FORT COLLINS — In Saturday’s otherwise dismal 37-24 loss at Boise State, Colorado State wide receivers Rashard Higgins and Joe Hansley became the first Rams duo to each surpass 100 yards receiving in the same game since 2005.
Their performance came a week after CSU coach Jim McElwain criticized his receiving corps for not playing well in a season-opening win against Colorado in which the Rams relied on the running game and Higgins and Hansley combined for just one reception.
Granted, a big portion of CSU’s 434 yards passing at Boise State came late after the Broncos led 30-10 at halftime, but overall, the passing game wasn’t to blame for the first loss of the season. Rushing for 28 yards was the primary culprit, along with missed tackles.
McElwain knows balance could ultimately be a strength of his third CSU team, and he hopes it begins to show in Saturday’s home opener against UC Davis at Hughes Stadium.
“We’ve tried, everywhere I’ve been, to probably throw it more early and then try to finish the game running the ball to win,” McElwain said Tuesday. “It’s balanced our numbers out pretty decently the first couple years here, and yet, obviously last game, if we’re throwing for 400 and whatever yards we’re probably playing catch-up, and that’s not what we strive to do.”
Higgins, who had a career-high 11 catches for 143 yards at Boise State, and Hansley (seven for 149) found their rhythm with senior quarterback Garrett Grayson, whose 434 passing yards tied Terry Nugent for the second-most in a game in school history.
More is in store.
“We’re just developing right now,” Higgins said Tuesday. “It’s still early, and we’ve got time.”
Said Hansley, “We have a long way to go as a receiver corps, but I think we’ll get there.”
Grayson finds it a luxury to have a big-play receiver like Higgins and a possession type with Hansley. And the quarterback is confident the running game will consistently amass yards as it did against CU (266).
“Coach Mac talks every day about starting fast, but I couldn’t throw the ball in the first half against Colorado, and we really couldn’t do either in the first half last week,” Grayson said. “I’m not quite sure why we’re not starting fast, but we’ll get it fixed.”
Mike Chambers: mchambers@ or
