Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, October 25
Fort Collins, Colo.
5 PM
Colorado State
7-1 , 3-1
45
vs
31
Wyoming
3-5 , 1-3
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Wyoming
3
0
7
21
31
Colorado State
10
14
14
7
45
Football Recap: Offense explodes in Border War showdown
10/25/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 25, 2014
Athletic Media Relations
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The Colorado State Rams (7-1, 3-1 MW) kept the Bronze Boot in Fort Collins with a 45-31 win over Border War rival Wyoming (3-5, 1-3 MW) in front of a sold-out Hughes Stadium on Saturday night.
The Rams improved to 7-1 for the first time since 2000, and have now won six-consecutive games, and 11 of their last 13, at Hughes stadium. Colorado State’s six-game winning streak is also the program’s longest winning streak since it rattled off six straight in 2002.
“That was a great crowd, wasn’t it?” Head Coach Jim McElwain said. “I thought the crowd and our fans really gave us a home field advantage; I can’t say enough about the energy of our crowd.”
Senior quarterback Garrett Grayson and sophomore wide receiver Rashard Higgins each continued their historic seasons on a night where records were made to be broken. Grayson started the night scorching hot, connecting on each of his first 13 passes, which fell one short of Colorado State’s single-game record for consecutive completions. On the night, Grayson completed 18-of-21 for 390 yards and a career-high five touchdown passes. With five touchdown passes on the night, Grayson moved into first place all-time in CSU’s career touchdown passes with 52, while his 85.7 percent completion is the second-highest mark in a single game by a CSU quarterback.
“I think his preparation this week was excellent,” McElwain said of his senior quarterback. “The game kind of slowed down for him, he was throwing on time, and that’s a good performance by a senior in a rivalry game. I know how important this game was to him.”
The Rams got off to a quick start in the game, moving the ball 71 yards on 11 plays on their initial drive of the game. CSU got as close as the one yard line on the opening drive, but had to settle for a 20-yard field goal from senior kicker Jared Roberts with 9:55 left in the first quarter.
Just as Colorado State’s offense got off to a quick start, so did CSU’s defense. On its first drive of the game, the Cowboys only managed to take 36 seconds off the clock, after moving back two yards in three plays, before giving the ball right back to the Rams. Once again, CSU’s offense went right to work as Grayson found junior running back Dee Hart on a wheel route for a 21-yard touchdown pass to give the Rams a 10-0 lead with 6:42 left in the quarter.
Wyoming was able to slow down CSU’s scorching-hot offense on its next drive, simply by sustaining a drive and keeping the Rams’ offense on the sidelines. The Cowboys took 5:45 off the clock before chipping away at the lead with a 31-yard field goal to make it 10-3 with 51 seconds left in the first quarter.
That would be as close as the Cowboys would get for the rest of the night, as nothing was slowing down Grayson and the Rams’ versatile offensive attack. On the third play of its third drive, Grayson connected on a 65-yard touchdown strike to junior wide receiver Joe Hansley with 14:51 left in the first half.
On its very next drive, the Rams once again found the end zone, this time courtesy of a 43-yard catch-and-run from Grayson to Higgins for a 24-3 lead with 9:10 left in the half. It was the first of two touchdowns for Higgins, who finished the night with 174 yards on five receptions, marking the fourth-straight game that the sophomore receiver has piled up at least 174 receiving yards.
The two sides went into the break with the Rams holding a 24-3 advantage and dictating the tempo of the game both offensively and defensively. Coming out of the break, the Rams’ defense picked up right where it had left out and promptly got the ball back in the hands of its offense. On the first drive of the second half, Grayson only needed five plays to move CSU 73 yards down the field, capping off the drive with his fourth touchdown of the game, this time to freshman wide receiver Xavier Williams. It was Williams’ first career touchdown catch.
Down 31-3, Wyoming responded with its best drive to that point. The Cowboys kept the ball for 6:20 over 13 plays as they maneuvered 75 yards down the field before finishing off the long drive with a 1-yard touchdown rush from Brian Hill, cutting the gap to 31-10 with 4:24 left in the 3rd quarter.
The Rams would just need one play to respond, though. Once again, Grayson found Higgins for a screen pass, but Higgins made a defender miss and turned it into an electrifying 73-yard touchdown to push the lead back to 38-10. Higgins now has 12 touchdowns on the year which is a single-season record for a Colorado State receiver. Higgins’ 12 touchdowns and 1,137 receiving yards each lead all FBS receivers nationally.
“He doesn’t look like he’s moving that fast, but believe me, the guy is moving that fast,” McElwain said of Higgins. “He’s got a real good knack and great timing.”
The Cowboys and Rams traded touchdown drives on their next two drives, respectively. Wyoming’s touchdown came on the ground on a 4th-and-goal rush from Hill, while Colorado State’s also came on the ground, a 6-yard rush from Treyous Jarrells. The Rams scored on seven of their first eight drives in the game, with the only non-scoring drive being a result of a missed 58-yard field goal from Jared Roberts as time expired in the first half. The Rams also had six scoring drives of over 65 yards on the day.
Wyoming added a pair of late touchdowns to close the gap to the final score of 45-31. As a team, the Rams out-gained the Cowboys 558-454.
“It was a little bit quieter than it usually is after a big win,” Hansley said. “The team’s just starting to understand that, ‘yeah, we won,’ but we didn’t finish the way we wanted to. I think it just says that we’re starting to get it more; we’re pushing to be better every day.
Colorado State will get that opportunity next as it travels to San Jose to take on the Spartans in another Mountain West showdown. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network and will kick off at 5 p.m. MT.
Final Stats |
Quotes |
Notes |
Photo Gallery 1 
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Photo Gallery 2 |
Photo Gallery (Dan Byers)
Athletic Media Relations
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The Colorado State Rams (7-1, 3-1 MW) kept the Bronze Boot in Fort Collins with a 45-31 win over Border War rival Wyoming (3-5, 1-3 MW) in front of a sold-out Hughes Stadium on Saturday night.
The Rams improved to 7-1 for the first time since 2000, and have now won six-consecutive games, and 11 of their last 13, at Hughes stadium. Colorado State’s six-game winning streak is also the program’s longest winning streak since it rattled off six straight in 2002.
“That was a great crowd, wasn’t it?” Head Coach Jim McElwain said. “I thought the crowd and our fans really gave us a home field advantage; I can’t say enough about the energy of our crowd.”
Senior quarterback Garrett Grayson and sophomore wide receiver Rashard Higgins each continued their historic seasons on a night where records were made to be broken. Grayson started the night scorching hot, connecting on each of his first 13 passes, which fell one short of Colorado State’s single-game record for consecutive completions. On the night, Grayson completed 18-of-21 for 390 yards and a career-high five touchdown passes. With five touchdown passes on the night, Grayson moved into first place all-time in CSU’s career touchdown passes with 52, while his 85.7 percent completion is the second-highest mark in a single game by a CSU quarterback.
“I think his preparation this week was excellent,” McElwain said of his senior quarterback. “The game kind of slowed down for him, he was throwing on time, and that’s a good performance by a senior in a rivalry game. I know how important this game was to him.”
The Rams got off to a quick start in the game, moving the ball 71 yards on 11 plays on their initial drive of the game. CSU got as close as the one yard line on the opening drive, but had to settle for a 20-yard field goal from senior kicker Jared Roberts with 9:55 left in the first quarter.
Just as Colorado State’s offense got off to a quick start, so did CSU’s defense. On its first drive of the game, the Cowboys only managed to take 36 seconds off the clock, after moving back two yards in three plays, before giving the ball right back to the Rams. Once again, CSU’s offense went right to work as Grayson found junior running back Dee Hart on a wheel route for a 21-yard touchdown pass to give the Rams a 10-0 lead with 6:42 left in the quarter.
Wyoming was able to slow down CSU’s scorching-hot offense on its next drive, simply by sustaining a drive and keeping the Rams’ offense on the sidelines. The Cowboys took 5:45 off the clock before chipping away at the lead with a 31-yard field goal to make it 10-3 with 51 seconds left in the first quarter.
That would be as close as the Cowboys would get for the rest of the night, as nothing was slowing down Grayson and the Rams’ versatile offensive attack. On the third play of its third drive, Grayson connected on a 65-yard touchdown strike to junior wide receiver Joe Hansley with 14:51 left in the first half.
On its very next drive, the Rams once again found the end zone, this time courtesy of a 43-yard catch-and-run from Grayson to Higgins for a 24-3 lead with 9:10 left in the half. It was the first of two touchdowns for Higgins, who finished the night with 174 yards on five receptions, marking the fourth-straight game that the sophomore receiver has piled up at least 174 receiving yards.
The two sides went into the break with the Rams holding a 24-3 advantage and dictating the tempo of the game both offensively and defensively. Coming out of the break, the Rams’ defense picked up right where it had left out and promptly got the ball back in the hands of its offense. On the first drive of the second half, Grayson only needed five plays to move CSU 73 yards down the field, capping off the drive with his fourth touchdown of the game, this time to freshman wide receiver Xavier Williams. It was Williams’ first career touchdown catch.
Down 31-3, Wyoming responded with its best drive to that point. The Cowboys kept the ball for 6:20 over 13 plays as they maneuvered 75 yards down the field before finishing off the long drive with a 1-yard touchdown rush from Brian Hill, cutting the gap to 31-10 with 4:24 left in the 3rd quarter.
The Rams would just need one play to respond, though. Once again, Grayson found Higgins for a screen pass, but Higgins made a defender miss and turned it into an electrifying 73-yard touchdown to push the lead back to 38-10. Higgins now has 12 touchdowns on the year which is a single-season record for a Colorado State receiver. Higgins’ 12 touchdowns and 1,137 receiving yards each lead all FBS receivers nationally.
“He doesn’t look like he’s moving that fast, but believe me, the guy is moving that fast,” McElwain said of Higgins. “He’s got a real good knack and great timing.”
The Cowboys and Rams traded touchdown drives on their next two drives, respectively. Wyoming’s touchdown came on the ground on a 4th-and-goal rush from Hill, while Colorado State’s also came on the ground, a 6-yard rush from Treyous Jarrells. The Rams scored on seven of their first eight drives in the game, with the only non-scoring drive being a result of a missed 58-yard field goal from Jared Roberts as time expired in the first half. The Rams also had six scoring drives of over 65 yards on the day.
Wyoming added a pair of late touchdowns to close the gap to the final score of 45-31. As a team, the Rams out-gained the Cowboys 558-454.
“It was a little bit quieter than it usually is after a big win,” Hansley said. “The team’s just starting to understand that, ‘yeah, we won,’ but we didn’t finish the way we wanted to. I think it just says that we’re starting to get it more; we’re pushing to be better every day.
Colorado State will get that opportunity next as it travels to San Jose to take on the Spartans in another Mountain West showdown. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network and will kick off at 5 p.m. MT.
Team Stats
WY
CS
Total Yards
454
558
Pass Yards
335
411
Rushing Yards
119
147
Penalty Yards
53
95
1st Downs
25
24
3rd Downs
7
5
4th Downs
1
0
TOP
36:03
23:57
1st Quarter
WY 0, CS 3
CS - ROBERTS, Jared 20 yd field goal 11 plays, 71 yards, TOP 5:05
WY 0, CS 10
CS - HART, Dee 21 yd pass from GRAYSON, Garret (ROBERTS, Jared kick) 6 plays, 66 yards, TOP 2:37
WY 3, CS 10
WY - WILLIAMS,Stuart 31 yd field goal 9 plays, 68 yards, TOP 5:45
2nd Quarter
WY 3, CS 17
CS - HANSLEY, Joe 65 yd pass from GRAYSON, Garret (ROBERTS, Jared kick) 3 plays, 76 yards, TOP 0:54
WY 3, CS 24
CS - HIGGINS, Rashar 43 yd pass from GRAYSON, Garret (ROBERTS, Jared kick) 5 plays, 65 yards, TOP 2:27
3rd Quarter
WY 3, CS 31
CS - WILLIAMS, Xavie 21 yd pass from GRAYSON, Garret (ROBERTS, Jared kick) 5 plays, 73 yards, TOP 1:47
WY 10, CS 31
WY - HILL, Brian 1 yd run (WILLIAMS,Stuart kick), 13 plays, 75 yards, TOP 6:20
WY 10, CS 38
CS - HIGGINS, Rashar 73 yd pass from GRAYSON, Garret (ROBERTS, Jared kick) 1 plays, 73 yards, TOP 0:13
4th Quarter
WY 17, CS 38
WY - HILL, Brian 1 yd run (WILLIAMS,Stuart kick), 13 plays, 75 yards, TOP 5:48
WY 17, CS 45
CS - JARRELLS, Treyo 6 yd run (ROBERTS, Jared kick), 4 plays, 39 yards, TOP 1:17
WY 24, CS 45
WY - CLAIBORNE,Jalen 32 yd pass from KIRKEGAARD, C. (WILLIAMS,Stuart kick) 11 plays, 92 yards, TOP 4:50
WY 31, CS 45
WY - GENTRY, Tanner 38 yd pass from KIRKEGAARD, C. (WILLIAMS,Stuart kick) 3 plays, 74 yards, TOP 1:00
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
18
TD
5
YDS
390
INT
0
CMP
2
TD
0
YDS
21
INT
0
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