It was a typical Colorado-Colorado State frenetic windup with an atypical result.
Colorado was rendered helpless Saturday in the final minute in stopping the clock or stopping the Rams from a 14-10 victory.
With the clock dipping below two minutes, CSU junior quarterback Caleb Hanie hit Johnny Walker on a third-and-8 play for a 32-yard gain to CU’s 11-yard line. The Rams had survived a rivalry game without any semblance of a running game and CSU partisans among the 65,701 fans erupted at Invesco Field at Mile High. The Rams’ jinx of last-minute defeats was over.
“It’s always a lot better to win these than to lose them,” said CSU coach Sonny Lubick, victorious against the Buffs for the first time since 2002.
Hanie, overcoming six sacks, completed 20-of-23 passes for 233 yards and a touchdown. He also scored on a 3-yard run.
Only 22 points have separated the Rams and Buffs in their past five meetings.
“It’s going to be another bottle of Alka-Seltzer, some more sleepless nights,” new CU coach Dan Hawkins said of his introduction to the rivalry.
That’s pretty much what Lubick had mumbled after CSU’s past three losses to CU. While he shouldered the blame for those defeats, Lubick, who has never taken credit for a call in 14 seasons, said: “I made two good calls in my life, both tonight.”
The first was a timeout that erased Mason Crosby’s 61-yard field goal in the third quarter; the second telling the Rams to go deep on Hanie’s last pass.
Going into the season, Lubick said all he wanted was to run onto the field with his son Marc, the Rams’ receivers coach who has battled a rare form of cancer since early March.
“For me, everything else is gravy,” Lubick said.
When Gov. Bill Owens presented Lubick with the CU-CSU series’ Centennial Cup trophy, Lubick immediately turned it over to his son and Rams offensive coordinator Dan Hammerschmidt, who lost his wife, Karen, to cancer in mid-July.
Hammerschmidt and CSU defensive coordinator Steve Stanard, both the object of fans’ criticism a year ago, nearly tackled each other in joy after the game.
“I have Karen with me right here,” Hammerschmidt said, pointing to his wedding ring.
He admitted it wasn’t an easy 60 minutes without a running game to help work the clock. “We were frustrated a lot of the game. You have to have a positive attitude even though you are chewing guys’ butts saying, ‘Let’s get going.’ But it was great. It was awesome.”
Hanie represented CSU’s entire first-half offense, completing all nine of his passes. His scoring run in the first quarter and 5-yard TD pass to Kory Sperry in the second quarter was all CSU would need.
CSU’s defense had just as much invested.
“We’re a team playing for ‘Hammer’ and Marc and we’re playing for each other,” said CSU defensive end Jesse Nading.
Hanie, who never lost his poise despite constant pressure from defensive end Abraham Wright and linebacker Jordon Dizon, who combined for five of CU’s six sacks, said “a couple of times I was a little dizzy.”
Before CSU fans start making reservations for the Las Vegas Bowl, home of the Mountain West Conference championship, they should remember the Rams have defeated a Division I-AA team and a team, albeit from the Big 12, that lost its opener to a Div. I-AA team. But it was CSU’s first win in five tries against a school from a Bowl Championship Series conference. The Buffs, meanwhile, extended their losing streak to six games dating to last season, longest since 1980.
CU surprise quarterback starter Bernard Jackson knocked the Rams back on their heels with a nine-play, 65-yard drive on the game’s first series. It was CU’s lone TD of the game. Crosby’s 40-yard field goal was set up by a fumbled Damon Morton reception with 12:43 left in the second quarter. All six Weber State points a week earlier were set up by CSU turnovers.
Jackson completed eight-of-13 passes for 70 yards and, counting sacks, was held to 30 yards on 18 carries.
“If they beat us throwing, they could go ahead and do it,” Lubick said. “They were not going to beat us on the run. I told Stanard to blitz on every down.”
As soon as the Rams regrouped on defense, CSU came up with four sacks – half by safety Mike Pag- notta, who had four tackles for 22 yards in losses. As it had the week before, CSU’s front seven dominated the line of scrimmage, led by Nading’s seven tackles.
“This is the biggest win I have ever been involved in,” Pagnotta said. “And to come out and have our defense play like we did and to hold them and play really well, I’ve never had feeling like this before.”
“We’re starting to have a little attitude and swagger,” Nading said. “If we keep working we’ll have a pretty good defense.”
After the Rams used up more than nine minutes only to see Jason Smith go wide on a field-goal attempt of 34 yards with 10:04 left in the game, the CSU defense returned to the field well-rested to finish out the win.
Staff writer Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
CSU report card
Offense
C – That’s an A for the passing game, with Caleb Hanie hitting his first 14 throws, combined with an F for the 15 net rushing yards.
Defense
A – The Rams made a complete recovery after CU’s surprise pick at starting quarterback, and have given up one TD in eight quarters this season.
Special teams
C – Best play was wiping a 61-yard Mason Crosby field goal off the board.
Overall
A – CSU avoided miscues that had led to three consecutive meltdowns in this series, while dominating on defense and being poised on offense.
– Natalie Meisler
CU report card
Offense
D – Junior quarterback Bernard Jackson gave a quick spark to CU’s offense, but as the game went on, the Buffs’ ability to move the ball got worse and worse.
Defense
B – Abraham Wright and Jordon Dizon led a CU defense that had six sacks and a number of others that were nullified because of penalties. The rushing defense was stout.
Special teams
B – All-America senior Mason Crosby made a 61-yard field goal that was nullified because of a CSU timeout. He missed the ensuing try, but did make a 40-yarder.
Overall
C – There was improvement in most areas, but the winless Buffs have a long way to go. CU’s offense, which totaled only 146 yards Saturday on 48 plays, still has many issues to address. The Buffs’ defense will be counted on to hold opponents down while the offense works them out.
– Chris Dempsey
