Last-second field goal ends Rams' nine-game winning streak

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Final Stats |  Photo Gallery  |  Photo Gallery (Dan Byers)  | Postgame notes

By Nate Lake
Athletics Communications

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.--The Colorado State Rams' nine-game winning streak came to an end Friday, as Air Force senior kicker Will Conant converted a 39-yard field goal as time expired to give the Falcons a 27-24 win. The Rams completed their regular season with a 10-2 record (6-2 Mountain West), and will await news on a bowl destination on Sunday, Dec. 7. It is just the fourth 10-win regular season in school history.

The loss was the Rams' first since Sept. 6 at Boise State, as the Falcons improved to 9-3 (5-3 MW). 

Colorado State was in position to drive for a game-winning score before the Falcons stopped Rams running back Dee Hart on fourth-and-two at the Air Force 42-yard line with just 44 seconds left in the game.

With 26 seconds remaining, Air Force quarterback Nate Romine completed a 26-yard pass to Garrett Brown on third down to put the Falcons in field goal range at the Colorado State 26-yard line. The Falcons ran one more play to set up Conant's game-winning field goal.

The CSU offense conducted business as usual on the first drive of the game, going 75 yards in nine plays and ending in a seven-yard touchdown pass from Garrett Grayson to Biletnikoff Award finalist Rashard Higgins. It was Grayson's 30th touchdown of the season to extend his school record and give the Rams a touchdown on their opening drive for the third consecutive game. Air Force countered with a quick touchdown of its own, going 75 yards and taking just 2:33 off the clock to tie the game at 7-7 on a D.J. Johnson 5-yard scoring run. 

The Rams' offense sputtered after its initial scoring drive, posting just three more points on a Jared Roberts 30-yard field goal with 6:14 left in the first quarter. Air Force led a run-heavy attack on a 12-play, 74-yard drive in response, taking a 14-10 lead on a one-yard rushing touchdown by Shayne Davern. The Falcons would add a 33-yard field goal before halftime, taking a 17-10 lead into the locker room. 

The Rams punted on their first two drives of the third quarter, while Air Force successfully kept it on the ground and journeyed down the field on a 65-yard drive that ended with a rushing touchdown by Nate Romine late in the third. That score put CSU behind 24-10 with 3:09 to play in the third.

The Falcons rushed 63 times for 242 yards in the game, 32 yards below their season average, and completed just six of 15 pass attempts as Romine made his first start of the season in relief of injured starter Kale Pearson.

The Rams responded to their largest deficit since Sept. 27 (at Boston College), as Grayson found redshirt-freshman Xavier Williams on a broken third-down play that turned into a 76-yard catch-and-run touchdown. 

Linebacker Cory James helped get the ball back in Grayson's hands when he sacked Romine on third down to force a punt on the Falcons' ensuing possession. James contributed a career-high 10 tackles on the day, second only to Max Morgan's team-leading total of 11, as the Rams' defense allowed the Falcons just one drive longer than 37 yards over the game's final three quarters. 

Grayson promptly marched the Rams down the field on a seven-play, 83-yard drive that resulted in his second scoring connection with Higgins to tie the game at 24. The sophomore receiver achieved a single-game career high 12 receptions and was one yard below his career high with 193 yards. Higgins extended his school record of consecutive 100-yard receiving outputs to eight games. He also broke the single-season CSU record for receptions (89; was 86) while extending his school record for receiving yards (1,640). 

The Rams' defense forced another punt with 7:47 left, putting the ball back in the hands of Grayson and company. A pair of long Dee Hart runs and a 15-yard completion to receiver Charles Lovett placed the Rams in Air Force territory with a chance to take the lead. However, a second-down pass found itself in the hands of Air Force strong safety Weston Steelhammer, the first interception surrendered by Grayson in 214 pass attempts and Steelhammer's sixth pick of the year. 

The Rams' defense, however, came up big again to hand the ball back over to the offense for what turned out be its final attempt. 

Colorado State put 472 yards of total offense on the board Friday, outgaining Air Force by nearly 100. Grayson extended his school record for most 300-yard passing games in a season (6), throwing for 366 yards and three scores, and became the school's all-time leader in pass attempts (1,051).

Dee Hart rushed 22 times for 115 yards, his seventh 100-yard effort of the season and fourth in a row. Hart carried the ball 78 times for 553 yards in the last four games of the regular season. 

Rams defensive lineman Terry Jackson posted eight total tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss to provide the heart of the defensive effort. Preston Hodges and Kevin Pierre-Louis also contributed eight tackles each.

Colorado State's 10-2 record is its best since 1997 when the Rams also went 10-2 before a Holiday Bowl victory over Missouri secured a school-record 11-win season. The Rams have also achieved back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2002-03.

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