FORT COLLINS — Colorado State’s 452 passing yards in the victory over UC Davis on Saturday set a school record, surpassing the 449 yards the Rams gained through the air against Hawaii in 1987.
Starter Garrett Grayson was 22-for-31 for 425 yards and four touchdowns, and backup Nick Stevens completed all three of his passes for 27 yards.
Grayson became the ninth CSU quarterback to throw for four TDs in a game.
The Rams’ 676 yards of total offense were second in program history only to the 693 yards run up against Tennessee-Chattanooga in 1996.
Attendance. With perfect weather and an afternoon start, the Rams’ home opener against the FCS opponent drew an announced crowd of 21,202 to Hughes Stadium.
While that figure was unimpressive, it was better than the four sub-20,000 crowd counts announced for home games last season.
The most direct comparison was when the Rams’ meeting with Cal Poly in Week 3 drew only 14,198.
Cal Poly and UC Davis are the Big Sky Conference’s football-only members.
Injury report. Offensive tackle Nick Callender, already a stand-in for the injured Ty Sambrailo (sprained knee), and linebacker Aaron Davis both left the game with ankle issues, but CSU coach Jim McElwain didn’t believe either would be considered serious when additionally evaluated Sunday.
Davis finished with seven tackles, second behind linebacker Nu’uvali Fa’apito.
“I think we know, as a team, how good we can be,” Davis said. “We’ve just got to come out and execute on Saturdays.”
Oden rewarded. The arrival of transfers Treyous Jarrells and Dee Hart eventually knocked Jasen Oden Jr., listed as the top running back on the precamp depth chart, down a couple of spots.
PHOTOS:
But the converted defensive back has reacted well, and he scored twice — on runs of 1 and 50 yards — and finished with 68 yards on six carries against the Aggies.
“All three of us push each other in practice still, and it felt good that when I scored that touchdown, the first person I celebrated with was Dee,” Oden said. “He keeps on telling me to keep my head up and practice hard. I’ve just been waiting on the opportunity.”
