LARAMIE — The blot on Colorado State’s easy win over Wyoming on Saturday was that the Rams again were penalty-prone, with 10 for 101 yards — including an illegal-block call that negated wide receiver Deionte Gaines’ 75-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
The Rams were ahead 23-0 at the time and three plays later punted for the first time in the game. CSU coach Mike Bobo brought up that penalty when he praised the work of his offensive line.
“They did an outstanding job except for the penalties,” he said. “We get (the long) run called back because you go back and block below the waist, behind the ball, which is not smart. Some penalties in the second half, probably (because) they were doing a lot of slanting and moving to try to stop the run game, and probably we were reaching and grabbing. I’ve got to look at the tape.”
Otherwise, Bobo said, the running backs and offensive line lived up to the challenge he had presented to running backs coach Bryan Applewhite and offensive line coach/offensive coordinator Will Friend, plus the players.
“I told Coach Friend and Coach Applewhite and the linemen and the running backs, ‘This game’s on you,’ ” Bobo said. “And those guys responded.”
Hunt delivers. The punt after that called-back touchdown run was Hayden Hunt’s booming 67-yarder that went out of bounds at the Wyoming 5.
“I can’t say enough about our punter,” Bobo said. “I said we were going to punt it, and he did his job by flipping the field position over and over again.”
Hunt averaged 49.2 yards on five punts.
Hollywood Update. Rashard Higgins had four receptions for 49 yards for the Rams, and he and Wyoming cornerback Robert Priester engaged in noticeable verbal jousting much of the afternoon.
“You know what, the official came over and was like, ‘Stop that, stop that!’ ” Higgins said. “I was like, ‘We’re just out here having fun.’ That’s all part of the game. Coach Bobo told me I needed to block a little better, so I said, ‘Coach, I’m going to show you what I’ve got.’ “
Higgins added: “This is a great team win. I felt like we showcased what we could do.”
Cartwright’s day. Sixth-year senior tight end Kivon Cartwright had four catches for the Rams, for 56 yards. It was part of the puzzle as the Rams had the ball for 37 minutes.
“All it boils down to us on offense, everyone doing their job,” Cartwright said. “We’ve gone over film and maybe we were half a block short, one block short, from popping a big one. So all it is is doing your job.”
Flat-booted tie. The win pulled CSU into a 24-24 deadlock in the 48 games played for the Bronze Boot.
