Rams Offense Misfires in Border War

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LARAMIE, Wyo. – A close game at halftime, definitely up for grabs.

Wyoming snatched it out of midair.

The 115^th meeting of the Border War took a nasty turn at War Memorial Stadium for Colorado State when Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi was intercepted on successive drives, both of which the Cowboys converted into touchdowns, leading to a 24-15 victory.

"The turnovers were really tough. It gave them a short field to score when I thought our defense was battling them. Then our execution on third down; I mean, we didn't execute well enough to sustain drives on third down and to really make it a game," CSU coach Jay Norvell said. "You can't score 15 points in this league and expect to win. You just can't."

It's the third year in a row Wyoming has celebrated ownership of the Bronze Boot.

The Rams only had 274 yards of total offense on the night, due in large part to going 0-for-10 on third-down conversions. That's 10 drives stalled, four of them before they get started as three-and-outs. Colorado State stitched together one drive in the first half, a response to a 10-0 deficit as Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi found Louis Brown IV for an 18-yard score.

The Rams missed a field goal in the first half, as did Wyoming, but a 10-7 deficit isn't daunting. It is when the offense doesn't produce, and Norvell shouldered the blame.

"I've got to help these kids. I've got to help them execute better," he said. "We've got some young guys out there fighting and playing, trying to give us a chance to win. I'm the coach, it's my responsibility, so I take it.

"I just feel like we need to help these kids a little bit better get over the hump. We play well for a half; we were in fighting distance just like a week ago. A couple of mistakes early in the third quarter put us in a hole and we can't make them, so I take the responsibility for that."

After Wyoming missed a field goal to open half, the mistakes came in short order on the Rams' first two possessions. Wyoming only needed to go 36 yards after the first, capped by an 11-yard pass from Andrew Peasley to Ayir Asante, the second scoring toss of the game for Peasley. Wyoming only needed 48 yards on the next drive, with Sam Scott scoring from the 6 for a 24-7 lead.

The Rams forced a Wyoming turnover when Dom Jones stepped in front of a Peasley pass, and the offense used the opportunity to get back in the game with Dylan Goffney catching a 9-yard touchdown pass. The Rams went for two, with Fowler-Nicolosi catching a pass from Tory Horton.

It was a weird night for the redshirt freshman, as he broke Pete Thomas' record for yardage by a freshman (2,696), but his now 13 picks are the most by a CSU quarterback since Thomas had the same number in 2010.

And it was a weird night because they couldn't hit on third down. A handful of the imperfect 10 were just short.

"We've got to get the job done really," Goffney said. "It's not, I feel like what we're not doing right, but we've got to dig deep. We're trying our hardest to get the third down. I feel we're close, but we have to get over that hump."

The Rams have been a team in a hole before, and they pulled out a miraculous win over Boise State. But just when they were creating hope on a drive, disaster struck when a quick snap bounced off Fowler-Nicolosi toward the line, then bounced back into the backfield where Tyce Westland scooped it up and returned it to 2 but was chased down by Justus Ross-Simmons to save a touchdown.

And it did because the Rams' defense came up with a goal-line stand. Linebacker Chase Wilson said the unit had to after that type of effort.

"Crucial. You just want to get the ball back in our offense's hands, give them an opportunity to make a play," he said. "We knew we had to get that stop. We knew it was going to be a physical game, we knew they were probably going to run it all four times, and I'm really proud of how we can play there."

But it was another rivalry game lost, another year with the Bronze Boot in Laramie.

With three games remaining, Norvell said all is not lost, but the truth is there.

"We have to be better. We have to find ways to help Brayden be better," he said. "We've got three games left and we pride ourselves on finishing strong every year, so we certainly have to do that. We don't want to take our focus any further than the next game."

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Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi

Players Mentioned

Louis Brown IV

Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi

Dylan Goffney

Tory Horton

Dom Jones

Justus Ross-Simmons

Chase Wilson

Players Mentioned

Louis Brown IV

Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi

Dylan Goffney

Tory Horton

Dom Jones

Justus Ross-Simmons

Chase Wilson

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