FRESNO, calif. — Colorado State was supposed to be the team with something to play for Saturday night.
Luckily for the Rams, Joe Hansley was around to remind them.
The senior scored three touchdowns on the night — the first two on punt returns — first giving Colorado State hope, then the lead in a 34-31 victory at Bulldog Stadium.
It gives Colorado State (7-5, 5-3 Mountain West) four straight wins to end the regular season, guaranteeing first-year head coach Mike Bobo a winning season as the Rams head to a bowl game to be determined. Fresno State (3-9, 2-6) is done for the year.
But early on, the Rams were stagnant on offense and grasping at air on defense. Fresno State rolled out to a 24-7 lead late in the first half behind rushing touchdowns by three different players. CSU had rushed for minus-2 yards in the first quarter, while the Bulldogs were marching down the field behind the efforts of quarterback Kilton Anderson and running back Marteze Waller.
Hansley gave the Rams an early lead with his 75-yard punt return.
Fresno State then scored 24 straight points heading into halftime, getting a 33-yard field goal from Kody Kroening, followed by scoring runs by Anderson (18), linebacker Ejiro Ederaine (1) and Dustin Garrison (11).
Just before half, Hansley struck again, breaking off a 61-yard punt return for a score to cut the lead to 24-14 at halftime.
CSU’s special teams continued their magic out of the break as Kevin Nutt opened the half with a 96-yard kickoff return, making CSU the first team in the past 10 seasons to have three kick returns for a score in a game.
CSU’s running game started to gain steam in the second half, leading to a pair of scoring drives.
True freshman Izzy Matthews, who finished with 140 yards, broke free for a 39-yard touchdown run to put Colorado State back in the lead, but only for a short spell. But after a 2-yard scoring run by Waller put the host back in front, Hansley struck again, catching a 24-yard pass from Nick Stevens with 10:03 remaining, his sixth touchdown catch of the season.
