Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
UNLV
Rams win in thrilling fashion
10/4/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 4, 2008
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By Paul Baker
Athletic Media Relations
FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- For the third home game in a row, the Rams waited to the last possible moment to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Senior running back Gartrell Johnson ran right through the middle of the UNLV defense to score with only 9 seconds left to erase a 28-27 deficit.
"I don't mind putting the team on my shoulders as long as we win," said Johnson, who had career highs in both carries (33) and rushing yards (191), and tied a career high with three TDs. "That was probably one of the best UNLV teams I've seen in awhile. We just came out and had the mindset that we weren't gonna stop."
After Johnson's final score, UNLV tried a multitude of laterals to try to find space to perhaps run the ball back for a game tying score. But CSU sophomore John Mosure picked up the bouncing ball and ran 7 yards for a touchdown to seal the Runnin' Rebels fate, 41-28.
"He took control," Head Coach Steve Fairchild said. "He just hammered it up in there. He's hard to tackle. You know, a guy his size, safeties and linebackers don't want to keep coming at him when you're a warrior like he is."
CSU used a steady dose of Johnson throughout the game, including the game-winning drive, to pick apart the UNLV defense. It was Johnson's sixth career 100-yard game, CSU's first since he had 103 yards against Wyoming in late November last year.
UNLV took its first lead of the second half late in the fourth quarter, when Rebel quarterback Omar Clayton connected with Jerriman Robinson on a 21-yard pass with just over 6 minutes. It was the Rebels' second touchdown drive of the quarter, as they converted on 1-yard Frank Summers run to start the final stanza.
"It showed a lot of character," UNLV head coach Mike Sanford said of his team's drive late in the game. "It just seemed like we waited too long in the game on offense to get it going."
The Rebels got it going early, capping a 12-play, 66-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown run by wide receiver Ryan Wolfe.
CSU looked like it had stopped the Rebels in the first quarter, as senior safety Klint Kubiak intercepted Clayton. But a personal foul negated the play. Kubiak hurt his ankle on the interception and wouldn't return to the game. On the ensuing kickoff, Mosure fumbled the ball on the Rams 9-yard-line, giving possession right back to UNLV. The lost fumble, CSU's first all season, set up wide receiver Casey Flair's 3-yard touchdown reception.
CSU's offense came out of halftime firing on all pistons. The Rams scored 10 third-quarter points, equaling the total of points scored in the frame all year. Senior kicker Jason Smith made a 29-yard field goal to start the half off, as an interception by senior defensive end Tommie Hill set the drive in motion.
Rams junior wide receiver Rashaun Greer caught a 46-yard touchdown pass late in the quarter for senior quarterback Billy Farris' only touchdown pass of the game. Only three CSU players caught passes on the day, but Farris finished 15-of-21 for 294 yards.
One of those targets was Greer, who became only the fifth player in CSU history to eclipse 200 receiving yards in a game.
"We tend in the second half not to play as good as we do in the first half of games," Greer said after catching eight passes for 211 yards. "I guess at halftime we got all riled up, so we came up and played the second half like we played the first half."
The Rams (3-2, 1-0 MWC) have now beaten UNLV six straight times, and 12 of their last 13 dating back to 1996. The winning streak at home continues as well, as CSU has now won five games in a row in the friendly confines of Hughes Stadium, equaling its longest such streak since a five-game stretch from Nov. 13, 2004 to Oct. 22, 2005.
The Rams now look forward to hosting TCU at home next week.
