LOGAN, Utah — Trailing Utah State 23-10 late in the third quarter, Saturday night, Colorado State seemed on the verge of scoring when the Rams reached the Aggies’ 21.
On the next play, running back Dalyn Dawkins got to the 13, but his fumble was recovered by the Aggies’ Jordan Nielsen.
CSU eventually got within 26-18 after that, but it was a lost opportunity.
Dawkins, who missed the Texas-San Antonio game the week before with a hamstring issue, rushed for 39 yards on 10 carries.
“I have to take ownership of that,” Dawkins said of his fumble. “Coming off my injury, I was kind of thinking about my hamstring and forgot about the ball.”
Jasen Oden Jr. again was the Rams’ leading rusher, with 55 yards on 13 carries.
Turnovers. The Rams’ other lost fumble also was in the third quarter, when quarterback Nick Stevens was hit in the pocket by David Moala on CSU’s first possession after the halftime intermission prolonged by a lightning delay. Kyler Fackrell made the recovery and returned it 12 yards to the CSU 8.
It led to a 23-yard Brock Warren field goal that put Utah State up 20-10.
CSU’s third turnover came with an asterisk, since Stevens threw a desperation toss into the end zone on fourth-and-goal on the second-to-last play of the game before the Aggies killed the clock with a kneel-down.
Line shuffle. Left guard Zack Golditch, who suffered a sprained ankle in the Rams’ win at Texas-San Antonio the previous week, wasn’t expected to play but got in for a few series against the Aggies. Sophomore Trae Moxley, from Carbondale, started in Golditch’s spot.
Delays, delays. Both teams went through the long wait through the lightning delay at halftime, of course, but it also came after CSU had a prolonged travel day Friday, with the Rams’ chartered flight from the Loveland-Fort Collins airport to Logan held up by weather issues in the area.
The traveling party arrived at its Logan hotel at 10:30 p.m., about 3½ hours behind schedule.
Coming up. The Rams’ loss in the former Romney Stadium came in the first game of a crucial three-week stretch of the CSU schedule. The Rams face Boise State and Air Force at Hughes Stadium on the next two Saturdays. Terry Frei, The Denver Post
