AIR FORCE QB KEEPS COOL AGAINST CSU

COLLINS» Arion Worthman’s FORT first pass attempt Saturday at Colorado State was intercepted, and one play later, the Rams connected on a 55-yard touchdown pass. But the Air Force junior quarterback didn’t flinch.

In the Falcons’ 45-28 upset victory, Worthman accounted for 181 total yards (117 rushing and 64 passing) and two scores — including a 56-yard touchdown completion to tight end Ryan Reffitt. Worthman directed an option attack that averaged 6.1 yards per play with 30 first downs.

“He was pretty solid,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said. “Really, you look and he’s at a point now, he’s started about probably 12 to 14 games. I think anytime you do something you reach that point a little bit, especially when you care and he cares immensely. You start to see it continue to climb. That’s a credit to these guys.”

Worthman now ranks within the top 10 nationally in scoring with 14 touchdowns over eight games.

Record watch. CSU quarterback Nick Stevens had a performance to forget Saturday, and yet with two passing touchdowns, he grew even closer to rewriting the Rams’ record books.

When Stevens connected with fullback Adam Prentice on a second quarter goal-line toss to the end zone, it marked 63 career touchdown passes — just one score shy of tying Garrett Grayson (2011-14) for most in program history. Just don’t expect Stevens or CSU head coach Mike Bobo to revel in the near history-making performance with three interceptions also on the stat sheet.

“Nick basically turned a bad play into a catastrophe,” Bobo said. “Sometimes, you’ve got to take a sack.”

Added Stevens: “Our goals are still ahead of us. I think this team has the ability to bounce back from something like this.”

Crowd kudos. Attendance at Sonny Lubick Field was listed at 33,074 for the fourth game played at CSU’S new on-campus stadium. In a 44-42 home victory Oct. 14 against Nevada, a mass exodus followed halftime as ESPN2 cameras panned over empty bleachers.

To the CSU fans credit, though, the same did not take place this week. A 1 p.m. kickoff with moderate fall temperatures kept the majority of Rams’ faithful in their seats.