Postgame Notes: CSU at Utah State

Oct. 4, 2015

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Postame Notes: Colorado State at Utah State
Utah State 33, Colorado State 18

With the loss, CSU falls to 37-33-2 all-time against Utah State.
CSU also lost its conference opener in 2014, before winning nine consecutive games en route to a 10-2 regular season.
CSU had won seven of its last 10 true road games entering Saturday, the best stretch since 2002-03.
CSU’s 16-point deficit (26-10) was the largest of the season. The Rams’ previously had not trailed by more than one possession (8).
The teams were delayed 32 minutes coming out of halftime due to a weather delay (lightning).
Junior WR Rashard Higgins led all receivers with 10 catches for 114 yards and a touchdown. For his career, Higgins is averaging 100.4 yards per game.
Higgins’ touchdown reception was his fourth touchdown in as many games this season. He now has 27 for his career, spanning 17 different games.
Senior S Trent Matthews recorded a career-most 12 tackles, surpassing his previous high of nine, set Oct. 27, 2012 vs. Hawai’i. In four career games against the Aggies, Matthews has 28 tackles and an interception.
Cory James (10), Kiel Robinson and DeAndre Elliott (7) tied career highs for tackles. James and Robinson each had 1.5 tackles for loss, including a seven-yard sack by Robinson
For the fifth consecutive game, junior LB Kevin Davis has had 1.5 tackles for loss. He entered the game leading the Mountain West with 6.0 on the season.
Redshirt freshman Wyatt Bryan nailed a 42-yard field goal late in the first quarter, a career long.
Sophomore QB Nick Stevens was 21-of-46 for 252 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for his first career touchdown. Stevens’ lone interception came on the Rams’ last offensive play of the game, going for the end zone on fourth down in the final minute of the game.
Sophomore WR Xavier Williams had four catches for 71 yards, including a long of 43 that set up CSU’s second touchdown of the night.
WRs Rashard Higgins (30) and Xavier Williams (18) have both recorded at least one reception in every collegiate game of their careers.
Keeping with its trend all season, CSU limited Utah State to 2-of-11 on third-down conversions. The Rams entered the game 17th nationally, allowing opponents to convert at just a 27-percent rate.
The Aggies rushed for 298 yards, led by QB Kent Myers (school-record 191). He had two rushes of 34 yards and another for 26 and a touchdown. Jasen Oden, Jr. led CSU with 55 yards on 13 carries, followed by Dalyn Dawkins (39 yards on 10 carries).
Despite allowing more yards, CSU produced more first downs than Utah State, 24-21.
Utah State’s first points came on a 48-yard field goal by Jake Thompson. He had originally missed a 53-yarder, but CSU was called for offsides, giving the Aggies a second chance.
Utah State’s first five plays of its first scoring drive each went for at least five yards, including a 15-yard pass-interference penalty. The Aggies’ nine-play, 44-yard drive resulted in a field goal and used 5:02 off the clock.
CSU’s first two first downs – which came on the Rams’ second series – both came on third down (Stevens keep, Oden rush). CSU finished the game 6-of-17 on third down and 3-of-5 on fourth.
The Rams took a 10-3 lead with 12:46 remaining in the second quarter, scoring on back-to-back drives after punting on their first possession.
Utah State’s second touchdown of the game spanned just three plays and 54 seconds. It was the third-quickest this season by a CSU opponent, and the third-longest (84 yards).
CSU trailed at halftime for the second consecutive week after leading at half each of the first three games. CSU also did not score first for the second straight game after scoring first during Weeks 1-3.
Two plays into the second half, QB Nick Stevens was strip-sacked, turning the ball over at the CSU 8-yard line. Utah State’s offense was only able to produce three yards, however, and had to settle for a field goal.
On the following Utah State possession, CSU had two consecutive tackles for loss, but on third-and-long, DeAndre Elliott was called for pass interference in the end zone. The Rams again bowed their neck, recording two more tackles for loss – including a Kiel Robinson sack – to force Utah State into a field goal after having first down from the 12.
From the end of the second quarter and into the third quarter, CSU totaled just nine combined yards and one first down over three drives.
CSU finally got its offense going with back-to-back 16-plus-yard receptions (Joe Hansley and Rashard Higgins) to erase a 1st-and-25 because of penalties. On the next play, however, RB Dalyn Dawkins fumbled at the Utah State 13-yard line.

Utah State capitalized on the fumble, using a 13-play, 70-yard drive to extend its lead to 26-10.
The field goal was the third in as many drives to begin the second half, and was Utah State’s fourth consecutive scoring drive.
CSU would have gotten off the field after an incompletion brought up 4th-and-18, but a hands-in-the-face penalty gave Utah State a fresh set of downs.

CSU had the ball for just 4:02 during the third quarter. The Aggies scored two field goals during the quarter, and started another field-goal drive that finished during the start of the fourth quarter.
CSU scored for the first time since taking a 10-3 lead early in the second quarter with a seven-play, 77-yard drive (1:53), capped with a Nick Stevens run and dive for the end zone on 4th-and-8. After the review and the play stood, Stevens hit Rashard Higgins for the two-point conversion to cut the Rams’ deficit to one possession.

It was CSU’s first score in seven drives; the previous six included four punts, one fumble and one turnover on downs.
On the drive, the Rams had a 43-yard completion to Xavier Williams, the longest play of the night.

Following the Rams’ touchdown, CSU’s defense limited Utah State to four plays and one first down, getting the ball back right away. On 3rd-and-12 during the ensuing drive, Stevens scrambled for a first down, but CSU was called for its third penalty of the drive, forcing the Rams to punt one play later.
Utah State extended its lead to 33-18 with 3:11 remaining in the game. The Rams got the ball back and totaled a season-most 17 plays in just 1:55 to get down to the 8-yard line, but Stevens was intercepted in the end zone with 23 seconds remaining, ending any shot at a comeback.
The Rams will return home Saturday, Oct. 10, against Boise State. It is the first of three consecutive home games, in addition to a bye week on Oct. 24.
CSU’s captains were Cory James, Jasen Oden, Jr., Kevin Nutt, Jr., and Fred Zerblis.

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Postgame Notes: CSU at Utah State

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