Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, November 23
Fresno, CA
8:30 PM
Colorado State
7-4 , 5-1
22
at
28
Fresno State
6-5 , 4-3
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Colorado St.
7
0
7
8
22
Fresno St.
7
21
0
0
28
Rams’ Run Ends on Road at Fresno State
11/24/2024 1:16:00 AM | Football
Bulldogs do all their damage in first half
FRESNO, Calif. – They entered Saturday night with everything desired within their control. In one quarter, the scenario unraveled for Colorado State's football team.
With a 21-point second frame fueled by big plays, Fresno State stormed out to a 28-7 lead at halftime on its way to a 28-22 victory at Valley Children's Stadium. The win made the Bulldogs bowl eligible while Colorado State's hopes for a Mountain West championship appearance are going to require help from afar. To be precise, a UNLV loss to Nevada at home next week and a CSU victory over Utah State at home on Friday.
I'm really proud of how they came back in the second half. I really challenged out team to come back and compete, not look at the scoreboard and do all they can to get back in the game," CSU coach Jay Norvell said. "We drove the ball down and didn't score in the red zone, which hurt us. If we could have scored there, we really could have made it interesting in the end, but proud of how they continued to fight, but we just didn't play well enough in the first half to give ourselves a chance."
Between now and those dates, the Rams (7-4 overall, 5-1 MW) have a lot to unpack after all which led to a five-game win streak in conference play came undone in one night.
An offense which was controlling the ball could not against Fresno State's eight-man defensive box. The stingiest defense in the conference – the Rams were only surrendering 14.8 points per game in conference play – was giving up big plays. If not for a determined set of downs by safety Henry Blackburn blowing up a red-zone opportunity in the second quarter, the deficit may have been greater. The senior had an interception taken away by a pass interference flag on Dylan Phelps, but two plays later Blackburn stopped Keene short of the goal line on a third-down scramble, then forced Keene to fumble as he tried to dive in for the score on fourth down, the ball recovered by Jack Howell in the end zone.
The Bulldogs had 297 yards of offense in the first 30 minutes, 179 of it produced on six plays. Two of them produced scores – a 16-yard run by Bryson Donelson to end Fresno State's opening drive to counter Colorado State's score, the second a 28-yard pass from Mikey Keene to Mac Dalena for a 2-17 lead.
As good as the Rams looked on their opening drive – covering 77 yards on 12 plays and scoring on a 10-yard run by Justin Marshall on a fourth-down snap – they looked just as lost the remainder of the half. Colorado State's next five drives produced punts, a pair of three-and-outs and just 67 additional yards.
While the defense regrouped and came back better, the offense continued to struggle mightily.
The Rams' defensive unit shut down the Bulldogs in the second half, forcing six consecutive punts while only allowing 47 yards. It was exactly what the Rams needed, but the offense couldn't do its part to generate a comeback.
"We should have just cleaned up those mental mistakes early," defensive lineman James Mitchell said. "We corrected those and came together in the second half and fixed those obviously when we don't let up any points, but we just have to do that faster and sooner."
The Rams couldn't convert on third down, going 3-of-9 in the second half. They opened with two straight trips into the red zone, but the first one came up empty. The second gave them a glimmer of hope when Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi scored on a 9-yard run.
"We just need to capitalize on our opportunities, and that's starts with me as a quarterback," Fowler-Nicolosi said. "I think there's a lot of missed opportunities tonight. Theres a lot of things I look to improve next week. The defense held their own in the second half, didn't let up a single point, so as an offense we need to play complementary football as we have been in previous weeks and help them out and get points on the board."
The ensuing drive was maddening, almost the pinnacle of the frustration the unit felt throughout most of the game.
Promising at first, a long run by Kobe Johnson was erased by a hold. Later, on third-and-long, they jumped offsides. It became a 16-play scoreless journey which netted just 49 yards and took 7:09 of precious time off the clock.
"We just didn't finish," Norvell said. "That's what you have to do, especially on the road when you're playing a good football team. These guys are capable. We moved it down there a couple of times and didn't score, and that ended up hurting us in the end."
Marshall rushed for 94 yards in the game, but playing catchup doesn't keep it in play. Meanwhile, Fowler-Nicolosi struggled throwing the ball, finishing just 24-of-49 for 283 yards with an interception (his first in four games), which ended another promising drive with just 2:41 remaining in the game, effectively ending any real hopes of a comeback, though they would close the score with 17 seconds remaining a 5-yard touchdown pass from Fowler-Nicolosi to Jamari Person following a 60-yard connection between the two the play prior. A third attempt at the 2-point try was good, Fowler-Nicolosi hitting Vince Brown II.
With just 17 seconds remaining there wasn't much hope, none after the Bulldogs covered the onside kick. The Rams may not control everything now, but what they can, Norvell expects his squad to grab hold tightly.
"What we control is how we play. I think that's the thing I tried to make clear to our football team is we're never out of any game until we decide we're out of it," Norvell said. "Even there at the end we had a chance. That last onside kick, if we get the ball back, we'll take a shot at the end zone, and if we score, we have a chance to win.
"I think that's the most important thing for us to understand as a Rams team is we're never out of any game. We have to continue to fight and play, but we can't hurt ourselves, and we did that early tonight."
With a 21-point second frame fueled by big plays, Fresno State stormed out to a 28-7 lead at halftime on its way to a 28-22 victory at Valley Children's Stadium. The win made the Bulldogs bowl eligible while Colorado State's hopes for a Mountain West championship appearance are going to require help from afar. To be precise, a UNLV loss to Nevada at home next week and a CSU victory over Utah State at home on Friday.
I'm really proud of how they came back in the second half. I really challenged out team to come back and compete, not look at the scoreboard and do all they can to get back in the game," CSU coach Jay Norvell said. "We drove the ball down and didn't score in the red zone, which hurt us. If we could have scored there, we really could have made it interesting in the end, but proud of how they continued to fight, but we just didn't play well enough in the first half to give ourselves a chance."
Between now and those dates, the Rams (7-4 overall, 5-1 MW) have a lot to unpack after all which led to a five-game win streak in conference play came undone in one night.
An offense which was controlling the ball could not against Fresno State's eight-man defensive box. The stingiest defense in the conference – the Rams were only surrendering 14.8 points per game in conference play – was giving up big plays. If not for a determined set of downs by safety Henry Blackburn blowing up a red-zone opportunity in the second quarter, the deficit may have been greater. The senior had an interception taken away by a pass interference flag on Dylan Phelps, but two plays later Blackburn stopped Keene short of the goal line on a third-down scramble, then forced Keene to fumble as he tried to dive in for the score on fourth down, the ball recovered by Jack Howell in the end zone.
The Bulldogs had 297 yards of offense in the first 30 minutes, 179 of it produced on six plays. Two of them produced scores – a 16-yard run by Bryson Donelson to end Fresno State's opening drive to counter Colorado State's score, the second a 28-yard pass from Mikey Keene to Mac Dalena for a 2-17 lead.
As good as the Rams looked on their opening drive – covering 77 yards on 12 plays and scoring on a 10-yard run by Justin Marshall on a fourth-down snap – they looked just as lost the remainder of the half. Colorado State's next five drives produced punts, a pair of three-and-outs and just 67 additional yards.
While the defense regrouped and came back better, the offense continued to struggle mightily.
The Rams' defensive unit shut down the Bulldogs in the second half, forcing six consecutive punts while only allowing 47 yards. It was exactly what the Rams needed, but the offense couldn't do its part to generate a comeback.
"We should have just cleaned up those mental mistakes early," defensive lineman James Mitchell said. "We corrected those and came together in the second half and fixed those obviously when we don't let up any points, but we just have to do that faster and sooner."
The Rams couldn't convert on third down, going 3-of-9 in the second half. They opened with two straight trips into the red zone, but the first one came up empty. The second gave them a glimmer of hope when Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi scored on a 9-yard run.
"We just need to capitalize on our opportunities, and that's starts with me as a quarterback," Fowler-Nicolosi said. "I think there's a lot of missed opportunities tonight. Theres a lot of things I look to improve next week. The defense held their own in the second half, didn't let up a single point, so as an offense we need to play complementary football as we have been in previous weeks and help them out and get points on the board."
The ensuing drive was maddening, almost the pinnacle of the frustration the unit felt throughout most of the game.
Promising at first, a long run by Kobe Johnson was erased by a hold. Later, on third-and-long, they jumped offsides. It became a 16-play scoreless journey which netted just 49 yards and took 7:09 of precious time off the clock.
"We just didn't finish," Norvell said. "That's what you have to do, especially on the road when you're playing a good football team. These guys are capable. We moved it down there a couple of times and didn't score, and that ended up hurting us in the end."
Marshall rushed for 94 yards in the game, but playing catchup doesn't keep it in play. Meanwhile, Fowler-Nicolosi struggled throwing the ball, finishing just 24-of-49 for 283 yards with an interception (his first in four games), which ended another promising drive with just 2:41 remaining in the game, effectively ending any real hopes of a comeback, though they would close the score with 17 seconds remaining a 5-yard touchdown pass from Fowler-Nicolosi to Jamari Person following a 60-yard connection between the two the play prior. A third attempt at the 2-point try was good, Fowler-Nicolosi hitting Vince Brown II.
With just 17 seconds remaining there wasn't much hope, none after the Bulldogs covered the onside kick. The Rams may not control everything now, but what they can, Norvell expects his squad to grab hold tightly.
"What we control is how we play. I think that's the thing I tried to make clear to our football team is we're never out of any game until we decide we're out of it," Norvell said. "Even there at the end we had a chance. That last onside kick, if we get the ball back, we'll take a shot at the end zone, and if we score, we have a chance to win.
"I think that's the most important thing for us to understand as a Rams team is we're never out of any game. We have to continue to fight and play, but we can't hurt ourselves, and we did that early tonight."
Team Stats
CSU
FST
Total Yards
402
331
Pass Yards
315
186
Rushing Yards
87
145
Penalty Yards
81
67
1st Downs
22
18
3rd Downs
5
6
4th Downs
4
0
TOP
34:17
25:43
1st Quarter
CSU 7, FST 0
CSU - Marshall,Justin 10 yd run (Noyes,Jordan kick), 12 plays, 77 yards, TOP 06:26
CSU 7, FST 7
FST - Donelson,Bryson 16 yd run (Lynch,Dylan kick), 4 plays, 80 yards, TOP 01:18
2nd Quarter
CSU 7, FST 14
FST - Wood,Joshua 4 yd run (Lynch,Dylan kick), 5 plays, 58 yards, TOP 02:22
CSU 7, FST 21
FST - Dalena,Mac 28 yd pass from Keene,Mikey (Lynch,Dylan kick) 6 plays, 46 yards, TOP 02:18
CSU 7, FST 28
FST - Moss,Jalen 15 yd pass from Keene,Mikey (Lynch,Dylan kick) 10 plays, 58 yards, TOP 01:44
3rd Quarter
CSU 14, FST 28
CSU - Fowler-Nicolosi,Brayden 4 yd run (Noyes,Jordan kick), 6 plays, 26 yards, TOP 02:15
4th Quarter
CSU 22, FST 28
CSU - Person,Jamari 5 yd pass from Fowler-Nicolosi,Brayden (Brown II,Vince pass) 7 plays, 90 yards, TOP 01:20
Game Leaders
CMP
25
TD
1
YDS
302
INT
1
CMP
1
TD
0
YDS
13
INT
0
Players Mentioned
DB
/ Football
TE
/ FootballQB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DB
/ FootballColorado State Football: Cinematic Recap vs. Fresno State
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Saturday, October 11
Colorado State Football: Beers (L) and Brousseau (R) Post-Game (Fresno State, 2025)
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