Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, September 21
Fort Collins, CO
3:00 PM
Colorado State
2-2 , 0-0
27
vs
17
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UTEP
0-4 , 0-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
UTEP
0
3
7
7
17
Colorado State
7
7
10
3
27
Morrow Rushes Rams to Even
9/21/2024 8:35:00 PM | Football
Back breaks free for 156 yards and two scores
On the day summer turned to fall, Avery Morrow remembered.
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He recalled a tumultuous 2023 season, both physically and personally. He could recall the 2022 season, the one where he led the team in rushing and broke off five 100-yard games, three in succession.
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That was the Morrow who suited up for Colorado State on Saturday night at Canvas Stadium against UTEP. As the offensive line moved the earth in front of him, the senior ran like the wind as the Rams fired off a 27-17 win to even the season at 2-2.
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He rushed for 156 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns, one a 73-yard burst which stands as the longest run of his career. While he spent the night running away from Miners, he's never run away from his story.
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The part where he was arrested on an assault charge and put on probation and work release. He talked about that in more detail after the game than he did his performance.
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"That moment I had, it was only 38 seconds, but it could have cost me a whole lot. I did 46 days in work release," Morrow said. "It's like another way of saying you're in jail, but you're not in jail. I got to leave and come to work out, but I didn't have my freedom, couldn't have my phone. Those weren't gourmet meals, I'll tell you that. I got humbled. But through it all, I learned a lot. I took some losses, but I learned from them."
Â
He said he hit rock bottom, then started his climb. Injuries last season didn't help climb. When the season opened, he was down on the depth chart and didn't play an offensive snap at Texas. A week later, he finished off the Northern Colorado game with a bullish touchdown run. Against Colorado, his 62-yard run set up the Rams' only touchdown in the game.
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CSU coach Jay Norvell never lost faith, not after recruiting Morrow to Nevada as a freshman, and he was taking notice.
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"Avery is built from the right stuff. He's a tremendous person," Norvell said. "He's been through a lot of tough times in his life, and he's always remained positive. He's continued to work, he's a really good teammate and I'm really proud of him. He showed me a lot at the end of the Northern Colorado game when he got in there and ran that last touchdown in an took about five or six defenders with him and pushed into the end zone.
Â
"He showed me a lot of determination there, and we've been looking for ways to get him in the game. We played a little pony tonight, two backs at the same time, and we'll continue to do that. I'm really proud of Avery. He really did a great job tonight."
Morrow picked up some hard-earned yards, and in the process, broke off some gashing runs. As a team, Colorado State had seven explosive runs (15 yards or longer) all of 2023. Saturday, they had six and Morrow had half of them.
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The most dazzling was the 73-yard scoring burst to make it a 14-3 game, a run linemen were celebrating long before he crossed the goal line.
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"I mean, we love our guys no matter who's running the ball," tackle Saveyon Henderson said. "It's definitely an amazing feeling to see a running back spring open like that for however long it was, a long touchdown. It was exciting."
Â
When Morrow broke the line of scrimmage, there was not a Miner to be seen in the secondary, scoring with ease. The last time he remembered seeing so much space was two years ago against San Jose State.
Â
"That's the only other time. It's not normal to have that much space," Morrow said. "I wouldn't say I was surprised; I'd say excited."
Â
Rushing for 224 yards in the game was a boon to an Air Raid offense still trying to take flight, especially without Tory Horton in the lineup. In both wins, the Rams have rushed for more than 200 yards.
Â
Gashing runs only help, with Caleb Goodie, Justin Marshall and even Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi boosting the total.
Â
"It's amazing. When we have explosive runs it changes our team," Norvell said. "That's a deflating thing for a defense, when you can run the ball on them like that, and when you can get chunks of yards that changes the game. We want to continue to build on that."
Â
Dane Olson helped build the lead when he broke in to block a punt – the second of his career – to set up a short scoring pass from Fowler-Nicolosi to Armani Winfield.
Â
The Rams led 21-3 at that point early in the third, then moved it to 24-3 on another Jordon Noyes field goal.
Â
"(Special teams coordinator Tommy) Perry does a great job every week of dialing up a new block," Olson said. "All week he gives me all the tools to do exactly what I did. He said if you line up correctly, if you do the right technique, you're going to block it. I was practicing all week, it just came free, and it was easy."
Â
It all helped as the offense otherwise struggled, converting just three times in 14 tries on third down, throwing for 132 yards.
Â
The defense looked as good as it has all year through the majority of the game, particularly in the first half, allowing less than 100 yards of total offense and getting an interception from Henry Blackburn. By the end of the night, the unit produced three sacks and eight tackles for loss.
Â
"Obviously there's parts where we can get better, but we did a really good job stopping the run," said linebacker Buom Jock after a 13-tackle night, eight of them solo. "I think it was 2.4 yards per carry and 98 yards. When you stop the run, obviously you know they're going to start passing. I think we did a really good job. All week we talked about stopping the run, and we did that."
Â
Then UTEP found success in the air behind backup quarterback Cade McConnell, who connected twice with Kenny Odom for touchdown passes. Suddenly, a big lead was dwindled to 24-17.
Â
The Rams made it safer in the final two minutes on Noyes' second field goal. And as fall opened, the Rams celebrated. And in the locker room, the Rams sang and danced the night away on a night Morrow stole the night away.
Â
"I was just blessed. I've been through so much, but I have a story to tell for the young guys," he said. "You can do anything as long as you stay true to yourself."
Â
Â
He recalled a tumultuous 2023 season, both physically and personally. He could recall the 2022 season, the one where he led the team in rushing and broke off five 100-yard games, three in succession.
Â
That was the Morrow who suited up for Colorado State on Saturday night at Canvas Stadium against UTEP. As the offensive line moved the earth in front of him, the senior ran like the wind as the Rams fired off a 27-17 win to even the season at 2-2.
Â
He rushed for 156 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns, one a 73-yard burst which stands as the longest run of his career. While he spent the night running away from Miners, he's never run away from his story.
Â
The part where he was arrested on an assault charge and put on probation and work release. He talked about that in more detail after the game than he did his performance.
Â
"That moment I had, it was only 38 seconds, but it could have cost me a whole lot. I did 46 days in work release," Morrow said. "It's like another way of saying you're in jail, but you're not in jail. I got to leave and come to work out, but I didn't have my freedom, couldn't have my phone. Those weren't gourmet meals, I'll tell you that. I got humbled. But through it all, I learned a lot. I took some losses, but I learned from them."
Â
He said he hit rock bottom, then started his climb. Injuries last season didn't help climb. When the season opened, he was down on the depth chart and didn't play an offensive snap at Texas. A week later, he finished off the Northern Colorado game with a bullish touchdown run. Against Colorado, his 62-yard run set up the Rams' only touchdown in the game.
Â
CSU coach Jay Norvell never lost faith, not after recruiting Morrow to Nevada as a freshman, and he was taking notice.
Â
"Avery is built from the right stuff. He's a tremendous person," Norvell said. "He's been through a lot of tough times in his life, and he's always remained positive. He's continued to work, he's a really good teammate and I'm really proud of him. He showed me a lot at the end of the Northern Colorado game when he got in there and ran that last touchdown in an took about five or six defenders with him and pushed into the end zone.
Â
"He showed me a lot of determination there, and we've been looking for ways to get him in the game. We played a little pony tonight, two backs at the same time, and we'll continue to do that. I'm really proud of Avery. He really did a great job tonight."
Morrow picked up some hard-earned yards, and in the process, broke off some gashing runs. As a team, Colorado State had seven explosive runs (15 yards or longer) all of 2023. Saturday, they had six and Morrow had half of them.
Â
The most dazzling was the 73-yard scoring burst to make it a 14-3 game, a run linemen were celebrating long before he crossed the goal line.
Â
"I mean, we love our guys no matter who's running the ball," tackle Saveyon Henderson said. "It's definitely an amazing feeling to see a running back spring open like that for however long it was, a long touchdown. It was exciting."
Â
When Morrow broke the line of scrimmage, there was not a Miner to be seen in the secondary, scoring with ease. The last time he remembered seeing so much space was two years ago against San Jose State.
Â
"That's the only other time. It's not normal to have that much space," Morrow said. "I wouldn't say I was surprised; I'd say excited."
Â
Rushing for 224 yards in the game was a boon to an Air Raid offense still trying to take flight, especially without Tory Horton in the lineup. In both wins, the Rams have rushed for more than 200 yards.
Â
Gashing runs only help, with Caleb Goodie, Justin Marshall and even Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi boosting the total.
Â
"It's amazing. When we have explosive runs it changes our team," Norvell said. "That's a deflating thing for a defense, when you can run the ball on them like that, and when you can get chunks of yards that changes the game. We want to continue to build on that."
Â
Dane Olson helped build the lead when he broke in to block a punt – the second of his career – to set up a short scoring pass from Fowler-Nicolosi to Armani Winfield.
Â
The Rams led 21-3 at that point early in the third, then moved it to 24-3 on another Jordon Noyes field goal.
Â
"(Special teams coordinator Tommy) Perry does a great job every week of dialing up a new block," Olson said. "All week he gives me all the tools to do exactly what I did. He said if you line up correctly, if you do the right technique, you're going to block it. I was practicing all week, it just came free, and it was easy."
Â
It all helped as the offense otherwise struggled, converting just three times in 14 tries on third down, throwing for 132 yards.
Â
The defense looked as good as it has all year through the majority of the game, particularly in the first half, allowing less than 100 yards of total offense and getting an interception from Henry Blackburn. By the end of the night, the unit produced three sacks and eight tackles for loss.
Â
"Obviously there's parts where we can get better, but we did a really good job stopping the run," said linebacker Buom Jock after a 13-tackle night, eight of them solo. "I think it was 2.4 yards per carry and 98 yards. When you stop the run, obviously you know they're going to start passing. I think we did a really good job. All week we talked about stopping the run, and we did that."
Â
Then UTEP found success in the air behind backup quarterback Cade McConnell, who connected twice with Kenny Odom for touchdown passes. Suddenly, a big lead was dwindled to 24-17.
Â
The Rams made it safer in the final two minutes on Noyes' second field goal. And as fall opened, the Rams celebrated. And in the locker room, the Rams sang and danced the night away on a night Morrow stole the night away.
Â
"I was just blessed. I've been through so much, but I have a story to tell for the young guys," he said. "You can do anything as long as you stay true to yourself."
Â
Team Stats
TEP
CSU
Total Yards
324
356
Pass Yards
276
132
Rushing Yards
48
224
Penalty Yards
18
25
1st Downs
15
14
3rd Downs
7
3
4th Downs
0
2
TOP
26:42
33:18
1st Quarter
TEP 0, CSU 7
CSU - Morrow,Avery 2 yd run (Noyes,Jordan kick), 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 06:08
2nd Quarter
.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
TEP 3, CSU 7
TEP - Flabiano,Buzz 45 yd field goal 4 plays, 1 yards, TOP 01:28
TEP 3, CSU 14
CSU - Morrow,Avery 73 yd run (Noyes,Jordan kick), 2 plays, 80 yards, TOP 00:44
3rd Quarter
TEP 3, CSU 21
CSU - Winfield,Armani 5 yd pass from Fowler-Nicolosi,Brayden (Noyes,Jordan kick) 3 plays, 7 yards, TOP 00:53
TEP 3, CSU 24
CSU - Noyes,Jordan 37 yd field goal 8 plays, 42 yards, TOP 03:40
TEP 10, CSU 24
TEP - Odom,Kenny 28 yd pass from McConnell,Cade (Flabiano,Buzz kick) 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:06
4th Quarter
TEP 17, CSU 24
TEP - Odom,Kenny 55 yd pass from McConnell,Cade (Flabiano,Buzz kick) 9 plays, 92 yards, TOP 02:49
TEP 17, CSU 27
CSU - Noyes,Jordan 39 yd field goal 10 plays, 28 yards, TOP 05:43
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
14
TD
1
YDS
132
INT
1
Players Mentioned
QB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
OL
/ Football
WR
/ Football
RB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
WR
/ Football
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