Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, October 26
Fresno, Calif.
5:30 PM MT
Colorado State
3-5 , 2-2
41
at
31
Fresno State
3-4 , 1-2
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Colorado State
14
7
3
17
41
Fresno State
7
7
14
3
31
Rams Respond in Road Win at Fresno State
10/26/2019 10:37:00 PM | Football
Finishing touch produces win streak
FRESNO, Calif. – Colorado State has been looking to celebrate this moment for more than a year.
It's known in sports as a winning streak, and they occur when a team wins one game, then comes back the next time out and does it again. For Colorado State football, its 41-31 road win over Fresno State represented the first back-to-back wins for the program since beating San Jose State and New Mexico in 2018 in the middle of October.
The Rams (3-5, 2-2 Mountain West) did it with Warren Jackson being Warren Jackson. And Marcus McElroy filling in admirably at running back and running behind an offensive line which was reshuffled at the start, then again later. By finding a kicker who could hit field goals again. And behind a defense which was thin in the secondary but extremely stingy on third down, then produced the turnover the team needed when it looked like the offense gave up the Golden Goose.
The Rams feel they turned a corner. Instead of those things stacking up against them, they found another avenue to succeed.
"It definitely feels good knowing we put in the work for two weeks and came out here and got another big win on the road," safety Logan Stewart said. "We're learning each week, we're getting better each week. I think it goes with our training. Our coaches are doing a good job of preparing us during the week, and all of us know in football games some things aren't going to go right, but we've learned to overcome those things and win ball games."
There was the fast start. Trey McBride was the athletic big man, taking a pass in the flat by evading a defender and avoiding the sideline for a 69-yard score. McElroy ran with energy early and found the end zone for the first time in his career, and by halftime, the Rams had a lead as a heavy underdog.
It was also clear by the intermission somebody is going to have to pass out a thesaurus so Jackson's teammates can come up with creative words to describe who he is as a player and the importance he carries for the offense.
To quarterback Patrick O'Brien, the junior wideout is simply a beast. For head coach Mike Bobo, the ultimate teammate.
"It hasn't been about Warren, it's been about loving his teammates and doing what he can do to help us be successful," Bobo said after watching Jackson catch nine passes for 178 yards. "The way he worked is the result of how he's playing. He's got great catch radius. He reaches out and catches it with his hands, and anything near him, he's going to catch. We've got to find more ways to get him the ball."
But in the third quarter, the Rams found themselves on the south side of the scoreboard, and even though Bobo felt the heat hit them a bit toward the end of the first half, the Rams were revitalized when necessary.
McElroy, who posted the first 100-yard game of his career with 117 on the night, found the end zone again. And when Fresno State tied the game on a field goal, Colorado State put together a long and impressive drive – until the final play.
That's when O'Brien, who threw for 322 yards, tossed his only interception of the game. It was the first turnover on the night for a team which has had too many, at a point when the air could get sucked out of the lungs. It had happened before.
It just didn't happen again. There was a reaction.
"The defense doing that, that was the greatest thing I've witnessed in a long time," McElroy said of the turnover Stewart produced with the first interception of his career. "That was amazing, just the fact that we truly came together as a team. We were all on the sideline confident they were going to get a turnover, and as soon as we all were talking about it, boom, pick, ready to go."
Stewart's 24-yard return was the perfect setup, and the offense seized the second chance. And when you really need points, you target Jackson, who took the pass on the back shoulder for an 11-yard score.
Redemption.
"It's something you're kind of doubting yourself about it, then something happens like that, it kind of just goes all away and you're ready to get back on the field and just do what you need to do to get the job done," O'Brien said.
Then it was another third-down stop, and one on fourth down. Then a second field goal in the game from Max Poduska. Then finally, Stewart snared his second interception on a desperation heave at the end.
"For us to come back, make the plays it took to finish the game, I'm proud of the guys," Bobo said. "To make the big play on the catches, the big play on the interception by Logan to basically seal the game and basically get us in position for a field goal. It's a great team victory again, and we can still improve. But I'm proud of those guys how they played."
The Rams return home next Saturday looking to post the first three-game run since winning four in a row in 2017 when they host UNLV for the State Pride game.
It's known in sports as a winning streak, and they occur when a team wins one game, then comes back the next time out and does it again. For Colorado State football, its 41-31 road win over Fresno State represented the first back-to-back wins for the program since beating San Jose State and New Mexico in 2018 in the middle of October.
The Rams (3-5, 2-2 Mountain West) did it with Warren Jackson being Warren Jackson. And Marcus McElroy filling in admirably at running back and running behind an offensive line which was reshuffled at the start, then again later. By finding a kicker who could hit field goals again. And behind a defense which was thin in the secondary but extremely stingy on third down, then produced the turnover the team needed when it looked like the offense gave up the Golden Goose.
The Rams feel they turned a corner. Instead of those things stacking up against them, they found another avenue to succeed.
"It definitely feels good knowing we put in the work for two weeks and came out here and got another big win on the road," safety Logan Stewart said. "We're learning each week, we're getting better each week. I think it goes with our training. Our coaches are doing a good job of preparing us during the week, and all of us know in football games some things aren't going to go right, but we've learned to overcome those things and win ball games."
There was the fast start. Trey McBride was the athletic big man, taking a pass in the flat by evading a defender and avoiding the sideline for a 69-yard score. McElroy ran with energy early and found the end zone for the first time in his career, and by halftime, the Rams had a lead as a heavy underdog.
It was also clear by the intermission somebody is going to have to pass out a thesaurus so Jackson's teammates can come up with creative words to describe who he is as a player and the importance he carries for the offense.
To quarterback Patrick O'Brien, the junior wideout is simply a beast. For head coach Mike Bobo, the ultimate teammate.
"It hasn't been about Warren, it's been about loving his teammates and doing what he can do to help us be successful," Bobo said after watching Jackson catch nine passes for 178 yards. "The way he worked is the result of how he's playing. He's got great catch radius. He reaches out and catches it with his hands, and anything near him, he's going to catch. We've got to find more ways to get him the ball."
But in the third quarter, the Rams found themselves on the south side of the scoreboard, and even though Bobo felt the heat hit them a bit toward the end of the first half, the Rams were revitalized when necessary.
McElroy, who posted the first 100-yard game of his career with 117 on the night, found the end zone again. And when Fresno State tied the game on a field goal, Colorado State put together a long and impressive drive – until the final play.
That's when O'Brien, who threw for 322 yards, tossed his only interception of the game. It was the first turnover on the night for a team which has had too many, at a point when the air could get sucked out of the lungs. It had happened before.
It just didn't happen again. There was a reaction.
"The defense doing that, that was the greatest thing I've witnessed in a long time," McElroy said of the turnover Stewart produced with the first interception of his career. "That was amazing, just the fact that we truly came together as a team. We were all on the sideline confident they were going to get a turnover, and as soon as we all were talking about it, boom, pick, ready to go."
Stewart's 24-yard return was the perfect setup, and the offense seized the second chance. And when you really need points, you target Jackson, who took the pass on the back shoulder for an 11-yard score.
Redemption.
"It's something you're kind of doubting yourself about it, then something happens like that, it kind of just goes all away and you're ready to get back on the field and just do what you need to do to get the job done," O'Brien said.
Then it was another third-down stop, and one on fourth down. Then a second field goal in the game from Max Poduska. Then finally, Stewart snared his second interception on a desperation heave at the end.
"For us to come back, make the plays it took to finish the game, I'm proud of the guys," Bobo said. "To make the big play on the catches, the big play on the interception by Logan to basically seal the game and basically get us in position for a field goal. It's a great team victory again, and we can still improve. But I'm proud of those guys how they played."
The Rams return home next Saturday looking to post the first three-game run since winning four in a row in 2017 when they host UNLV for the State Pride game.
Team Stats
CSU
FS
Total Yards
500
388
Pass Yards
322
200
Rushing Yards
178
188
Penalty Yards
53
74
1st Downs
25
17
3rd Downs
6
2
4th Downs
1
1
TOP
33:25
26:35
1st Quarter
CSU 7, FS 0
CSU - McBRIDE, Tr. 69 yd pass from O'BRIEN, P. (CAMPER, C. kick) 2 plays, 75 yards, TOP 0:44
CSU 14, FS 0
CSU - O'BRIEN, P. 1 yd run (CAMPER, C. kick), 7 plays, 73 yards, TOP 2:22
CSU 14, FS 7
FS - HOKIT, Josh 1 yd run (SILVA, Cesar kick), 6 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:12
2nd Quarter
CSU 21, FS 7
CSU - McELROY, M. 9 yd run (PODUSKA, M. kick), 12 plays, 71 yards, TOP 5:09
CSU 21, FS 14
FS - RIVERS, Ronnie 7 yd run (SILVA, Cesar kick), 5 plays, 37 yards, TOP 1:41
3rd Quarter
CSU 21, FS 21
FS - HOKIT, Josh 1 yd run (SILVA, Cesar kick), 8 plays, 83 yards, TOP 3:29
CSU 24, FS 21
CSU - PODUSKA, M. 39 yd field goal 8 plays, 53 yards, TOP 2:56
CSU 24, FS 28
FS - RIVERS, Ronnie 7 yd run (SILVA, Cesar kick), 5 plays, 38 yards, TOP 1:15
4th Quarter
CSU 31, FS 28
CSU - McELROY, M. 4 yd run (PODUSKA, M. kick), 7 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:57
CSU 31, FS 31
FS - SILVA, Cesar 35 yd field goal 7 plays, 62 yards, TOP 2:15
CSU 38, FS 31
CSU - JACKSON, W. 11 yd pass from O'BRIEN, P. (PODUSKA, M. kick) 2 plays, 13 yards, TOP 0:39
CSU 41, FS 31
CSU - PODUSKA, M. 25 yd field goal 5 plays, 17 yards, TOP 1:17
Players Mentioned
WR
/ Football
TE
/ Football
RB
/ Football
QB
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S
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