SAN JOSE, Calif. — There were two major questions in the wake of Colorado State’s 38-31 victory over stubborn San Jose State on Saturday night. One: Is winning ugly, even winning reeling on the ropes in the final minutes, still good enough? And two: Was another closer-than-it-needed-to-be win impressive enough to land the 8-1 Rams among the Top 25 in the rankings that will be announced Sunday?
This time, after leading the Spartans 38-24 in the fourth quarter, the Rams appeared to have allowed the tying touchdown in the final minute when San Jose State quarterback Joe Gray connected with Jabari Carr for what seemed to be a 59-yard scoring pass. But a video review confirmed Carr had stepped out of bounds when catching the pass, the TD was disallowed, and the Rams ultimately held on.
Dee Hart ran for 104 yards and four touchdowns and a hobbling Garrett Grayson — mystified by coach Jim McElwain’s comparison of his gutty effort to that of former New York Knicks center Willis Reed in the NBA playoffs of yore — threw for 290 yards and a 7-yard TD pass to Rashard Higgins as the Rams pulled out their seventh consecutive victory at Spartan Stadium.
“Figuring out a way to win, finding a way to win, I’m just really proud of our guys,” said McElwain. “Obviously, there are some things we need to work on. … We’re a long ways from where we need to be. Sometimes, when you’re winning, you just have to find ways to win some games. We’ve been on a pretty emotional roller coaster and a pretty emotional ride here since probably the Boston College game.”
The Rams perhaps will crack the Associated Press Top 25 because East Carolina — No. 23 in that poll — lost 20-10 to Temple on Saturday and the Rams had the highest point total among “others receiving votes” last week. The Pirates were 19th in the USA Today/coaches’ poll, but the Rams were second in line among the “others” in that poll, behind Wisconsin, an impressive winner over Rutgers on Saturday.
Other Saturday results will come into play in the new rankings, of course, but East Carolina’s loss had the most direct bearing on the Rams’ chances to move up.
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The College Football Playoff rankings, which list only 25 without an “others” addendum, will be announced Tuesday night.
The finish was similar to a barely hanging-on, 31-24 win at Nevada in the Rams’ previous road game, and this is beginning to look like a season in which — despite trials and tribulations and too-nervous finishes — things just go right.
“Yeah, but I think part of it is you create some of your own ‘just rights’ by how you think and how you go compete and the preparation you put in,” said McElwain. “Good football teams, they’ll stumble here and there. The key is to figure out a way how to get it done, and our team is kind of doing that a little bit. We’re getting better.”
Grayson persevered through a groin injury to complete 22-of-28 passes.
“I wasn’t comfortable at all. I’ll say that,” he said. “But it was something I knew I could get through. It wasn’t something where I knew I wouldn’t be able to walk or anything like that. … It’s something you have to battle through if you want to win and do what’s right for the team. That’s what I felt I needed to do. I wasn’t going to take myself out.”
Grayson said of winning ugly: “Like Coach said in the locker room, a win’s a win. It doesn’t matter how you do it, as long as you get a win. We won, we’re 8-1 and we’re going back to Fort Collins happy. … Whether it’s ugly, or pretty or whatever it is, we’ve figured out ways. I think that’s what makes this team so special.”
Hart’s pair of 7-yard touchdown runs in the fourth quarter put the Rams up 38-24 before near disaster struck. Gray ran 4 yards for a TD with 2:19 remaining and the Spartans — after a first recovery was nullified by an offside penalty — again recovered the onside kick. And the Rams survived to improve to 4-1 in Mountain West play after Gray’s pass to Carr was waved off.
Terry Frei: tfrei@denverpost.com or
Game balls
Tyler Ervin, San Jose State, RB — Spartans running back had a big game with 149 yards rushing, including an 89-yard touchdown.
Garrett Grayson, CSU, QB — He was hobbled and hurting Saturday, but he managed to be effective enough and even elusive.
Dee Hart, CSU, RB — Running back scored four times and rushed for 104 yards.
Terry Frei, The Denver Post
