Houston — Colorado State’s habit of losing has taken on an air of predictability. The Rams play well enough in the first half today, stutter on offense in the second half and then destruct on defense.
CSU’s losing streak stretched to 10 after it collapsed to Houston 38-27 in the Cougars’ home opener.
Leading 17-3 at halftime, the streak had all the appearances of ending just in time to start Mountain West Conference play next week at TCU.
But two Houston scores in an 11-second span in the third quarter pulled the Cougars into a 24-all tie after trailing the entire game.
Backup quarterback Case Keenum hit Perry McDaniel for a 27-yard touchdown, then Houston safety Kenneth Fontenette returned a rare Kyle Bell fumble 37 yards with the tying score. The next time the Rams had the ball back in the oppressive heat, the offense wilted to three-and-out.
Jason Smith kicked his first pressure field goal of the year for the Rams when his 31-yarder with 9:26 left broke a 24-24 deadlock.
But Houston drove to take a 31-27 lead with 6:18 left on Keenum’s 8-yard keeper. When the Rams couldn’t convert on fourth-and-1, the Cougars used six plays to go 54 yards to entend the final margin.
In the first half, the Rams (0-3) converted back-to-back drives on the Houston 44 into just one 40-yard field goal by Smith. His kick with 5:15 before halftime extended CSU’s lead to 17-3.
CSU scored on its first two drives. Sophomore wide receiver Dion Morton and freshman reserve running back John Mosure caught their first career touchdown passes.
The Rams came out resolved to run Bell and the Cougars were equally determined to stop him. Hanie had his way with the passing game, completing eight of 10 before halftime.
Footnotes
CSU safety Klint Kubiak’s long awaited day to play in front of his father, Gary, ended in pregame warmups. Klint Kubiak fainted and was taken to the locker room. The Houston Texans coach left the stands to take his son to the hospital. Klint Kubiak had planned to remain in Houston for today’s game with the Indianapolis Colts. . The Texans were well-represented on CSU’s sideline with offensive line coach and ex-Ram assistant John Benton, cornerback Dexter Wynn and practice squad offensive lineman Mike Brisiel. Also, ex-Ram tight end Joel Dreessen, cut recently by the Texans, visited his old coaches. Dreessen expected to re-sign.
