Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, November 20
Manoa, HI
9:00 PM
Colorado State
45
at
50
Hawaii
Rams' Fourth-Quarter Surge Falls Short
11/21/2021 1:53:00 AM | Football
Centeio throws for 527 yards, five touchdowns in loss
HONOLULU, Hawaii – Entering the game wanting to clean issues on offense and defense, Colorado State spent much of Saturday night at TC Ching Athletic Complex producing self-inflicted wounds.
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There were penalties which eliminated good plays on both sides of the ball. Missed assignments which led to big plays for Hawaii – again – on both sides of the ball. It all added up to a 50-45 road loss for the Rams to Hawaii, the fifth defeat in a row for a team with one more game to play.
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The hard part for head coach Steve Addazio was balancing the early mistakes against the incredible fight the team put up in the second half.
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"We've got to do a better job – I've got to do a better job – of reducing these mistakes. That's on me, and I've got to get that handled," Addazio said. "We've evaluated this and looked at it, and we're going to keep working on whatever we can do to limit those. But the fight that I saw in the end … It's hard for me to explain to you guys; you had to be on the field with them. The steel look they had in their eyes was something I hadn't seen in terms of digging back to come back from something like that. It was real, and it really impressed me."
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Before the losing string started, Colorado State was 2-0 in Mountain West play and feeling confident. Then came stinging losses to Utah State and Boise State, and nothing has looked the same. A defense which had not been allowing big plays was getting stung by them. A unit which had been stout against the run gave up more than 380 two consecutive games.
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The Rainbow Warriors went the other way, hurting the Rams through the air as Chevan Cordero became the first quarterback this season to throw for more than 300 yards, finishing with 406 after throwing for 248 by halftime. Much of it came on one play, a 93-yard connection with Zion Bowens, who got lost in the CSU secondary when Cordeiro was pressure out of the pocket.
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That gave Hawaii a 22-10 lead, and looking to gain some momentum, Colorado State went aggressive with 30 seconds remaining at its own 5. The first play picked up 28 yards on a pass to Gary Williams, but the next was a timing route. CSU quarterback Todd Centeio threw to the sideline with that intention, but as the receiver continued his route, Hawaii's Cameron Lockridge stepped into the void and returned the interception 40 yards for a score and a 29-10 lead at the break.
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Colorado State's offense found no traction in the run game in the first half, but the passing game struck magic on the second series, when Centeio hit Cam Butler on a slant, with the tight end throwing a big stiff arm early to clear his was to a 69-yard score, the longest offensive play of the season for the Rams. It gave them a 7-3 lead at that point. The Rams' defense gave up yards early as Hawaii came at them with tempo, but the group held the hosts to three field goals on their first three drives.
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The Rams regained the lead at the top of the second frame when Cayden Camper hit a 30-yard field goal for a 10-9 edge. It was his 24th field goal of the year, matching the single-season record set by Jeff Babcock in 2002.
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The start of the second half did nothing to change the vibe of the night. David Bailey broke up the middle for his best rush of the night, only to get stripped of the ball and Hawaii recovered. A few plays later, the Rams picked up a strip sack from Cian Quiroga, recovered and advanced by Manny Jones. It set up CSU in prime Hawaii real estate, but the drive came up empty on a missed Camper field goal.
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Eventually, the teams exchanged touchdowns in the third frame, with Hawaii going first with another big play, a 42-yard pass play to Nick Mardner. Colorado State, forced to pass, did so with success as Centeio had the first 400-yard game of his career. The Rams countered with a short touchdown throw to Williams, then made the game more interesting when they started the fourth quarter with an impressive drive ended by Butler's second scoring catch of the game, covering 24 yards.
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Defensively, Rams settled into a rhythm, forcing Hawaii to punt on the three consecutive drives, and the Rams found a rhythm offensively, too, forging their way back into the game. For once, Colorado State's offense took the field with the confidence it could score each drive.
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"That felt great. I never thought I would throw for 527 yards in a college football game, I can tell you that," Centeio said. ""I'm just proud, and it doesn't matter, because we didn't get the W. but it kind of matters."
Centeio completed 29-of-48 passes for five touchdowns, with the yardage the second-most in a single game by a CSU quarterback.
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The Rams scored 28 points in the fourth quarter, with David Bailey scoring on a 31-yard run, Dante Wright catching a 62-yard pass and Williams had his second score of the game from 9-yards out, but it left only 17 seconds on the game clock, and for the second time in the frame, the Rams could not recover an onside kick.
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Wright had eight catches for 150 yards, while Williams had 92 yards on six catches, Trey McBride 89 on six.
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They needed to resort to them, because Hawaii produced a pair of Dedrick Parson touchdown runs of 10 and 37 yards, the first one coming on a drive where the Rams drew their 10th penalty of the game, allowing it to continue instead of forcing a field goal attempt.
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The Rams were flagged nine times for 100 yards, and they turned over the ball three times. In a game where one play could have made a difference, what stings is the Rams know they had plenty to choose from.
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"I think if we quit shooting ourselves in the foot, we can be a very productive team and have some more Ws," defensive end Scott Patchan said. "Utah State, this one, Vandy is a field goal. That's three games right there. You don't want to sit here and play the what-if game, but those are all one-score games that could have easily gone the other way, too, so I'll leave it at that."
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There were penalties which eliminated good plays on both sides of the ball. Missed assignments which led to big plays for Hawaii – again – on both sides of the ball. It all added up to a 50-45 road loss for the Rams to Hawaii, the fifth defeat in a row for a team with one more game to play.
Â
The hard part for head coach Steve Addazio was balancing the early mistakes against the incredible fight the team put up in the second half.
Â
"We've got to do a better job – I've got to do a better job – of reducing these mistakes. That's on me, and I've got to get that handled," Addazio said. "We've evaluated this and looked at it, and we're going to keep working on whatever we can do to limit those. But the fight that I saw in the end … It's hard for me to explain to you guys; you had to be on the field with them. The steel look they had in their eyes was something I hadn't seen in terms of digging back to come back from something like that. It was real, and it really impressed me."
Â
Before the losing string started, Colorado State was 2-0 in Mountain West play and feeling confident. Then came stinging losses to Utah State and Boise State, and nothing has looked the same. A defense which had not been allowing big plays was getting stung by them. A unit which had been stout against the run gave up more than 380 two consecutive games.
Â
The Rainbow Warriors went the other way, hurting the Rams through the air as Chevan Cordero became the first quarterback this season to throw for more than 300 yards, finishing with 406 after throwing for 248 by halftime. Much of it came on one play, a 93-yard connection with Zion Bowens, who got lost in the CSU secondary when Cordeiro was pressure out of the pocket.
Â
That gave Hawaii a 22-10 lead, and looking to gain some momentum, Colorado State went aggressive with 30 seconds remaining at its own 5. The first play picked up 28 yards on a pass to Gary Williams, but the next was a timing route. CSU quarterback Todd Centeio threw to the sideline with that intention, but as the receiver continued his route, Hawaii's Cameron Lockridge stepped into the void and returned the interception 40 yards for a score and a 29-10 lead at the break.
Â
Colorado State's offense found no traction in the run game in the first half, but the passing game struck magic on the second series, when Centeio hit Cam Butler on a slant, with the tight end throwing a big stiff arm early to clear his was to a 69-yard score, the longest offensive play of the season for the Rams. It gave them a 7-3 lead at that point. The Rams' defense gave up yards early as Hawaii came at them with tempo, but the group held the hosts to three field goals on their first three drives.
Â
The Rams regained the lead at the top of the second frame when Cayden Camper hit a 30-yard field goal for a 10-9 edge. It was his 24th field goal of the year, matching the single-season record set by Jeff Babcock in 2002.
Â
The start of the second half did nothing to change the vibe of the night. David Bailey broke up the middle for his best rush of the night, only to get stripped of the ball and Hawaii recovered. A few plays later, the Rams picked up a strip sack from Cian Quiroga, recovered and advanced by Manny Jones. It set up CSU in prime Hawaii real estate, but the drive came up empty on a missed Camper field goal.
Â
Eventually, the teams exchanged touchdowns in the third frame, with Hawaii going first with another big play, a 42-yard pass play to Nick Mardner. Colorado State, forced to pass, did so with success as Centeio had the first 400-yard game of his career. The Rams countered with a short touchdown throw to Williams, then made the game more interesting when they started the fourth quarter with an impressive drive ended by Butler's second scoring catch of the game, covering 24 yards.
Â
Defensively, Rams settled into a rhythm, forcing Hawaii to punt on the three consecutive drives, and the Rams found a rhythm offensively, too, forging their way back into the game. For once, Colorado State's offense took the field with the confidence it could score each drive.
Â
"That felt great. I never thought I would throw for 527 yards in a college football game, I can tell you that," Centeio said. ""I'm just proud, and it doesn't matter, because we didn't get the W. but it kind of matters."
Centeio completed 29-of-48 passes for five touchdowns, with the yardage the second-most in a single game by a CSU quarterback.
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The Rams scored 28 points in the fourth quarter, with David Bailey scoring on a 31-yard run, Dante Wright catching a 62-yard pass and Williams had his second score of the game from 9-yards out, but it left only 17 seconds on the game clock, and for the second time in the frame, the Rams could not recover an onside kick.
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Wright had eight catches for 150 yards, while Williams had 92 yards on six catches, Trey McBride 89 on six.
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They needed to resort to them, because Hawaii produced a pair of Dedrick Parson touchdown runs of 10 and 37 yards, the first one coming on a drive where the Rams drew their 10th penalty of the game, allowing it to continue instead of forcing a field goal attempt.
Â
The Rams were flagged nine times for 100 yards, and they turned over the ball three times. In a game where one play could have made a difference, what stings is the Rams know they had plenty to choose from.
Â
"I think if we quit shooting ourselves in the foot, we can be a very productive team and have some more Ws," defensive end Scott Patchan said. "Utah State, this one, Vandy is a field goal. That's three games right there. You don't want to sit here and play the what-if game, but those are all one-score games that could have easily gone the other way, too, so I'll leave it at that."
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