went into total eclipse.
Behind an NCAA bowl record-tying five touchdowns by Navy slotback Reggie Campbell, in the inaugural Poinsettia Bowl before 36,842 mostly Navy fans at Qualcomm Stadium.
CSU (6-6) finished by losing three of its last four games. Navy improved to 8-4 with its fifth win over a Mountain West Conference school in three years. The MWC is off to an 0-2 start in the bowl season, including BYU’s 35-28 loss to Cal on Thursday night in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Rams coach Sonny Lubick worried needlessly about Navy dominating time of possession. The Midshipmen were just more efficient with the clock. Through three quarters, CSU had the ball eight more minutes than Navy but trailed 41-24.
“Going to a bowl game is not much fun unless you are winning,” Lubick said. “They were precision out there tonight.”
CSU lived down to its reputation for defensive ineptitude against the run in the first half. Navy just took what CSU offered and had 217 yards rushing by halftime. With the Rams concentrating on the fullback-quarterback exchange, it left Middie quarterback Lamar Owens open on the pitch to slotback Campbell for two rushing touchdowns in the first half.
“They outplayed us. We didn’t execute,” CSU defensive coordinator Steve Stanard said. “We did a good job on the fullback, but we weren’t getting to the pitch.”
If there were halftime corrections made by CSU, it didn’t show. Navy marched 65 yards on its opening drive of the third quarter, with Campbell finishing off with his fourth TD of the night for a 34-17 lead.
CSU answered with its first touchdown since the Rams’ opening drive of the game. After three games without a touchdown pass, Justin Holland found Dustin Osborn for a 10-yard score to narrow the gap to 34-17. Holland went right back to Osborn for 20 yards on the next possession to close within 10 points with 3:10 left in the third quarter.
“In the second half, we thought we had to score on every drive,” Holland said.
The momentum was short-lived. Owens needed just five plays to go 70 yards, finishing the drive with his second touchdown pass of the night to Campbell for a 41-24 lead.
After Owens went to the air on Navy’s first play for a 55-yard touchdown pass to Campbell, the Midshipmen scored on three of their next four drives.
The Rams started out with H-back Kory Sperry lined up as a wideout, as promised by offensive coordinator Dan Hammerschmidt. Every play on the opening 10-play scoring drive was a Bell run or a pass from Holland to Sperry.
Bell finished off the drive from the 2 to give CSU a 7-0 lead with 11:06 left in the quarter.
But CSU, which played from behind most the season, reverted to form.
The half ended miserably when Holland dropped back for a Hail Mary from the Navy 44 with three seconds left, only to connect with Sperry at the 11 as time ran out.
After Navy started its first possession of the game on its 45, CSU dug in for a lengthy drive. Instead, Owens stunned the Rams be going to the air and threw his first touchdown pass in five games. Campbell got behind safety Miles Kochevar and dashed in for the one-play scoring drive.
“It wasn’t anything special, but even if we didn’t complete it, I wanted them to know we could throw,” Navy coach Paul Johnson said.
CSU resumed control on Jason Smith’s 34-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead.
Sticking to the ground, Navy bogged down on an illegal forward lateral and a fumble by Owens recovered by linebacker Jeff Horinek on the CSU 39. It was the last time Navy was stopped until its second possession of the third quarter.
The Rams went away from what was working with Bell to gain 2 yards a crack with Nnamdi Ohaeri. CSU went for it on fourth-and-8 from the Navy 35. The play broke down, forcing Holland to run, and Navy stopped him short.
Navy took over on its 32. Marco Nelson finished off the drive on a 22-yard burst. CSU blocked the extra-point attempt, leaving Navy with a 13-10 edge. It was the first miss for the Midshipmen’s Joey Bullen after making 47 in a row.
CSU sidelines
KEY PLAY
With so much talk about Navy’s rushing offense, it was understandable that Colorado State would be ready to stop a fullback dive or a pitch to a halfback. But an opening-play bomb? The Midshipmen’s first offensive play was a 55-yard touchdown pass from Lamar Owens to Reggie Campbell, setting the stage for a big offensive night.
TURNING POINT
With Navy trailing 10-7, Owens appeared to fumble for the second time. Upon review, the call was overturned. Instead of the deflated confidence and increased pressure that might have come from a second turnover, Owens and the Midshipmen regrouped, marching for the go-ahead score, a 22-yard run by Marco Nelson.
KEY STATISTIC
185 – Navy’s Reggie Campbell finished the first half with a career-high 185 yards total offense and three TDs.
KEY BREAKDOWN
After some early success, Colorado State wasn’t able to get a grasp on Navy’s option attack – quite literally in Reggie Campbell’s case. But the key was quarterback Lamar Owens, who pirouetted out from under center to reverse his field, and he more often than not made the right decision.
Staff writer Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303-820-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
