Colorado State University Athletics
Photo by: Cris Tiller
Rams Miss Chance for Rare SEC Road Win
9/14/2019 6:43:00 PM | Football
QB Hill injured in loss to Arkansas
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Bring a quarterback off the bench, pull a kicker out of class on travel day and head down to SEC country and win a game.
Definitely not an ideal plan, but Colorado State almost found a way to put it in motion on Saturday at Razorback Stadium.
But almost isn't a column in the standings.
"I thought our guys fought and got ourselves back in the football game," CSU head coach Mike Bobo said. "We didn't take advantage of our opportunities in this football game, and it cost us. Losing Collin Hill is a big blow. He's got an MRI tomorrow, that's all I know. After he went out, we really couldn't function as an offense, and we've got to fix that."
At one point they had a chance to take the lead early in the fourth quarter, but the game played out in a similar fashion to the season opener, resulting in a 55-34 loss, dropping the Rams to 1-2 on the season.
They lost starting guard Jeff Taylor in the first half, and late in the third quarter, Hill exited the game with an injury to his left knee and did not return. Patrick O'Brien made his first appearance for CSU, finishing off that drive as Cayden Camper – a late add to the travel party, exiting "Bugs" class to join the team – connected from 21 yards.
A drive later, O'Brien's mobility created a chance, scrambling to avoid a rush and throwing deep down field to Dante Wright. The true freshman rose up on a pass a tad short, pulled it down, avoided stepping out of bounds and a defender in the same motion and carried out the play for a 75-yard score and a 34-all tie.
The Rams then had their opportunity to take the lead, but Camper missed a 50-yard attempt, and Arkansas took the chance to pull away at home, scoring touchdowns on successive drives, capping it with a defensive touchdown as Marvin Kinsey Jr. was hit from behind after a reception, fumbling for the second time. Arkansas' LaDarrius Bishop scooped it up and returned it 25 yards to start the celebration.
Nobody understands the frustrations of CSU's ebbs and flows this season like Kinsey Jr., does. In the middle of a breakout, he put the ball on the ground twice. As hard as he's trying to put it altogether, the process of ball security is evading him.
"I'm frustrated first of all that we lost, and I played a big part in it in having two turnovers," he said. "I had two turnovers, and you can't win football games like that."
As he stood in the locker room, his assessment was his mistakes erased what was a career day running the ball. It started with a 75-yard scoring run on the Rams' offensive play, and he notched the second 100-yard day of his career, finishing with 180 yards the first time had had 20 carries in a game.
None of it mattered to him.
"It doesn't really matter," he said. "All of t hose rushing yards don't matter if you don't get the W, and we didn't get it."
Kinsey Jr., paced what was the best running performance (220 yards) the Rams have had since pushing past 300 yards against San Jose State two years ago. Even with Hill in, the Rams' passing game was slowed down by some dropped passes and Arkansas' athleticism. Hill threw for just 99 yards in almost three quarters of play, hitting 13-of-23 passes, one of them a 14-yard scoring connection with Warren Jackson.
"It's disappointing," said O'Brien, was 7-of-10 for 106 yards. "We put in a lot of effort, and when a starter, a guy like Collin Hill goes down and he's been playing so well this season, I need to step in there and play to the same ability. It's just tough, but we've got to fight back and come back from it."
Disappointing mostly because the Rams believe they are much better at finding solutions to their problems. Disappointing, because in their two losses, they believe they had two legitimate chances to win.
Disappointing, because with each hurdle they climbed Saturday, there was the final one they couldn't. And it felt a little bit like the start of the season.
"We had a chance to take a lead, and then we didn't answer when we really had a chance to really put a dagger in those guys," Bobo said. "We didn't do it."
Definitely not an ideal plan, but Colorado State almost found a way to put it in motion on Saturday at Razorback Stadium.
But almost isn't a column in the standings.
"I thought our guys fought and got ourselves back in the football game," CSU head coach Mike Bobo said. "We didn't take advantage of our opportunities in this football game, and it cost us. Losing Collin Hill is a big blow. He's got an MRI tomorrow, that's all I know. After he went out, we really couldn't function as an offense, and we've got to fix that."
At one point they had a chance to take the lead early in the fourth quarter, but the game played out in a similar fashion to the season opener, resulting in a 55-34 loss, dropping the Rams to 1-2 on the season.
They lost starting guard Jeff Taylor in the first half, and late in the third quarter, Hill exited the game with an injury to his left knee and did not return. Patrick O'Brien made his first appearance for CSU, finishing off that drive as Cayden Camper – a late add to the travel party, exiting "Bugs" class to join the team – connected from 21 yards.
A drive later, O'Brien's mobility created a chance, scrambling to avoid a rush and throwing deep down field to Dante Wright. The true freshman rose up on a pass a tad short, pulled it down, avoided stepping out of bounds and a defender in the same motion and carried out the play for a 75-yard score and a 34-all tie.
The Rams then had their opportunity to take the lead, but Camper missed a 50-yard attempt, and Arkansas took the chance to pull away at home, scoring touchdowns on successive drives, capping it with a defensive touchdown as Marvin Kinsey Jr. was hit from behind after a reception, fumbling for the second time. Arkansas' LaDarrius Bishop scooped it up and returned it 25 yards to start the celebration.
Nobody understands the frustrations of CSU's ebbs and flows this season like Kinsey Jr., does. In the middle of a breakout, he put the ball on the ground twice. As hard as he's trying to put it altogether, the process of ball security is evading him.
"I'm frustrated first of all that we lost, and I played a big part in it in having two turnovers," he said. "I had two turnovers, and you can't win football games like that."
As he stood in the locker room, his assessment was his mistakes erased what was a career day running the ball. It started with a 75-yard scoring run on the Rams' offensive play, and he notched the second 100-yard day of his career, finishing with 180 yards the first time had had 20 carries in a game.
None of it mattered to him.
"It doesn't really matter," he said. "All of t hose rushing yards don't matter if you don't get the W, and we didn't get it."
Kinsey Jr., paced what was the best running performance (220 yards) the Rams have had since pushing past 300 yards against San Jose State two years ago. Even with Hill in, the Rams' passing game was slowed down by some dropped passes and Arkansas' athleticism. Hill threw for just 99 yards in almost three quarters of play, hitting 13-of-23 passes, one of them a 14-yard scoring connection with Warren Jackson.
"It's disappointing," said O'Brien, was 7-of-10 for 106 yards. "We put in a lot of effort, and when a starter, a guy like Collin Hill goes down and he's been playing so well this season, I need to step in there and play to the same ability. It's just tough, but we've got to fight back and come back from it."
Disappointing mostly because the Rams believe they are much better at finding solutions to their problems. Disappointing, because in their two losses, they believe they had two legitimate chances to win.
Disappointing, because with each hurdle they climbed Saturday, there was the final one they couldn't. And it felt a little bit like the start of the season.
"We had a chance to take a lead, and then we didn't answer when we really had a chance to really put a dagger in those guys," Bobo said. "We didn't do it."
Players Mentioned
K
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QB
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WR
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RB
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QB
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OL
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WR
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