Rams pile up the yards in unsatisfying victory
CSU 38, ABILENE CHRISTIAN 10
FORT COLLINS» The signs are really starting to show.
Over the course of his three seasons at Colorado State, coach Mike Bobo has talked of his desire about a player-led team.
After Saturday’s 38-10 victory over Abilene Christian at CSU Stadium, his Rams — particularly those on offense — were ahead of him in the anger department.
Bobo looked at the 605 yards of total offense and didn’t have a qualm. Sure, they could have scored more, but that’s a lot to expect.
Well, the offense sure does, and 17 points in the first half or the final total weren’t enough for them.
“I mean, that just shows you the competitive nature we’ve built on this entire team,” CSU running back Izzy Matthews said. “The standard we hold ourselves to, that even though it’s a win, it’s a big win, a lot of yards, that we still
could have done better.”
The yardage was a record in Bobo’s tenure, and while he didn’t like the two turnovers from the unit, one must always remember to give credit to the other side. He noted they had no real film to try to dissect the Wildcats’ scheme.
Besides, the top goal was achieved, and that didn’t happen the week prior.
“We just won 38-10, the defense played a whale of a game, the offense moved it up and down the field, you know? Every time it’s not going to go exactly the way you want it,” he said. “You’ve got to play it. I was proud of our guys for coming out with the intensity and ready to play in this game, then bouncing back after the blocked punt (that made it) 17-7.”
Colorado State scored on its first two drives with a short rushing touchdown from Dalyn Dawkins, then a field goal from Wyatt Bryan, but that was the first sign of a crack, as the surehanded Bisi Johnson dropped what would have been a scoring pass.
They also scored on a 99-yard drive, one set up when the defense stuffed the Wildcats on a fourth-down play from the 1, one that was potentially stalled with a holding call.
Yet quarterback Nick Stevens hit his targets and then took off on a 41-yard scramble to set up his touchdown pass to Michael Gallup for a 17-0 lead.
Stevens threw for 339 yards, his fourth consecutive outing surpassing the marker, by hitting 25-of-40 passes with three scores and one interception. Gallup finished with 103 yards on 10 receptions, and the running game did its part with 268 yards, led by 89 from Matthews.
Still, they wanted more, and knew they could have had more, save for five dropped passes and a red-zone fumble by Dawkins.
“We just left a lot of points — a lot of points — on the field. It goes back to executing and eliminating negative plays and getting ourselves in manageable thirddown situations and converting them,” Stevens said. “That’s the biggest thing, we just left a lot of points out there. We should have had a lot more touchdowns.
“It’s just something for us to look at when we come back on Monday and watch the film, and I’m sure coaches are going to have corrections for us. We have to kind of lock down on those things and we can convert long drives into points.”
All of a sudden, it could have been a game, but the Colorado State defense never really allowed doubt to creep into the equation.
Safety Jamal Hicks didn’t start, but he intercepted two passes in the game, and the unit allowed just one third-down conversion in the second half, limiting ACU to 333 yards of offense, just 62 on the ground.
“Overall, defensively I thought we played outstanding,” Bobo said. “We gave up three points, really, defensively. I’m really proud of the way our defense is playing.
“I think we’re improving every week.”