FORT COLLINS — There were plenty of reasons why Colorado State beat rival Air Force 38-23 Saturday afternoon, but the Rams’ ability to keep drives moving, plus their success in the red zone rank near the top of the list.
The Rams converted 10-of-15 times on third down and were 4-for-4 scoring inside the red zone.
“I feel like we struggled on third down,” said Air Force defensive back Weston Steelhammer, who managed to stop a first-half CSU drive with an interception. “We were trying to get off the field and we were letting them complete balls deep down the field, and that hurt us the whole second half.”
Said Rams quarterback Nick Stevens: “We had energy on offense during the entire game, and we didn’t have that lull like we’ve had before. That was a key for us on offense — being able to move the ball on every drive.”
Bustin’ loose. Air Force junior fullback Shayne Davern broke loose for a 60-yard touchdown in the first quarter, cutting CSU’s lead to 7-6 (kicker Drew Oehrle missed the conversion). It was the longest touchdown of Davern’s career, besting a 55-yarder he had against Western Michigan in the 2014 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
Misleading stats. The final game book didn’t really tell the story Saturday. CSU had just a 22-21 advantage in first downs and a 456-406 edge in total offensive yards. But the Falcons had a 31:35-28:25 edge in possession time.
Road woes. Saturday’s loss in Fort Collins brought Air Force’s record away from Falcon Stadium to 0-3. Air Force’s next game away from home is Oct. 31 at Hawaii. The Falcons end the season with two road games, Nov. 20 at Boise State and Nov. 28 at New Mexico.
Footnotes. For just the second time this season, CSU never trailed in the game. … CSU junior linebacker Deonte Clyburn had a career-best 10 tackles and also forced a fumble that led to a field goal. Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
