FORT COLLINS — With the witching hour quickly approaching at Sonny Lubick Field late Saturday night, the weird was waiting to wrestle with Colorado State. A 25-point lead flittered away. Touchdowns piled high. Midnight came and passed.
And as Mountain West-best Boise State charged back into view, the Rams let slip away a game that devolved from budding blowout victory to crushing, embarrassing defeat. Colorado State’s fumbled on a run up the middle in overtime as the Broncos capped a furious rally for a 59-52 win over the Rams early Sunday morning.
Alex Mattison’s four-yard run around the left end gave Boise State its first lead of the game on the first possession of overtime. And the Rams, who led for nearly 60 minutes before crumbling late, lost a third consecutive game.
“It’s going to hurt for a long time,” Colorado State coach said. “It should hurt.”
Colorado State (6-5, 4-3 Mountain West) had already punched its bowl pass last month, but without a signature victory, and coming off losses to Front Range rivals Air Force and Wyoming, Bobo’s team could not afford to roll over against the Broncos (8-2, 6-0).
Boddie’s touchdown run from four yards out with 3 minutes, 2 seconds remaining in regulation gave the Rams a 14-point lead. But Boise State scored 21 points in the final two minutes (plus overtime) to cap a comeback. Colorado State, the most active offense in the Mountain West, needed every yard to keep alive their slimming chances at a conference title. That idea is dead.
The teams combined for more than 1,200 yards of total offense, a marathon offensive battle on the ground and through the air. Colorado State alone ran 95 plays from scrimmage.
“We just needed 96,” said Bobo, his eyes red and nose sniffling from the cold. “There are a million plays in my head right now that were opportunities for us to finish the game. And we couldn’t finish.”
Mattison rushed for 242 yards for Boise State, 167 of them after halftime, and Brett Rypien threw for 331 yards. They spoiled what would have been one of Colorado State’s best offensive efforts this season.
The Rams scored on every one of their five possessions in the first half. But they couldn’t reach the end zone on a first-and-goal early in the fourth quarter, leading to a field goal snapped from the 1.
“We can’t seem to find the ability to make that play,” Bobo said. “It’s disappointing.”
Stevens had his hand in three Colorado State touchdowns and he threw for 309 yards and two passing TDs. But his 10-yard rushing touchdown early in the second half seemed to save the Rams. They had a 35-10 lead on Boise late in the first half before Boise scored 21 unanswered points on three consecutive drives, including two long TD runs from Mattison, to draw within four.
Everything was falling apart for CSU. Stevens was nearly intercepted twice. His telegraphed pass late in the second quarter nearly turned into a interception with room to run for a touchdown the other way, but Kekaula Kaniho dropped the ball. Stevens was nearly picked off again early in the third.
But as Stevens and running back Dayln Dawkins took control, the Rams drove 68 yards to Boise State’s 10. From the shotgun, Stevens faked a handoff to Dawkins, then scrambled left and left Broncos safety Kekoa Nawahine grasping for his shoelaces. Stevens’ touchdown stopped the bleeding.
They never should have bled. The Rams from the jump appeared ready to roll on the Broncos. Dawkins, a senior running back, plowed forward for 54 yards on five carries on the game’s first drive, including a 39-yard run off right tackle and a 10-yard touchdown rush. But Dawkins last week ran for 154 yards in CSU’s 16-13 Bronze Boot loss at Wyoming. His 90 yards on 18 carries in the first half Saturday was not a harbinger of victory.
Colorado State followed with four more touchdowns, scoring on each of its first-half possessions. The Rams dominated a Boise State defense that ranked 15th in the nation and eighth against the run. Boddie’s 1-yard run early in the second quarter capped a 10-play, 64-yard CSU drive. Dawkins ran in again with 2:26 remaining before halftime, a two-yard punch-in that ended a 14-play, 73-yard drive.
Dawkins, though, was not available in overtime, Bobo said. The Rams training staff told the coach their leading rusher was stuck on the bench.
“We wanted to push the pace and be aggressive,” Bobo said. “We wanted to keep the hammer down the whole game.”
Stevens, a senior from Murrieta, Calif., collected Colorado State’s career TD passing record before intermission. His toss to Gallup gave him 65 TD passes, knocking off the record once held by Garrett Grayson, the QB who started in front of Stevens three years ago and was drafted in the third round by the New Orleans Saints.
Dawkins finished with 161 rushing yards — his sixth 100-yard-plus rushing effort in his past seven games. Gallup, the nation’s leading receiver, caught 10 passes for 102 yards. Boddie’s 4-yard TD run with 3:02 remaining finally pushed the Rams into a 14-point lead, seemingly enough to withstand a Sean Modster’s 13-yard TD reception for Boise with 1:41 remaining.
But Boise got the ball back after an onside kick — “probably the best onside kick I’ve ever seen,” Bobo said — and drove 45 yards in 43 seconds. Rypien connected with Jake Roh for a 6-yard TD pass with 0:57 left to tie the game.
“There was a little bit of hope at the end instead of believing,” Bobo said. “We were trying to hold on.”
