FORT COLLINS, Colo.—Ben DeLine’s teammates will now remember his name.
The Colorado State freshman kicker hit a 20-yard field goal with no time remaining, lifting the Rams to a 23-20 win over Sacramento State on Saturday.
DeLine also connected on a 36-yard field goal to tie the game with 1:29 remaining.
“I’m proud of that kid,” said Billy Farris, who threw for 321 yards and one touchdown. “What’s his (first) name?”
Ben.
“I won’t (forget it),” Farris said with a laugh.
DeLine wasn’t supposed to even be in this situation.
Not this year. Not with senior kicker Jason Smith coming back. But when Smith broke his right arm in a scrimmage before the season, DeLine was thrust into the job.
No pressure.
In fact, he labeled his two clutch kicks “fun” and a “blast.”
“You can’t let the nerves get to you at all,” said DeLine, whose father, Steve, was a kicker for the Rams from 1984-86. “You’ve got to stay confident.”
It took a pop by James Morehead and a fumble recovery from Mike Pagnotta to survive a scare from the Championship Subdivision Hornets, who haven’t beaten a Bowl Subdivision foe in 17 years.
Morehead broke through the line with just over a minute left, crunching tailback Evander Wilkins, who coughed up the football. Pagnotta was there on the scene to pounce on it at the Sacramento State 25.
“It was right there in front of me like you dream of,” Pagnotta said.
Four plays later, DeLine trotted out for the game-winning kick.
“It’s not surprising,” CSU coach Steve Fairchild said. “I figured he would knock it through. That’s what he does.”
DeLine’s kick made Fairchild’s home debut a success. The fact the Rams (1-1) had to take the Hornets (1-1) down to the wire mattered little.
“You’ll take it any way that you can win it,” Fairchild said.
Rashaun Greer caught nine passes for 152 yards and Kory Sperry had five catches for 62 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown in the first half.
“We found a way to make enough plays,” Fairchild said. “Fortunately, there was the turnover.”
Indeed.
The game looked like it was headed to overtime before the fumble.
Sacramento State coach Marshall Sperbeck said his quarterback, Jason Smith, saw the Rams blitzing but elected not to call timeout.
“He probably should have, looking back at it,” Sperbeck said. “That was really his only mistake of the game.”
Smith guided the Hornets to the brink of an upset, finishing with 205 yards and two touchdown passes. He gave the Hornets a 20-17 lead with 10:03 remaining after hitting Tony Washington for a 40-yard touchdown.
But Colorado State came right back with a time-consuming 16-play drive, tying the game on DeLine’s 36-yard field goal.
The Rams then won it with DeLine’s chip shot.
To think, DeLine was looking at a possible redshirt year up until the injury to CSU’s Jason Smith.
“I always thought about it,” he said of being the starter. “But I never thought it would actually happen.”
