Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, November 16
Fort Collins, Colo.
5 PM MT
Colorado State
4-6 , 3-3
21
vs
38
Air Force
8-2 , 5-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Air Force
0
10
0
28
38
Colorado State
14
0
0
7
21
Rams Fall in Fourth to Air Force
11/16/2019 9:48:00 PM | Football
CSU offense stymied much of the game
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The perfect start.
Take the opening kickoff, score. As Air Force started to respond, Colorado State's defense stood up and punched back, with Manny Jones creating a fumble and Mohamed Kamara scooping it up and returning it 63 yards for a touchdown.
A 14-0 lead out of the gates on a Saturday night at home at Canvas Stadium. Against a rival the Rams haven't beaten in three years.
Now it's four.
As explosive as the Rams' opening was, the Falcons final chapter was more impressive, a 28-point outburst to close out a 38-21 victory which drops CSU to 4-6 on the season, 3-3 in Mountain West play.
"That was the perfect start," CSU linebacker Tron Folsom said. "Everybody was doing their job. We kinda got lazy in the second half, made a few mistakes and they broke open a big play. For the majority of the game, we played how we expected to play."
Colorado State's defense stood up to the challenge of the Air Force attack, ranked second nationally in rushing at 323.4 yards per game, an offense averaging better than 34 points. For three quarters, the Falcons had 10 points. By game's end, Air Force rushed for 96 yards less than it does on an average night.
The issue was the offense, which was so impressive on the opening drive, hit a wall until a spurt late. Twice, the defense set up the offense in Air Force territory. Twice, the offense came away with no points.
First was a punt-interference flag, putting the Rams on the Falcons' 38. Four plays (and just a trio of yards later), Cayden Camper pulled a 53-yard field goal attempt wide left.
Instead of a 17-0 lead, the Rams had to deal with an Air Force drive capped by a 31-yard touchdown pass. The Falcons had another drive in the second, one where the defense forced a field goal to hold a 14-10 edge at half.
In the third, Colorado State linebacker Cam'ron Carter intercepted a DJ Hammond III pass and returned it to the Falcons' 35, negating what had been an ill-fated fake punt. Three plays later – CSU quarterback Patrick O'Brien was sacked, pushing the Rams out of field goal range and well beyond the chance to risk going for it on fourth down.
Wasted chances.
"Playing a team like this, you have to capitalize on their mistakes," said tight end Trey McBride, who scored the game's first touchdown. "They're a very disciplined team, they're not going to make very many mistakes. When they do, you have to capitalize on them, and tonight we came up a little short and didn't capitalize the way we'd like to."
The Rams couldn't protect O'Brien or the lead.
He was sacked eight times on the night, three by Jake Ksiazek. O'Brien said the Falcons presented some new pressures, noting a mix of breakdowns and his misreads led to him spending so much time on the turf.
"It was just little errors here and there," O'Brien said. "They were creating some pressure on me, and sometimes I've got to sit in there and make some throws. It's little things here and there that cause us to mishap. They executed well and stopped us there when we had moments to score points and go up on them."
The Rams didn't, but the Falcons did. Reminiscent of the first half of the season, CSU watched a close game get out of hand in the fourth quarter. The Falcons scored 28 points as Hammond III tossed a pair of touchdown passes and rushed for another, then Zane Lewis stepped in front of a pass intended for McBride and returned it 99 yards for the final points.
Instead of looking at a chance for an onside kick and a final flurry of a finish, the Rams were knocked out.
A two-play drive – both passes to Dante Wright – cut the lead to 24-21 with 6:36 remaining, but the stops the defense had been producing didn't transpire. O'Brien would throw for 326 yards, but the mistakes and the missed chances made it all mute.
"I thought the defense played great early in the game," CSU head coach Mike Bobo said. "We got stop after stop, put the offense in position to score points, and the inability to do that was frustrating, and we have a turnover and the defense holds them to a field goal. I thought they played gr\eat throughout the night. I know we'd love to have a couple of those [third downs] back, but they have a good call on. Wrong play when we were man-to-man and our corner just got caught up. Our defense put us in opportunity after opportunity to put them under some pressure. We should have had a bigger lead. I give them credit, they made plays and tackled well."
Now the Rams have two games left, two wins shy of bowl eligibility, and the next game comes on a short week. CSU travels to Laramie on Friday for the Border War with the Bronze Boot on the line – another rival which runs the ball well and has won the past three meetings.
Take the opening kickoff, score. As Air Force started to respond, Colorado State's defense stood up and punched back, with Manny Jones creating a fumble and Mohamed Kamara scooping it up and returning it 63 yards for a touchdown.
A 14-0 lead out of the gates on a Saturday night at home at Canvas Stadium. Against a rival the Rams haven't beaten in three years.
Now it's four.
As explosive as the Rams' opening was, the Falcons final chapter was more impressive, a 28-point outburst to close out a 38-21 victory which drops CSU to 4-6 on the season, 3-3 in Mountain West play.
"That was the perfect start," CSU linebacker Tron Folsom said. "Everybody was doing their job. We kinda got lazy in the second half, made a few mistakes and they broke open a big play. For the majority of the game, we played how we expected to play."
Colorado State's defense stood up to the challenge of the Air Force attack, ranked second nationally in rushing at 323.4 yards per game, an offense averaging better than 34 points. For three quarters, the Falcons had 10 points. By game's end, Air Force rushed for 96 yards less than it does on an average night.
The issue was the offense, which was so impressive on the opening drive, hit a wall until a spurt late. Twice, the defense set up the offense in Air Force territory. Twice, the offense came away with no points.
First was a punt-interference flag, putting the Rams on the Falcons' 38. Four plays (and just a trio of yards later), Cayden Camper pulled a 53-yard field goal attempt wide left.
Instead of a 17-0 lead, the Rams had to deal with an Air Force drive capped by a 31-yard touchdown pass. The Falcons had another drive in the second, one where the defense forced a field goal to hold a 14-10 edge at half.
In the third, Colorado State linebacker Cam'ron Carter intercepted a DJ Hammond III pass and returned it to the Falcons' 35, negating what had been an ill-fated fake punt. Three plays later – CSU quarterback Patrick O'Brien was sacked, pushing the Rams out of field goal range and well beyond the chance to risk going for it on fourth down.
Wasted chances.
"Playing a team like this, you have to capitalize on their mistakes," said tight end Trey McBride, who scored the game's first touchdown. "They're a very disciplined team, they're not going to make very many mistakes. When they do, you have to capitalize on them, and tonight we came up a little short and didn't capitalize the way we'd like to."
The Rams couldn't protect O'Brien or the lead.
He was sacked eight times on the night, three by Jake Ksiazek. O'Brien said the Falcons presented some new pressures, noting a mix of breakdowns and his misreads led to him spending so much time on the turf.
"It was just little errors here and there," O'Brien said. "They were creating some pressure on me, and sometimes I've got to sit in there and make some throws. It's little things here and there that cause us to mishap. They executed well and stopped us there when we had moments to score points and go up on them."
The Rams didn't, but the Falcons did. Reminiscent of the first half of the season, CSU watched a close game get out of hand in the fourth quarter. The Falcons scored 28 points as Hammond III tossed a pair of touchdown passes and rushed for another, then Zane Lewis stepped in front of a pass intended for McBride and returned it 99 yards for the final points.
Instead of looking at a chance for an onside kick and a final flurry of a finish, the Rams were knocked out.
A two-play drive – both passes to Dante Wright – cut the lead to 24-21 with 6:36 remaining, but the stops the defense had been producing didn't transpire. O'Brien would throw for 326 yards, but the mistakes and the missed chances made it all mute.
"I thought the defense played great early in the game," CSU head coach Mike Bobo said. "We got stop after stop, put the offense in position to score points, and the inability to do that was frustrating, and we have a turnover and the defense holds them to a field goal. I thought they played gr\eat throughout the night. I know we'd love to have a couple of those [third downs] back, but they have a good call on. Wrong play when we were man-to-man and our corner just got caught up. Our defense put us in opportunity after opportunity to put them under some pressure. We should have had a bigger lead. I give them credit, they made plays and tackled well."
Now the Rams have two games left, two wins shy of bowl eligibility, and the next game comes on a short week. CSU travels to Laramie on Friday for the Border War with the Bronze Boot on the line – another rival which runs the ball well and has won the past three meetings.
Team Stats
AF
CSU
Total Yards
353
386
Pass Yards
126
347
Rushing Yards
227
39
Penalty Yards
22
42
1st Downs
19
22
3rd Downs
7
4
4th Downs
2
3
TOP
30:47
29:13
1st Quarter
AF 0, CSU 7
CSU - McBRIDE, Tr. 4 yd pass from O'BRIEN, P. (PODUSKA, M. kick) 14 plays, 75 yards, TOP 5:57
AF 0, CSU 14
CSU - KAMARA, M. 63 yd fumble recovery (PODUSKA, M. kick)
2nd Quarter
AF 7, CSU 14
AF - WATERS, Ben 31 yd pass from HAMMOND III, DJ (KOEHNKE, Jake kick) 5 plays, 65 yards, TOP 2:18
AF 10, CSU 14
AF - KOEHNKE, Jake 31 yd field goal 7 plays, 21 yards, TOP 2:43
4th Quarter
AF 17, CSU 14
AF - SANDERS, Geraud 50 yd pass from HAMMOND III, DJ (KOEHNKE, Jake kick) 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:36
AF 24, CSU 14
AF - WATERS, Ben 28 yd pass from HAMMOND III, DJ (KOEHNKE, Jake kick) 8 plays, 58 yards, TOP 4:41
AF 24, CSU 21
CSU - WRIGHT, D. 17 yd pass from O'BRIEN, P. (PODUSKA, M. kick) 2 plays, 75 yards, TOP 0:45
AF 31, CSU 21
AF - HAMMOND III, DJ 1 yd run (KOEHNKE, Jake kick), 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:04
AF 38, CSU 21
AF - LEWIS, Zane 99 yd interception (KOEHNKE, Jake kick)
Players Mentioned
K
/ Football
LB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
DE
/ Football
LB
/ Football
TE
/ Football
QB
/ Football
WR
/ FootballColorado State Football: Ellis (L) and Rogers (R) Postgame (Northern Colorado, 2025)
Saturday, September 06
Colorado State Football: Avant (L) and Fowler-Nicolosi (R) Postgame (Northern Colorado, 2025)
Saturday, September 06
Colorado State Football: Jay Norvell Weekly Press Conference - Week 2 (2025)
Monday, September 01
Colorado State Football: Long (L) and Warren (R) Postgame (Washington, 2025)
Sunday, August 31