FORT COLLINS — For 58 1/2 minutes Saturday, Sacramento State was living the Appalachian State dream. Then Colorado State stirred from its hibernation.
Sacramento State had converted all three fourth-down situations, fully exploited CSU’s raw cornerbacks and generally outplayed the Rams to maintain a 20-17 lead with less than two minutes to play at Hughes Stadium.
But Ben DeLine’s game-tying field goal followed by a Hornets fumble and another DeLine field goal as time expired lifted Colorado State to a 23-20 win, the first under new head coach Steve Fairchild.
Trailing 20-17 with 10:03 to play, the Rams burned off more than 8 1/2 minutes on a 16-play drive to set up DeLine’s 36-yard field goal.
Sacramento State’s Evander Wilkins fumbled on the second play of the ensuing drive, and safety Mike Pagnotta pounced on it at the Hornets’ 25. Gartrell Johnson picked up 22 yards on three carries, and facing second-and-goal at the 3, DeLine came in and kicked the game-winner as time expired.
“You can’t let the pressure get to you,” said DeLine, a true freshman from Steamboat Springs High School who is 4-for-4 this season.
The alternative was losing to a squad picked to finish near the bottom of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) Big Sky Conference.
Until then, the Hornets were the ones having most of the fun before 20,051 in the home opener. Receiver Tony Washington singed the Rams for 117 yards and a score on seven receptions and quarterback Jason Smith was 15-of-25 for 205 yards.
“We felt like we could win,” Wilkins said.
After Johnson gave the Rams their first lead of the day, 14-10 on a 1-yard run four minutes into the third quarter, Sacramento State stormed back to go ahead 20-17 with 10:03 left on Washington’s 40-yard TD catch.
But after DeLine tied it for the Rams, Sacramento State was looking to at least keep the ball until overtime. On second down, Wilkins bobbled the ball as James Morehead rushed in. Pagnotta, blitzing on a play the Rams hadn’t run all day, recovered the Hornets’ only fumble.
“We didn’t play a great game defensively,” Pagnotta said. “To come up with a big play at the end of the game to help the team win I think that’s huge. . . . Sacramento State came out with more intensity than us from the get-go.”
Sacramento State dominated the first-half clock by a better than 2-to-1 advantage. The Hornets scored on their opening drive with a fourth-and-7 pass to Kyle Hill from the 24.
Once he saw CSU’s vulnerability at the corner, Smith kept going back.
“If I’m going to have some growing pains, I’d like to do it winning,” CSU defensive coordinator Larry Kerr said.
In his second career start, CSU quarterback Billy Farris found more of a comfort zone. He completed 21-of-33 passes and would have had a better completion percentage if not for numerous drops by his receivers.
“Farris had a good game,” Sacramento State coach Marshall Sperbeck said. “We tried to put the game in his hands and make him beat us since he had played in one game in his career.”
Fairchild said he would have preferred a better performance but, “We’re 1-1 and that’s what we set out to do this week.”
Natalie Meisler: 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
KEY STAT
20:36 to 9:24: Sacramento State’s time of possession advantage in the first half.
KEY PLAY
Tied 20-20 with 1:21 to play, CSU defensive end James Morehead crushed tailback Evander Wilkins in the backfield, forcing a fumble. Safety Mike Pagnotta recovered at Sacramento State’s 25-yard line, setting up the game-winning field goal.
QUOTE
“Ever since he’s been forced into this role, he hasn’t acted like a freshman. Knowing his dad, knowing his upbringing, it is not surprising. I was not nervous.” – CSU coach Steve Fairchild, about freshman kicker Ben DeLine, who made the game-tying and game-winning field goals and is 4-for-4 on the season since replacing injured senior Jason Smith.
Mike Chambers, The Denver Post
