Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Colorado State 34, Arkansas 27
Razorbacks lose 27-9 lead, then game to Rams
Arkansas Razorbacks defensive back Ryan Pulley (11) intercepts a pass Saturday intended for Colorado State Rams wide receiver Preston Williams (11) during the first quarter against Colorado State’s Rams in Fort Collins, Colo.
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Izzy Matthews powered over from the 1-yard line with 8 seconds left in the game to cap Colorado State’s furious second half comeback for a 34-27 victory over the University of Arkansas on Saturday.
A big band of fans joined the Rams at midfield to celebrate, and then pulled down the north end zone goal post after Colorado State logged the upset as a two-touchdown underdog over an SEC opponent.
Colorado State (1-2) had been run over by Hawaii and Colorado in its first two games and fell behind big to the Razorbacks. Arkansas got its ground game going to the tune of 299 yards, but could not sustain drives in the final 18 minutes of the game.
Arkansas quarterback Cole Kelley, who came in for an ineffective Ty Storey to open the second half and threw touchdowns on his first two passes of the game, maintained the Razorbacks let the game slip more than Colorado State took it away.
“We were better than that team, hands down,” Kelley said. “They know that, we know that. But we lost the game.
“We beat ourselves today. Colorado State did not beat us. We beat ourselves.”
Coach Chad Morris said he was very disappointed with the outcome.
“We felt the longer we let them hang around and the more momentum they picked up, the more confidence they got, so I give them credit,” Morris said.
The Razorbacks (1-1) led by 18 points midway through the third quarter but could not hold on to the lead after getting a spark from Kelley.
K.J. Carta-Samuels led Colorado
State to scores on the Rams’ last four drives, including back-to-back touchdown drives after Arkansas led 27-9.
Carta-Samuels was 32 of 47 passing for 389 yards, with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, with 291 yards coming in the second half.
Arkansas managed 8 offensive plays for 16 yards in the fourth quarter as the surging Rams’ rallied behind their dangerous passing game.
The Razorbacks struggled to contain 6-4 wideout Preston Williams, who caught 12 passes for 154 yards and 2 touchdowns.
“I said early in the week they had great receivers and a good quarterback,” said Arkansas cornerback Ryan Pulley, who had a first quarter interception on a deep pass for Williams.
Arkansas out-gained the Rams 437-429 in total offense, but fizzled offensively in the late going after pounding Colorado State earlier in the game.
The Razorbacks were determined to crank up their running game after putting up just 80 yards against Eastern Illinois in the opener, and the reeling Rams defense offered an opening.
Devwah Whaley ran for a career-high 165 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries to lead the Hogs’ running attack.
The game seemed to turn with Arkansas leading 27-17 at the end of the third quarter. The Razorbacks faced a fourth and inches at the 50 after Kelley’s out route to Pettway picked up six yards. Following a review of the gain and a break to start the fourth quarter, Morris elected to punt.
“Yeah, you know obviously looking back on it, you almost wish I would have went with it on fourth down,” Morris said. “We were back and fourth on the headsets. Because they were creating some momentum, we didn’t want to give them a short field. The way our defense was playing at that time we wanted to pin them deep.”
The Razorbacks did pin Colorado State deep with a punt to the 8 and a penalty that backed the Rams up to the 4. But Carta-Samuels and the passing game would not be denied. Carta-Samuels went 6 for 6 to engineer a 96-yard touchdown drive capped by Williams’ 10-yard highlight reel touchdown catch.
The Razorbacks got a mixed bag from their two-quarterback rotation.
Ty Storey, who came off the bench in the second quarter to spark Arkansas’ season-opening victory over Eastern Illinois last week, struggled in his first start. The junior went 5 of 13 for 36 yards and threw a pair of interceptions in the first half, both of which led to Colorado State field goals from long-distance ace Wyatt Bryan, who hit field goals of 55, 46, 44 and 22 yards.
Arkansas dominated the half 253-99 in total yards but could not capitalize on the scoreboard.
Kelley came in to start the second half and had a 5-yard run for a first down aided by a face mask call against the Rams to move the ball well into Colorado State territory. Kelley’s fade for La’Michael Pettway beat cornerback Anthony Hawkins for a 25-yard touchdown pass as the Razorbacks moved ahead 20-9.
The Razorbacks’ defense gave up a pair of long pass plays but notched their second takeaway at the Arkansas 34 when Armon Watts had a strip-sack of Carta-Samuels and McTelvin Agim recovered.
Arkansas’ energy reached its zenith on the next snap, as T.J. Hammonds took a pop pass and broke it around left end. The junior stumbled for a moment, then got his footing and sprinted to the end zone for a 64-yard touchdown and a 27-9 lead.
“Looking back on it, you almost wish I would have went with it on fourth down. We were back and fourth on the headsets. Because they were creating some momentum, we didn’t want to give them a short field.”
— Chad Morris, Arkansas head coach, on a key decision at the end of the third quarter
“We thought we had it finished and wrapped up, but Colorado State came out and made the plays,” Hammonds said. “It’s a horrible loss.”
The Razorbacks missed a golden opportunity to add to the lead and possibly put the game away on their next possession. After a threeand-out by the Rams, Ryan Stonehouse launched a 58-yard punt. Deon Stewart caught the long punt heading backward, whirled and got around left end for a 45-yard return to the Colorado State 28.
Kelley threw a fade route for Jordan Jones on the next play, and Jones caught the pass with one foot tapping in bounds and the other out. The Mountain West Conference officials ruled the play incomplete and the decision was upheld on review.
After a false start, Connor Limpert’s 48-yard field goal was short and wide right.
“I thought the big punt return and the missed field goal was a big turning point in the game,” Morris said.
The Rams got rolling at that point, with Carta-Samuels conducting back-to-back touchdown drives covering 70 and 96 yards against the tiring Arkansas defense.