What We Saw: Emotion and Resilience

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Just another win.

Not even close. There was so much chatter from the other side for two week, from the current coach to former coaches, some text exchanges from former teammates. Through it all, Colorado State remained very silent about the return to Nevada by Jay Norvell and a group of former players.

They didn't get it, so they didn't take part. But they did enjoy a 17-14 win over the Wolf Pack, the first for Norvell at Colorado State and it came at the start of Mountain West play.

As the game wore on, there as more jawing, a few shoves and a few other things, all of it providing some motivation.

"This was personal. All the talking from the head coach to the players, I mean, it was like, bro, we're trying to play football, y'all just talking and texting and doing all this chatter," said running back Avery Morrow, who played two years at Nevada. "All the fans … I mean, it was crazy how much crap they were saying. They were just trying to get in our heads. Just the fact we came from Nevada, they just kind of treated us different."

Morrow played the best game of his college career, carrying the ball 24 times for 168 yards, with the run game providing the best chance for the Rams to move the chains most of the game.

Both teams had a bye week, and Wilson started Nevada's with some public comments about how Norvell left, admitting most of it was second-hand chatter. He said it was unusual for a coach to leave a program before a bowl game, though the former Oregon assistant watched Mario Cristobal do the same last year as he exited for a job at Miami.

Norvell did find Ken Wilson on the field before kickoff, and the two did have a discussion.

"It's taken me a long time to be a head coach, and I respect head coaches," Norvell said. "I just told him if he wants to talk to me, he can call me any time. The public comments were unnecessary, and they weren't true, and I was disappointed in that."

Easy Money

Michael Boyle hit from 48 yards, then he missed. Then he hit from 43 yards – twice -- and the Rams celebrated.

All in one second.

"We did what we were supposed to do in that situation, and if the other coach ices us, we're supposed to snap it and kick it and give him a practice kick," Norvell said of the senior kicker's game-winning field goal. "He made the kick three times. Just the resiliency of our kids and we finished the game, and we have to give them credit for that."

Nevada twice called timeouts to ice him, and the one time Boyle missed, they ran into him giving him a second chance and leave the clock nothing but zeros. Through it all, holder Paddy Turner was there for him.

"Me and Paddy have a good relationship. We go back and forth, it's just another kick, you've got this, this is what we practice for," Boyle said. "At least once a week we are practicing something exactly like what happened. A snapper and holder are important. Jacob Raab is getting it back there, Paddy is four-of-four on the holds. Easy money."

Boyle is now 2-of-3 on field goals this year, but it wasn't his first game-winning kick. He said he hit a 47-yarder his freshman year in high school – "if that counts."

It does. The one difference between the three kicks he made in the sequence is the one which counted was popped up more than it was driven through.

"That ball was in the air for an eternity," he said. "I saw it go over the post and everything went blank. Just pure excitement."

Cleaning Up

The win meant everything to a program riding a 10-game losing streak, but as nice as it was, it didn't come without some warts Norvell knows they have to remove.

Colorado State was flagged 14 times for 136 yards. It was the most flags thrown against a Colorado State team since 2000, with 12 (three times) being the previous high in the span.

They also turned the ball over three times, twice on Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi interceptions, once on a Morrow fumble. It was part of the reason the Rams couldn't finish drives, and it was part of the issue on Nevada's two scoring drives.

The Rams rank 82^nd in the country with an average of 60.2 yards in infractions per game.

"I was just disappointed in the penalties. We really hurt ourselves with the penalties," Norvell said. "It was going to be a field-position game, and we allowed them to sustain drives because of penalties, we killed ourselves when we were moving the ball because of penalties and turnovers. Those are the mistakes we've got to eliminate. Obviously, we're going to be playing better teams as we go along, but to give ourselves a chance to win, we have to eliminate those penalties."

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Michael Boyle

Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi

Avery Morrow

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Paddy Turner

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