Memorable Moments: Aggies a Familiar Homecoming Foe

On Saturday, the Rams will play their 98^th intercollegiate homecoming game in the long history of Colorado State football. The Rams' record on homecoming day stands at 51-45-1 after the 32-14 victory over San Jose State in 2021. While the tradition of homecoming began in 1914, the first intercollegiate homecoming game was played on November 18, 1922, a 19-0 win over the Colorado School of Mines. Previously, homecoming football games had been played between the varsity football team and the alumni football players, but research shows the first time the Aggies played another school specifically for homecoming was in 1922.

As CSU celebrates the 100^th anniversary of the first homecoming football game, it will also continue another tradition in which it will play Utah State, making the 2022 contest the 20^th game against their foes from Logan. The record against Utah State on Homecoming is 9-9-1; the lone tie occurred in 1951. No other school has played the Aggies or Rams on homecoming more and over the past 100 years there have been some close games, losses and exciting wins that will not be forgotten.

The first time CSU met the Aggies was in 1926, during the thick of the conference race, a disappointing 13-0 loss. Two years later, the Colorado Aggies beat the Utah State Aggies 7-6 in a thrilling game thanks to a missed extra point by the Utah State kicker. During these early days when Utah State was a bitter rival of the Colorado Aggies, the two teams had legendary coaches in Harry Hughes for the Colorado Aggies and Dick Romney for the Utah Aggies. Both were legends in their schools, and both went on to have stadiums named in their honor on both school's campus.

The 1933 Homecoming game against Utah State was a defensive fight to the very last 30 seconds of the game. The Colorado Aggies, led by outstanding halfback Wilbur "Red" White played to a scoreless standoff as the clock ticked down with a tie looming over the half-filled depression era stadium, White made a 33-yard run to set up a Walter "Bud" Damman field goal with only 30 seconds remaining on the clock to win 3-0. Harry Hughes' Aggies went on to tie for the conference championship in 1933, Hughes' seventh conference title since 1915.

Fast-forward to 2014's homecoming game against the Rams and Aggies when a similar situation played out on the Hughes Stadium turf. The first sellout crowd at Hughes Stadium in 10 years watched an amazing come-from behind win over Utah State. Trailing 13-10 late in the fourth quarter, CSU kicker Jared Roberts tied the game with a 46-yard field goal and only 1:50 on the game clock. After a stop by the Rams defense, the Aggies pinned CSU on their 12-yard-line. Two plays later and time ticking toward overtime, CSU quarterback Garrett Grayson connected with wide receiver Rashard Higgins on a 46-yard pass to set up another 46-yard kick by Roberts. With only 4 seconds left on the clock, Roberts hit the game-winning field goal and CSU won their sixth game of the 2014 season as fans and players celebrated on the field.
While not every homecoming game against Utah State has been as exciting as 1933 or 2014, there have been some notable contests and some forgettable contests as well. The 1936 and 1938 homecoming games marked the downfall of the Hughes era in which Colorado State never scored a point in either game. The last time Hughes faced Utah State on homecoming occurred in 1940, a 13-12 victory thanks to the play of legendary CSU Hall of Famer John Mosley and the rushing of Mosley's close friend, Lewis "Dude" Dent. (We need more nicknames today like they had in the pre-war years.)

The Utah State Aggies also have the distinction of playing the last homecoming games at two stadiums on the CSU campus. On October 21, 1967, with Hughes Stadium under construction and Colorado Field set for retirement, CSU's Larry Jackson received a pass from quarterback Jerry Montiel for a 72-yard touchdown while the Rams defense, thanks to Mike Jones, who blocked a Utah State field goal with 5:22 left in the game, preserved a 17-14 victory before a sold-out crowd of 14,000 at the final homecoming game at Colorado Field.

Flash forward 49 years later and with Canvas Stadium under construction during the final season of Hughes Stadium, a near sellout crowd of 32,387 watched the Rams come from behind once again and beat the Aggies. Trailing 24-10 at halftime, junior Nick Stevens came in after quarterback Colin Hill's knee injury, and while the defense held off Utah State, the offense scored 21 unanswered points to win the final homecoming game at Hughes Stadium 31-24.

That 2016 contest was the last time CSU and Utah State have met on homecoming day. The Aggies will face the Rams in Canvas Stadium Saturday, the third stadium on the CSU campus in which Utah State has faced the Rams on a CSU homecoming day. It is only fitting the 100^th anniversary of homecoming football games will be against a long rival in yet another battle on the gridiron.

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