Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, September 10
Fort Collins, CO
2:00 p.m.
Colorado State
0-2 , 0-0
19
vs
34
Middle Tennessee
1-1 , 0-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Middle Tenn.
10
17
7
0
34
Colorado St.
0
0
19
0
19
One Spurt Can't Overcome Slow Start
9/10/2022 7:20:00 PM | Football
Rams drop home opener to Middle Tennessee
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Jay Norvell came right out and said his team wasn't ready for Michigan, not at the moment. Under the circumstances – young team on the road against a ranked team – it was understandable.
The Rams didn't look ready for Middle Tennessee in the first half on Saturday – an opponent coming off a big loss -- and that flat-out surprised coach Jay Norvell.
"The big thing that we've been trying to establish with our guys is we've tried to simplify this game and really work on simple things in practice and try to carry them over to the game," Norvell said after a 34-19 loss at Canvas Stadium. "I'm really disappointed about some of the fundamental things we did not do early in this game."
The offense couldn't move the ball at all in the first half, adding insult to injury with three turnovers in the first 30 minutes which aided the Blue Raiders on their way to a 27-0 halftime lead. The first came on the first play of the game when Clay Millen's pass was wide of his target and went directly to Tra Fluellen, who returned it 32 yards for the score just 9 seconds into the contest.
The Blue Raiders turned those three turnovers into 17 points. CSU, which wasn't flagged once in the opener, had defensive penalties which extended Middle Tennessee drives. After punting two of its first three possessions, Middle Tennessee's offense came to life, producing three consecutive scoring drives. Then for good measure, they took advantage of another defensive penalty to extend a drive, answering with a 42-yard touchdown pass from Chase Cunningham to Elijah Metcalf.
The Rams have not scored in the first half this year. They've also given up 15 sacks in two games, eight Saturday. The program had only given up seven sacks in a game four times the 20 seasons prior. A fast start would be welcomed.
"It needs to be the first thing that's on our mind is we need to start moving the ball effectively," center Jacob Gardner said. "We don't need to have any hiccups, we need to know what to expect when we go out there, not wait for somebody else to make a big play and then the motivation swings our way. It can't work like that. We need each to go out there individually and go out to make plays."
Colorado State had a response. It was loud, but not loud enough. But for the first time all year, Colorado State was playing complementary football. The offense started hitting quick and the defense was getting the ball back.
Millen found Tory Horton for a trio of touchdown passes on consecutive drives. The first covered 48 yards, with Horton winning a battle for the ball in the end zone. The next one covered 69 yards, with Horton beating his defender and covering the final 20 yards. A drive later, on third-and-15 in the red zone, Millen delivered a bullet for a 17-yard score.
Horton became the ninth Ram to have three touchdown receptions in a game, the first since Preston Williams in 2018 in a loss at Air Force.
After the second touchdown, it was defensive end who generated a turnover, stripping Frank Peasant of the ball and recovering it himself. After the third touchdown to Horton, safety Jack Howell gave the offense the ball back, picking off a pass off a Chigozie Anusiem deflection.
However, the offense could not convert the turnover into points, with Cayden Camper missing a 43-yard field goal. On the next CSU possession, Millen was intercepted going deep for Horton, with Decorian Patterson winning the rights to the 50-50 ball with inside position.
For 10 minutes, the Rams were back in business. Then they couldn't finish once again.
"Obviously a loss is tough, but we've seen what we can do," said Jack Howell, who finished with a career-best 16 tackles. "That was a great spurt for 10 minutes. Once the defense is playing at that level that we should be and executing at the level we should be, then the offense feeding off of that and scoring touchdowns, we can be a dangerous team. I think the guys got a taste of that. We have to use that going into next week."
Colorado State finished with 246 yards of total offense after throwing for 256, thanks to the eight sacks leading to 70 yards in losses. Millen hit 20-of-30 passes for 256 yards with two interceptions, with Horton being the main target, collecting nine catches for 186 yards.
Middle Tennessee licked its wounds with 380 yards of total offense as Cunningham threw for 266 by hitting 31-of-39 throws, while Peasant rushed 22 times for 93 yards and two scores.
The Rams will look at a good 10-minute stretch as a positive, realizing the other 50 require even a deeper look. Norvell said his team they would grade each player on their ability to win individual battles, to make blocks and shed them, to make plays when they were there.
There will be no curve, either.
"It's a lack of execution. I think we had a great plan coming out, and obviously we showed that in the second half," Howell said. "We have great players who are going to play the best of their ability and play with all their heart. No one was hanging their head in the locker room, and that showed in the second half. We just have to play it out all four quarters. We can't come out slow like that. We've just got to keep building."
The Rams didn't look ready for Middle Tennessee in the first half on Saturday – an opponent coming off a big loss -- and that flat-out surprised coach Jay Norvell.
"The big thing that we've been trying to establish with our guys is we've tried to simplify this game and really work on simple things in practice and try to carry them over to the game," Norvell said after a 34-19 loss at Canvas Stadium. "I'm really disappointed about some of the fundamental things we did not do early in this game."
The offense couldn't move the ball at all in the first half, adding insult to injury with three turnovers in the first 30 minutes which aided the Blue Raiders on their way to a 27-0 halftime lead. The first came on the first play of the game when Clay Millen's pass was wide of his target and went directly to Tra Fluellen, who returned it 32 yards for the score just 9 seconds into the contest.
The Blue Raiders turned those three turnovers into 17 points. CSU, which wasn't flagged once in the opener, had defensive penalties which extended Middle Tennessee drives. After punting two of its first three possessions, Middle Tennessee's offense came to life, producing three consecutive scoring drives. Then for good measure, they took advantage of another defensive penalty to extend a drive, answering with a 42-yard touchdown pass from Chase Cunningham to Elijah Metcalf.
The Rams have not scored in the first half this year. They've also given up 15 sacks in two games, eight Saturday. The program had only given up seven sacks in a game four times the 20 seasons prior. A fast start would be welcomed.
"It needs to be the first thing that's on our mind is we need to start moving the ball effectively," center Jacob Gardner said. "We don't need to have any hiccups, we need to know what to expect when we go out there, not wait for somebody else to make a big play and then the motivation swings our way. It can't work like that. We need each to go out there individually and go out to make plays."
Colorado State had a response. It was loud, but not loud enough. But for the first time all year, Colorado State was playing complementary football. The offense started hitting quick and the defense was getting the ball back.
Millen found Tory Horton for a trio of touchdown passes on consecutive drives. The first covered 48 yards, with Horton winning a battle for the ball in the end zone. The next one covered 69 yards, with Horton beating his defender and covering the final 20 yards. A drive later, on third-and-15 in the red zone, Millen delivered a bullet for a 17-yard score.
Horton became the ninth Ram to have three touchdown receptions in a game, the first since Preston Williams in 2018 in a loss at Air Force.
After the second touchdown, it was defensive end who generated a turnover, stripping Frank Peasant of the ball and recovering it himself. After the third touchdown to Horton, safety Jack Howell gave the offense the ball back, picking off a pass off a Chigozie Anusiem deflection.
However, the offense could not convert the turnover into points, with Cayden Camper missing a 43-yard field goal. On the next CSU possession, Millen was intercepted going deep for Horton, with Decorian Patterson winning the rights to the 50-50 ball with inside position.
For 10 minutes, the Rams were back in business. Then they couldn't finish once again.
"Obviously a loss is tough, but we've seen what we can do," said Jack Howell, who finished with a career-best 16 tackles. "That was a great spurt for 10 minutes. Once the defense is playing at that level that we should be and executing at the level we should be, then the offense feeding off of that and scoring touchdowns, we can be a dangerous team. I think the guys got a taste of that. We have to use that going into next week."
Colorado State finished with 246 yards of total offense after throwing for 256, thanks to the eight sacks leading to 70 yards in losses. Millen hit 20-of-30 passes for 256 yards with two interceptions, with Horton being the main target, collecting nine catches for 186 yards.
Middle Tennessee licked its wounds with 380 yards of total offense as Cunningham threw for 266 by hitting 31-of-39 throws, while Peasant rushed 22 times for 93 yards and two scores.
The Rams will look at a good 10-minute stretch as a positive, realizing the other 50 require even a deeper look. Norvell said his team they would grade each player on their ability to win individual battles, to make blocks and shed them, to make plays when they were there.
There will be no curve, either.
"It's a lack of execution. I think we had a great plan coming out, and obviously we showed that in the second half," Howell said. "We have great players who are going to play the best of their ability and play with all their heart. No one was hanging their head in the locker room, and that showed in the second half. We just have to play it out all four quarters. We can't come out slow like that. We've just got to keep building."
Team Stats
MTN
CSU
Total Yards
380
246
Pass Yards
266
256
Rushing Yards
114
-10
Penalty Yards
47
67
1st Downs
20
16
3rd Downs
7
3
4th Downs
2
2
TOP
31:19
28:41
1st Quarter
MTN 7, CSU 0
MTN - Fluellen,Tra 32 yd interception (Rankin,Zeke kick)
MTN 10, CSU 0
MTN - Rankin,Zeke 25 yd field goal 11 plays, 63 yards, TOP 03:59
2nd Quarter
MTN 17, CSU 0
MTN - Peasant,Frank 1 yd run (Rankin,Zeke kick), 7 plays, 41 yards, TOP 02:39
MTN 20, CSU 0
MTN - Rankin,Zeke 35 yd field goal 17 plays, 76 yards, TOP 06:35
MTN 27, CSU 0
MTN - Peasant,Frank 1 yd run (Rankin,Zeke kick), 3 plays, 18 yards, TOP 00:40
3rd Quarter
MTN 34, CSU 0
MTN - Metcalf,Elijah 42 yd pass from Cunningham,Chase (Rankin,Zeke kick) 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:19
MTN 34, CSU 6
CSU - Horton,Tory 48 yd pass from Millen,Clay () 3 plays, 61 yards, TOP 01:13
MTN 34, CSU 13
CSU - Horton,Tory 69 yd pass from Millen,Clay (Camper,Cayden kick) 2 plays, 70 yards, TOP 00:43
MTN 34, CSU 19
CSU - Horton,Tory 17 yd pass from Millen,Clay () 7 plays, 36 yards, TOP 02:43
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
20
TD
3
YDS
256
INT
2
Players Mentioned
DB
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OL
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WR
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DB
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/ FootballColorado State Athletics: Football Bye Week Update
Wednesday, September 10
Colorado State Football: Ellis (L) and Rogers (R) Postgame (Northern Colorado, 2025)
Saturday, September 06
Colorado State Football: Avant (L) and Fowler-Nicolosi (R) Postgame (Northern Colorado, 2025)
Saturday, September 06
Colorado State Football: Jay Norvell Post-Game (Northern Colorado, 2025)
Saturday, September 06