Rams able to hang on
Elliott’s interception saves Rams from blowing lead
reno, nev. staged an night, the Colorado State Rams seem to be for real.
Garrett Grayson threwthree touchdown passes — two to Rashard Higgins and one to StevenWalker— and the Rams barely held on for a 31-24 victory overNevada on Saturday night to improve to 5-1 for the season.
CSUled 31-3 late in the third quarter at Mackay Stadium beforeNevada rallied to give the Rams nervous moments down the stretch, as Nevada pulled within seven points and reached the CSU 10-yard line. But CSU’sDeAndre Elliottmade an interception in the end zone with 46 seconds left in the game to seal the win.
Going into the season, the conventional wisdom was that the first half of the CSU schedule in Jim McElwain’s third year was tougher and that if the Rams could get through it with at least three wins, they likelywould be headed for their secondconsecutivebowl game.
They’ve done better than that, losing only in the second week at Boise State.
TheRamshave put together back-toback road wins atBostonCollege of the Atlantic Coast Conference and at Nevada. TheWolfPack isn’t a powerhouse but is at least tough at home and lost only by seven (35-28) to Arizona inTucson. And the Wolf Pack the previous week had hung up 46 points against Boise State— albeit in a 51-46 loss.
CSU, 1-1 in league play with onlyMW games remaining, plays its next two at Hughes Stadium, againstUtah State on Saturday andWyoming on Oct. 25.
InReno, both teams struggled offensively in the scoreless first quarter, with each kicker missing field goal attempts— theWolf Pack’s Brent Zuzo from 50 yards and the Rams’ Jared Roberts from 45.
After stopping Wolf Pack quarterback Cody Fajardo on a fourth-and-1 early in the second quarter, the Rams put together their first scoring drive. It started with Grayson passes of 22 yards toWalker and 10 to XavierWilliams, and Jasen Oden Jr.’s 12-yard run got CSU to the 1. From there, Grayson hitWalker on second down for theTD with 9:00 left in the half.
Then after theCSUdefense forced a three-and-out, the Rams struck again. Grayson connected with Higgins across the middle and the sophomore wide receiver trotted into the end zone for the 42-yard scoring play with 5:03 left in the half.
Next, Jakob Buys blocked a Nevada punt, setting up the Rams at the Wolf Pack 23, and theRamssettled for the 32yardRoberts field goal thatmade it 17-0.
With 7:22 left in the third quarter, Grayson found Higgins alone behind the defense for a 51-yard TD and CSU was up 24-3. It was the sixth Graysonto-Higgins TD pass in two weeks and their 10th of the season.