FORT COLLINS — The change came quick as lightning Saturday night at Hughes Stadium.
On Colorado State’s third possession against the 25th-ranked Boise State Broncos, coach Mike Bobo pulled sophomore starting quarterback Nick Stevens and inserted redshirt freshman Coleman Key.
Key throws a pretty pass and possesses a strong arm, but he certainly wasn’t the magic bullet the Rams needed to pull off a big-time upset. Boise State used a cornucopia of big plays to rout the Rams 41-10.
BOXSCORE:
In his five plays under center before he got the hook, Stevens threw a single pass (one that was dropped by Xavier Williams) and was sacked for an 11-yard loss. Bobo sent Stevens back into the game late in the third quarter, but by that time CSU trailed 34-10.
Stevens, who has started all six of the Rams’ games this season, completed 8-of-10 passes for 60 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions.
Key had some nice moments, most especially when he threw a perfect 13-yard strike to Joe Hansley for a touchdown to cut Boise State’s lead to 17-7 early in the second quarter. The pass capped a 16-play, 75-yard drive that took 7 minutes, 57 seconds off the clock. It was the Rams’ longest drive of the season, in both the number of plays and time of possession.
RECAP:
But as sharp as Key was on that drive, he was inefficient and threw into coverage far too often. Key finished 5-for-19 passing for only 56 yards and two interceptions.
His most crucial mistake arrived early in the third quarter with the Broncos leading 27-10. CSU safety Nick Januska picked off Boise State quarterback Brett Rypien at the BSU 43 and returned it 3 yards to the 40. CSU had a chance to get back into the game, but on second-and-10 at the Boise State 28, Key threw into double coverage and Darian Thompson intercepted the ball at the 4-yard line, killing the drive, and killing any momentum the Rams had picked up.
Earlier this season, Bobo made it clear that he doesn’t expect either of his young quarterbacks to play the role of savior.
“The thing for me is we don’t have to be heroic at that position,” Bobo said after CSU lost its season-opener to Minnesota. “We’ve got to be able to make a routine play. We’ve got to be able to deliver the ball in the flat, hit the guy in stride. You’ve got to be able to hit open guys.”
Patrick Saunders: psaunders@denverpost.com or @psaundersdp
