Colorado State University Athletics
Bowl Rewind: 2013 New Mexico Bowl
12/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
2013 New Mexico Bowl Photo Gallery | ESPN telecast (entire game)
Playing in its first bowl game since the 2008 season, Colorado State wanted to prove that it belonged. Sophomore sensation running back Kapri Bibbs did his part leading the Rams with 169 yards rushing and three touchdowns and the Rams capped their 2013 season in dramatic fashion with a come-from-behind 48-45 victory over the Washington State Cougars.
After a crucial stop, CSU got the ball back trailing 45-30 with 4:17 remaining in the game and two timeouts left. Quarterback Garrett Grayson looked as poised as ever as he calmly led the Rams 72 yards down the field in just 1:25. On the final play of the drive, Grayson connected with freshman wide receiver Jordon Vaden for a 12-yard touchdown to cut the score to 45-37 with 2:52 left in the contest, and most importantly, Grayson preserved both of CSU’s timeouts.
Trusting its defense to make a play, CSU kicked the ball off to Washington State. After using both of its timeouts, the Rams faced a key third down needing to get off the field. The Cougars converted with a nine-yard pass to seemingly put the nail in the coffin on the game with just over two minutes left. The Rams once again proved resilient, however, as Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year Shaquil Barrett stripped Washington State running back Jeremiah Laufasa and also pounced on the ball with 1:51 left in the game. Barrett had done the exact same thing the play prior, but officials ruled that the runner was down and the play was over before Barrett secured possession of the football.
CSU proceeded to march down the field and Bibbs scored his CSU and Mountain West-record 31st touchdown of the season to put the Rams in position to tie the game up with 33 seconds left. On the ensuing two-point conversion, the Rams converted a ‘Statue-of-Liberty’ handoff to Donnell Alexander to tie the game at 45-45 (once again, after an overturned review). On the very next kickoff, CSU came up with a big play as linebacker SteveO Michel forced a fumble which Jasen Oden recovered. Kicker Jared Roberts sealed the victory with a 41-yard field goal as time expired. The Rams scored 18 points over the final 3 minutes.
Individual Statistics
Rushing - Colorado State: Bibbs 27-174, Alexander 7-31, Grayson 8-10, Morgan 1-8, Schlager 1-4, Cartwright 1-4, Hansley 1-0. Washington State: West 3-17, Caldwell 3-14, Mason 4-5, Laufasa 1-2, Williams 1-1, Halliday 7-(-49).
Passing - Colorado State: Grayson 50-31-1-369-2. Washington State: Halliday 58-37-1-410-6.
Receiving - Colorado State: Vaden 8-60, Lovett 5-93, Hansley 4-56, Gillmore 4-44, Higgins 4-42, Alexander 3-17, Cartwright 2-51, Bibbs 1-6. Washington State: Cracraft 9-125, Williams 7-72, Marks 5-37, West 3-50, Myers 3-45, Galvin 3-24, Mason 3-18, Mayle 2-38, Williams 1-3, Caldwell, 1-(-2).
Tackles - Colorado State: Davis 5-2-7, Pierre-Louis 5-2-7, Barrett 4-2-6, Morgan 5-0-5, James 4-1-5, Matthews 2-3-5, Bell 3-1-4, Blake 3-1-4, Oden 2-1-3, Jackson 2-0-2, Michel 2-0-2, Januska 1-0-1, Kawulok 1-0-1, Edwards 1-0-1, Tonga 1-0-1. Washington State: Sagote 4-11-15, Locker 8-6-14, Monroe 5-8-13, Pritchard 3-5-8, Coen 3-4-7, Palacio 2-5-7, Horton 5-1-6, Bucannon 4-1-5, Washington 2-1-3, Gauta 1-2-3, Cooper 1-2-3, Pole 0-2-2, Faoliu 1-0-1, Paulo 1-0-1, Allison 1-0-1, Byers 1-0-1, Vaeao 0-1-1, Clark 0-1-1.
