It’s third down, 8 yards to go, and your team is on the other’s 43-yard line. Two minutes, 31 seconds remain in the game and you’re up just four points. And the decision you choose, as coach, is the long bomb?
For CSU coach Sonny Lubick and his offensive coordinator, Dan Hammerschmidt, that was indeed the choice. The result – a 32-yard reception by Rams wide receiver Johnny Walker from quarterback Caleb Hanie – made their coaches’ collective decision look fantastic.
The call preserved CSU’s 14-10 win over Colorado Saturday. But it was a decision made with a healthy share of agony.
“I said (to Lubick), ‘Coach, you want us to throw or you want us to run?”‘ Hammerschmidt said, “and he said like he always does, ‘Well, we could run, we could pin ’em, we’ll see how much time’s left …” And I said, ‘Throw or run, Coach?” … He said, ‘What about the deep ball?’ And I said, ‘You got it.”‘
Said Lubick: “We needed a shot in the arm. If we got a first down, they had to use timeouts. We weren’t going to get the first running it.”
Walker, one of the stars of CSU’s first win over CU in four years, made a great catch in traffic at CU’s 11-yard line. The Rams ran out the clock from there.
“My thought was, when the ball was in the air, I was going to go up there and make this play so we can seal the deal,” said Walker, who finished with a game-high 10 receptions for 158 yards.
Walker did not have a good spring camp for the Rams, not catching the number of balls he expected. He caught just one pass in CSU’s season opener against Weber State.
“My practices weren’t that good, but when it comes to games, I step my game up to a whole other level,” Walker said. “And I really appreciate Coach Hammer not going away from me.”
Walker also called the victory a “blessing” and credited the Rams’ defense more than anything he did.
“We knew their kicker (Mason Crosby) has a great leg, and we just didn’t want to give the game away,” Walker said. “I’m really proud how our team stepped it up a whole other notch.”
Timely timeout
Lubick said the timeout he called just before Crosby’s 61-yard field goal for CU in the third quarter wasn’t done to try to ice the Buffs’ star kicker. “We had 12 men on the field,” Lubick said.
CU and its fans reacted angrily to the awarded timeout, after Crosby’s kick sailed through the uprights. Crosby hooked his second attempt, wide left.
Footnotes
CSU got a strong game from punter Jimmie Kaylor, who averaged 45.2 yards on five kicks. … Jeff Horinek and Jon Radford each led CSU with eight tackles. … The Rams reported no serious injuries.
Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com.
