Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, September 11
Fort Collins, CO
8:00 PM
Colorado State
0-2 , 0-0
21
vs
24
Vanderbilt
1-1 , 0-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Vanderbilt
0
7
14
3
24
Colorado St.
7
7
0
7
21
Vandy Rallies Past Rams on Ag Day
9/12/2021 1:10:00 AM | Football
Late field goal caps comeback for Commodores
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The start was promising, even if it wasn't perfect. There was a moment of rebirth late, but just a moment.
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Colorado State put the first 14 points on the board, and the defense was stuffing Vanderbilt on a consistent basis. The yardage total was even more lopsided than the score, and that proved to be a problem as Saturday night's contest crept forward.
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The Rams had generated 271 yards of total offense at that point, and while two of the five drives ended in David Bailey touchdowns, two others fizzled out as field goal attempts sailed wide right. Instead of feeling great with at least a 20-0 lead at Canvas Stadium, the team felt a bit empty with the double-digit margin. And before the break, it was cut in half when Vandy marched down the field for its first touchdown of the season.
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Unfortunately, it wouldn't be the last, and Colorado State's offense went from missed chances to a series of punts, allowing Vanderbilt to rally for a 24-21 victory.
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Teams can't afford to leave points on the field in this age of college football, and Colorado State did just that the first 30 minutes.
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"When we went in at halftime, I said to myself we had a chance to put this game away and we didn't do it," CSU coach Steve Addazio said. "I was hoping that wouldn't come back to haunt us. I felt like it should have been 28-0 at the half, and we didn't do it."
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The Rams tried to give themselves a reprieve, a moment of brilliance after a period of offense frustration. The Rams drove 67 yards in nine plays, the final call a fourth-and-goal from the 3. An all-or-nothing play, Todd Centeio found Trey McBride in the front corner of the end zone, and the extra point tied the game. But the Rams also left Vanderbilt with plenty of time on the clock, and penalty issues became a focal point once again.
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The Commodores were given 15 yards at the start on a pass interference call, then picked up 15 more when Logan Stewart became the second Ram in the game to get ejected for targeting. The final result was a 38-yard field goal from Joseph Bulovas with just 22 seconds remaining.
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Colorado State was penalized 11 times in the game for 115 yards. Addazio saw the silly ones and the aggressive ones, but they all hurt. They were salt in the overall wound.
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An offside call took a field goal off the board and pushed the ball back five more yards, and the next kick was missed.
Â
Vandy's comeback started late in the first half when it produced its first offensive touchdown of the year, a 20-yard connection between Ken Seals and Chris Pierce to cut the Rams' lead in half.
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After the Commodores' first drive of the second half generated no yards, an interception set up their game-tying score with a short field, capped by a 9-yard pass to Cam Johnson, which Centeio said altered the flow of the game.
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"When I made my stupid mistake. I felt like that's when momentum changed," he said after completing 20-of-38 passes for 238 yards and two scores. "I put that on me. I feel like that's when the momentum swang. I'm going to bow up, take it on the chin, stick my chest out and my team, they're behind me, I'm behind them. I'm kinda disappointed up here."
Â
What made the quick turnout hurt more was Colorado State nickel Thomas Pannunzio dropped an interception the drive before, one which had the look of a pick-six.
Â
All that looked good about the Colorado State offense – Centeio completed his first six passes and the running game was popping at better than 7 yards a carry – was nowhere to be found for a long stretch of the second half. Vanderbilt, mired in the mud to start, started to find life as its receivers started to make tough catches in traffic. The highlight for CSU prior to the tying score was an 81-yard punt by Ryan Stonehouse, the longest of his career and the fourth-best in program history.
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For the second game in a row, Bailey, a transfer running back, found the end zone via the run and pass. He capped the first drive with a 3-yard scoring reception, then burst through the middle of the Vandy defense for a 20-yard scoring run, virtually untouched. He finished with 15 carries for 80 yards on the night, adding 36 yards on three receptions.
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Why the Rams stalled most of the second half is the question every one of them is trying to answer.
Â
"I believe it's probably a mindset thing. We're trying to learn and build a culture here, a winning culture and learn how to win here," Centeio said. "I feel like we took steps to doing that today, but that's part of the process, coming into the second half and really bring the same energy and attention to detail as we did in the first."
Â
Addazio saw mistakes and missed chances, but he also said his team showed him passion and fight. There wasn't anything positive about the end result, but he did see some steps forward in the process. What they need, he said, is more consistency.
Â
Two weeks in a row, the team has absorbed a tough loss. What they haven't given up is hope.
Â
"Just keep everybody together. We're going in the right direction," said linebacker Dequan Jackson after a 12-tackle night. "What we did out there was we fought. We came out swinging, we kept swinging and we fought all the way to the end. We just have to learn how to win. That's the direction we're heading in, and in the locker room, all we have to do is keep the guys together. The moment we all believe this is what we're supposed to be, we're supposed to be winning, that's when we get going."
Â
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Colorado State put the first 14 points on the board, and the defense was stuffing Vanderbilt on a consistent basis. The yardage total was even more lopsided than the score, and that proved to be a problem as Saturday night's contest crept forward.
Â
The Rams had generated 271 yards of total offense at that point, and while two of the five drives ended in David Bailey touchdowns, two others fizzled out as field goal attempts sailed wide right. Instead of feeling great with at least a 20-0 lead at Canvas Stadium, the team felt a bit empty with the double-digit margin. And before the break, it was cut in half when Vandy marched down the field for its first touchdown of the season.
Â
Unfortunately, it wouldn't be the last, and Colorado State's offense went from missed chances to a series of punts, allowing Vanderbilt to rally for a 24-21 victory.
Â
Teams can't afford to leave points on the field in this age of college football, and Colorado State did just that the first 30 minutes.
Â
"When we went in at halftime, I said to myself we had a chance to put this game away and we didn't do it," CSU coach Steve Addazio said. "I was hoping that wouldn't come back to haunt us. I felt like it should have been 28-0 at the half, and we didn't do it."
Â
The Rams tried to give themselves a reprieve, a moment of brilliance after a period of offense frustration. The Rams drove 67 yards in nine plays, the final call a fourth-and-goal from the 3. An all-or-nothing play, Todd Centeio found Trey McBride in the front corner of the end zone, and the extra point tied the game. But the Rams also left Vanderbilt with plenty of time on the clock, and penalty issues became a focal point once again.
Â
The Commodores were given 15 yards at the start on a pass interference call, then picked up 15 more when Logan Stewart became the second Ram in the game to get ejected for targeting. The final result was a 38-yard field goal from Joseph Bulovas with just 22 seconds remaining.
Â
Colorado State was penalized 11 times in the game for 115 yards. Addazio saw the silly ones and the aggressive ones, but they all hurt. They were salt in the overall wound.
Â
An offside call took a field goal off the board and pushed the ball back five more yards, and the next kick was missed.
Â
Vandy's comeback started late in the first half when it produced its first offensive touchdown of the year, a 20-yard connection between Ken Seals and Chris Pierce to cut the Rams' lead in half.
Â
After the Commodores' first drive of the second half generated no yards, an interception set up their game-tying score with a short field, capped by a 9-yard pass to Cam Johnson, which Centeio said altered the flow of the game.
Â
"When I made my stupid mistake. I felt like that's when momentum changed," he said after completing 20-of-38 passes for 238 yards and two scores. "I put that on me. I feel like that's when the momentum swang. I'm going to bow up, take it on the chin, stick my chest out and my team, they're behind me, I'm behind them. I'm kinda disappointed up here."
Â
What made the quick turnout hurt more was Colorado State nickel Thomas Pannunzio dropped an interception the drive before, one which had the look of a pick-six.
Â
All that looked good about the Colorado State offense – Centeio completed his first six passes and the running game was popping at better than 7 yards a carry – was nowhere to be found for a long stretch of the second half. Vanderbilt, mired in the mud to start, started to find life as its receivers started to make tough catches in traffic. The highlight for CSU prior to the tying score was an 81-yard punt by Ryan Stonehouse, the longest of his career and the fourth-best in program history.
Â
For the second game in a row, Bailey, a transfer running back, found the end zone via the run and pass. He capped the first drive with a 3-yard scoring reception, then burst through the middle of the Vandy defense for a 20-yard scoring run, virtually untouched. He finished with 15 carries for 80 yards on the night, adding 36 yards on three receptions.
Â
Why the Rams stalled most of the second half is the question every one of them is trying to answer.
Â
"I believe it's probably a mindset thing. We're trying to learn and build a culture here, a winning culture and learn how to win here," Centeio said. "I feel like we took steps to doing that today, but that's part of the process, coming into the second half and really bring the same energy and attention to detail as we did in the first."
Â
Addazio saw mistakes and missed chances, but he also said his team showed him passion and fight. There wasn't anything positive about the end result, but he did see some steps forward in the process. What they need, he said, is more consistency.
Â
Two weeks in a row, the team has absorbed a tough loss. What they haven't given up is hope.
Â
"Just keep everybody together. We're going in the right direction," said linebacker Dequan Jackson after a 12-tackle night. "What we did out there was we fought. We came out swinging, we kept swinging and we fought all the way to the end. We just have to learn how to win. That's the direction we're heading in, and in the locker room, all we have to do is keep the guys together. The moment we all believe this is what we're supposed to be, we're supposed to be winning, that's when we get going."
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Team Stats
VAN
CSU
Total Yards
342
445
Pass Yards
238
238
Rushing Yards
104
207
Penalty Yards
62
115
1st Downs
22
20
3rd Downs
6
4
4th Downs
1
1
TOP
35:27
24:33
1st Quarter
VAN 0, CSU 7
CSU - Bailey,David 3 yd pass from Centeio,Todd (Camper,Cayden kick) 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:03
2nd Quarter
VAN 0, CSU 14
CSU - Bailey,David 20 yd run (Camper,Cayden kick), 3 plays, 27 yards, TOP 00:45
VAN 7, CSU 14
VAN - Pierce,Chris 20 yd pass from Seals,Ken (Bulovas,Joseph kick) 7 plays, 58 yards, TOP 01:10
3rd Quarter
VAN 14, CSU 14
VAN - Johnson,Cam 9 yd pass from Seals,Ken (Bulovas,Joseph kick) 9 plays, 53 yards, TOP 03:36
VAN 21, CSU 14
VAN - Seals,Ken 1 yd run (Bulovas,Joseph kick), 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:13
4th Quarter
VAN 21, CSU 21
CSU - McBride,Trey 3 yd pass from Centeio,Todd (Camper,Cayden kick) 9 plays, 67 yards, TOP 02:22
VAN 24, CSU 21
VAN - Bulovas,Joseph 38 yd field goal 8 plays, 55 yards, TOP 02:48
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
20
TD
2
YDS
238
INT
1
Players Mentioned
RB
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LB
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TE
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WR
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DB
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