FORT COLLINS, Colo.—The play appeared to be a mismatch: Colorado State’s 6-foot free safety Klint Kubiak going for the football in the end zone against Houston’s 6-foot-3-inch receiver L.J. Castile with the game on the line.
No contest.
Kubiak out-jumped Castile and intercepted the ball in the final eight seconds to help Colorado State (2-1) hold on for a 28-25 win Saturday.
“I got off the ground about one inch and I thought, ‘Oh, no,'” said Kubiak, whose father, Gary, coaches the Houston Texans. “It seemed like it was hanging in the air forever, but it hit my hands and I got the ball.”
Billy Farris threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns and Kubiak made the game-saving interception to hold off Houston (1-3).
Farris was 24-for-33 throwing, without an interception. Dion Morton caught five passes for 126 yards and a score for Colorado State.
Case Keenum finished 37-for-54 passing with three touchdown passes and three interceptions. The last pick ended the Cougars’ drive to overcome a 21-point deficit.
Houston lost for the third straight time despite producing 422 yards of total offense.
Trailing 21-3, the Cougars scored on their initial possession of the second half, going 85 yards on 10 plays, capped by a 4-yard touchdown pass to Mark Haffner. Two possessions later, Keenum threw a 15-yard TD pass to Tyron Carrier to cut it to 21-17 with 2:07 left in the third quarter.
Colorado State came right back with a 15-play, 73-yard scoring drive. Farris found Kory Sperry all alone in the back of the end zone for a 9-yard scoring pass to make it 28-17 with 9:27 left in the game.
The Cougars held after Mike Pagnotta gave the Rams the ball back at the 42 with an interception. Houston was within 28-25 with 2:31 left after a 3-yard TD pass from Keenum to Castile, and Keenum converted a two-point conversion pass to Castile.
The Rams ran three running plays to Johnson that netted two yards and then punted the ball away to the Cougars 32. Taking over with 1:06 remaining, Houston reached the 15-yard line with eight seconds to go. Instead of going for a tying field goal, the Cougars elected to go for the win.
Houston coach Kevin Sumlin defended the move.
“It was eight seconds and you got two plays,” Sumlin said. “It should be a touchdown or an out of bounds.”
“It would either be our ball out of bounds or we would kick a field goal and go to overtime,” Sumlin said. “He (Keenum) just threw it a little short.”
Kubiak ruined it by stepping in front of Castile in the end zone.
“It was stupid on my part, a stupid throw,” Keenum said. “We knew we had three points for sure and I tried to put it in there. That’s something you don’t try to do as a quarterback when you have three points for sure.”
Colorado State coach Steve Fairchild could only breathe a sigh of relief.
“We talked all week long that the way we were going to win this game was to make plays on all three phases,” Fairchild said. “We made plays offensively and made enough plays defensively and in the kicking game, and when it was over we had enough.”
The Rams led 7-0 after one quarter, but failed to convert on two other scoring chances. On the second play of the game, Farris hit Morton in stride for a 79-yard touchdown pass to put Colorado State ahead 7-0.
“That was the biggest drive of the game,” Farris said. “We had to make a statement right away and I thought it helped us the rest of the half.”
Kyle Bell capped a 75-yard drive with a 1-yard dive with 10:07 left in the second quarter to put Colorado State ahead 14-0.
The Cougars got their offense moving after Bell’s score but faced a 4th-and-12 at the Colorado State 36. Pagnotta sacked Keenum on a safety blitz for a 15-yard loss.
The Rams cashed in and were poised for what would have been a 47-yard field goal attempt by Ben DeLine. Holder Nick Oppenneer dropped the snap but ran 14 yards to the Cougars 16. Two plays later Johnson gave Colorado State a 21-0 lead with a 7-yard TD run.
Ben Bell made it a 21-3 game with a 17-yard field goal for the Cougars as time expired in the first half.
Fairchild provided some kudos for Farris, a senior who made only his third career start.
“We are starting to develop a quarterback and Billy is going to have some growing pains,” Fairchild said. “He’s tough and he’s a no-nonsense guy. I can yell and curse at him and he doesn’t blink.”
