FORT COLLINS — Apparently the football season has become so horrifying that instead of covering their eyes at the game, Colorado State fans chose not to bring their eyes to the stadium at all.
Blustery, cold, fall conditions and a disappointing season resulted in a very sparse Hughes Stadium crowd Saturday, announced at 16,811. Those in attendance witnessed a reinvigorated Rams team and a star in the making in running back Chris Nwoke, but they also witnessed more potentially major injuries and CSU’s fifth consecutive loss, 18-15 to San Diego State.
The near-miss factor of it all has been the cruelest blow. Three of CSU’s five losses in the streak are seven points or fewer. Saturday’s result was the team’s second consecutive three-point loss.
“We’re all sick and tired of losing, but we’re battling out there, playing our hearts out,” quarterback Pete Thomas said. “Things just aren’t turning out the right way for us.”
Saturday, Thomas himself became one of the things not turning out right. The sophomore starter suffered a sprained left knee in the second quarter and did not return. Add Thomas’ to a list of injuries that have hurt the Rams this season.
The shame of it all was a waste of a career performance of Nwoke, who trampled San Diego State’s run defense for a career-high 232 yards and a touchdown, then smiled and credited his offensive line afterward.
“Offensive linemen, wide receivers, everybody did their part,” Nwoke said. “They blocked phenomenal.”
But that brought him to the underlying point.
“I just wish we could have gotten that ‘W,’ ” Nwoke said. “Everybody is playing their hearts out, playing with so much will and passion and playing for each other. Just not to get that ‘W,’ you know. We’ve got to keep our heads up and keep going.”
Nwoke’s 63-yard run opened the scoring for the Rams (3-6, 1-3 MW) in the first quarter and got the team off to a solid start. San Diego State, however, scored 15 unanswered points that included an accidental two-point conversion off of a botched point-after snap that turned into a scoring pass, and held that lead into the fourth quarter.
The Aztecs were able to do that by being selfish with the ball. CSU’s defense couldn’t get SDSU off the field. The Aztecs soaked up a huge amount of the clock with 40:36 of possession. Colorado State ran just nine plays in the second quarter and four plays in the third, and ended with only 19:24 of possession time. Things improved in the fourth quarter, when CSU ran more plays (27) than it had in the previous three quarters combined (25), but with true freshman quarterback Garrett Grayson getting his feet wet in his first college action, those plays weren’t enough.
“When that happens, you can say a lot about play-calling, but you need opportunities to call,” CSU coach Steve Fairchild said. “Maybe a quicker stop, maybe one more conversion on third down might have changed things. But woulda, shoulda, coulda. Nobody is feeling sorry for us.”
Grayson led a fourth-quarter touchdown drive, and then ran in a two-point conversion to tie the game at 15. But SDSU answered with a field goal and made that margin stand up.
“We got through it,” SDSU quarterback Ryan Lindley said. “A win is a win.”
Those are words the CSU Rams long to be able to say.
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
Three questions
1. Will Rams linebacker Mychal Sisson be able to play? No. He tried as much as he could, but he was not cleared to play. It means he will likely be on target to play in the next game, at Texas Christian, which was his original goal. Sisson returned to practice last week after missing two months with a broken right ankle. He participated enough to make it a game-time decision.
2. Can CSU’s defense contain San Diego State running back Ronnie Hillman? Yes. The explosiveness was taken out Hillman’s game as CSU did a good job on the nation’s second-leading rusher. It did not stop San Diego State from using him liberally in the run game. Hillman finished with 80 yards on 24 carries.
3. Can CSU run against San Diego State? Yes. Chris Nwoke had a career-high 175 yards rushing — in the first half. San Diego State came in with a porous run defense and the Rams exploited it all night long. Nwoke led the way with a career-high 232 yards and a touchdown, and CSU ran for 235 as a team.
Chris Dempsey, The Denver Post
Key stat
21:02: San Diego State’s advantage in time of possession against Colorado State. The Aztecs had the ball for 40 minutes, 36 seconds to the Rams’ 19:24.
Key play
San Diego State’s botched PAT turned into a two-point conversion. The wacky play gave SDSU an 8-7 lead.
“We’re all sick and tired of losing, but we’re battling out there, playing our hearts out. Things just aren’t turning out the right way for us.”
Pete Thomas, CSU quarterback
