FORT COLLINS — Utah State coach Matt Wells could only stand and watch as Colorado State kicker Jared Roberts lined up for a 46-yard field-goal attempt with four seconds showing on the clock.
Wells had done all he could by calling timeout twice, hoping to disrupt the concentration under pressure that Roberts had to be feeling. The score was tied at 13-all, and supremacy in the Mountain Division of the Mountain West was at stake.
“I didn’t have anymore timeouts, or I would have called another one,” Wells said.
Roberts, who had missed from 47 yards earlier, made the kick, and the homecoming celebration was on.
Wells knew exactly what the outcome meant.
“It threw it into a frenzy,” Wells said when asked about the conference race. “It’s anybody’s game now. There are a lot of teams with one loss. We don’t control our own destiny. Any last-second loss is a gut-wrenching loss.”
Wells gave credit to Roberts for making the kick under great pressure.
“Credit to him, he stayed focused and made it,” Wells said.
But he couldn’t dwell just on the final seconds of the game.
The Rams were 88 yards away from the Utah State goal line with 58 seconds to play in regulation and in need of something special to avoid overtime. A 46-yard pass from Garrett Grayson to Rashard Higgins did the trick.
“They threw a shot and put it between two safeties,” Wells said.
Added defensive end Jordan Nielsen: “It was a hard feeling seeing that play go. We just had to work harder to get the block on the field goal. We got a good push, but it wasn’t enough.”
Wells saw some other things that weren’t enough.
The Aggies’ offense had to play most of the second half with starting quarterback Darrell Garretson, who was 14-of-19 for 132 yards and an interception, out of the game because of an injury to his lower right arm.
Senior reserve Craig Harrison came on but was only able to lead the Aggies to three points in the second half, completing 5-of-12 passes for 28 yards.
“It was uphill sledding, but he (Harrison) came in and battled,” Wells said. “He came in and did all right.”
