Colorado State University Athletics
Rams Win Nailbiter Over New Mexico On Game's Final Play, 20-18
10/13/2018 5:47:00 PM | Football
Wyatt Bryan connects on the winning field goal as time expires
Bryan had the opportunity to redeem himself after missing a field goal attempt with under three minutes to play after the CSU defense shut down New Mexico to a three-and-out after the miss. The offense quickly moved down the field and set Bryan up in the middle for his attempt, which split the uprights.
Here's that beautiful, beautiful game-winner from Wyatt Bryan.#ProudToBe #CSUHomecoming #CSURams pic.twitter.com/eItYrFIsVF
— Colorado State Football (@CSUFootball) October 14, 2018
The Rams drew first blood, forcing and recovering a fumble deep in Lobos territory on the opening possession of the game. Senior quarterback K.J. Carta-Samuels connected with Preston Williams on a five-yard touchdown pass to put the Rams up 7-0.Â
CSU doubled its lead to 14-0 on a Carta-Samuels one-yard touchdown run at the 4:24 mark of the second quarter. Carta-Samuels faked the handoff to Izzy Matthews (who proceeded to jump over the New Mexico defensive line and celebrate as if he had scored) and ran the naked bootleg untouched to the right side of the end zone.
New Mexico cut the Rams' lead to 14-11 by halftime and took its only lead -- an 18-17 advantage -- in the fourth quarter.Â
IN THEIR WORDS...
"We talked all week about how to win the ball game and we did. [The game] wasn't pretty, but that's who we are right now. We're growing and we're learning. We're having to handle some adversity during the week. We're having to handle adversity during the game. I'm so proud of our defense today. They played extremely hard, played extremely well. We gave up a couple plays but we bowed our neck in the red zone and had a couple stops which was good to see." -- CSU head coach Mike Bobo's overall thoughts
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"I thought it was a great environment. I loved sitting there in the first half saying, 'Look at the stands.' It was beautiful to see the stands filled. It was great to hear them making noise and getting into the game. That's always an awesome feeling from player to coach. I felt like our guys were excited to play today. Bottom line is finding a way. There's a lot you can look at and fix and we know that. We know that as coaches and players. I'm excited for the win and excited for Colorado State, this university and our fan base today. It was close, but we found a way." -- Bobo on the atmosphere and result
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"Our guys were able to overcome and find a way to win the ball game. We talked about seizing opportunities a lot today and this week. We made a lot of them—We made some great catches, made some great throws, made some great stops defensively. There were some out there that we didn't make. But that's okay. There's still a lot of room for us to grow. That's part of football. We have to be diligent in how we go back to work, take constructive criticism and build on the things that we're doing well." -- Bobo on the plays his team made -- and didn't make -- today on its way to victory
"Luckily I have the greatest teammates in the world and they were all telling me, 'You're going to get another opportunity. You're going to get another kick. Stay positive.' So that's what I did. I've learned from years of experience that you have to put kicks behind you. I knew I was going to get another shot, so I just tried to put that behind me and move on." -- On what it felt like to have a 'second-chance-kick' in the fourth quarter
NEXT UP:
The Rams will head to Boise State for a Friday night matchup on ESPN2. Game time is slated for 7 p.m. MT.
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Team Stats

NM 0, CSU 7
CSU - WILLIAMS, P. 5 yd pass from CARTA-SAMUELS (BRYAN, W. kick) 2 plays, 12 yards, TOP 0:27

NM 0, CSU 14
CSU - CARTA-SAMUELS 1 yd run (BRYAN, W. kick), 16 plays, 96 yards, TOP 7:31

NM 3, CSU 14
NM - SHELLEY, Andrew 29 yd field goal 7 plays, 65 yards, TOP 3:02

NM 11, CSU 14
NM - LILLY, Elijah 23 yd pass from JONES, Sheriron (JONES, Sheriron rush) 5 plays, 80 yards, TOP 1:42

NM 11, CSU 17
CSU - BRYAN, W. 22 yd field goal 8 plays, 71 yards, TOP 4:32

NM 18, CSU 17
NM - HART-JOHNSON, D 5 yd pass from JONES, Sheriron (SHELLEY, Andrew kick) 3 plays, 12 yards, TOP 1:13

NM 18, CSU 20
CSU - BRYAN, W. 26 yd field goal 11 plays, 65 yards, TOP 2:01