It can comfortably be said that the bye week did not fix anything for the CSU Rams.
In yet another embarrassing affair, the CSU Rams were decimated at home by the conference-contending UNLV Rebels by a final score of 42-10, in a game where UNLV tallied nearly 600 yards of combined offense.
The first 20 minutes of this game were actually competitive, rather surprising given the final score. UNLV’s defense, which entered the game allowing a second-worst conference tally of 34.3 points per game, looked
vulnerable against a Rams offense coming off a shutout loss to Wyoming.
After four drives had been completed, the Rams led the Rebels 10-7, and had shut out UNLV in the first quarter. Despite two punts, one of which came on a three-and-out following an Anthony Colandrea interception, the Rams’ offense had been remarkably solid to that point. Their two scoring drives had covered a total of 149 yards on 20 plays, and it appeared Jackson Brousseau had turned a corner in regards to leading the offense.
It was all downhill from there.
UNLV’s next two drives ended in touchdowns, while the Rams had two turnovers on downs. One was on a 4th and 1, while the other ended the half on an incomprehensible fake field goal at the UNLV 24 yard line while down by 11 points.
Despite having all momentum in the world now, the Rebels still failed to come out swinging in the second half, immediately going three-and-out and giving up a long punt return that gave the Rams starting field position at the Rebels’ 33-yard line. However, the Rams proceeded to also go three-and-out, before validating the lack of trust in Isaiah Hankins that led to their ridiculous fake field goal attempt from before, watching his 47-yard attempt sail wide.
From that point on, it was all UNLV. CSU’s offense only managed to muster 69 total yards, with just two first downs, on their final five drives. Meanwhile, UNLV tore apart the exhausted Ram defense, totaling 314 yards and a further three touchdowns across their final five possessions, which easily could have been four more, since the Rebs’ final drive ended at the Rams’ 8-yard line.
The Rams’ defense had held the Rebels’ offense largely in check, at least by UNLV’s lofty offensive standards, until the second half. Jahari Rogers’ tip that led to a Jace Bellah interception of Colandrea in the CSU end zone was obviously the highlight of the night, but the lack of pressure Colorado State’s defensive line got on the UNLV passer (0 sacks on the night) meant that once Colandrea got settled back in, he didn’t have to do much to clinch the game.
It also meant that UNLV’s run game thrived in Fort Collins. The Rebels’ 41 carries resulted in a staggering 320 yards and four touchdowns. Jai’den Thomas continued to reinforce his status as a top contender for MWC Offensive Player of the year, as despite just having seven carries, those rushes resulted in an incredible 131 yards and a touchdown. Jaylon Glover’s 12 carries led to 99 yards and a touchdown, while Colandrea also got in on the fun with two rushing touchdowns of his own to go along with his two passing TDs and 251 passing yards.
No UNLV reciever had more than four catches, yet four had 40 or more yards. Troy Omeire only had one catch, but that catch was on a 68-yard bomb that blew the top off of CSU’s defense for a touchdown. Jaden Bradley (3-for-64), Keyvone Lee (4-for-51), and Taeshaun Lyons (2-for-40, 1 TD) also topped the 40-yard mark on the night.
As for Colorado State’s offense, it really was not pretty, especially in the second half. Jackson Brousseau was inefficient once again, completing just over half of his 22 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown, most of which came on a deep strike to tight end Rocky Beers for 48 yards. Beers also caught Brousseau’s lone touchdown, and led the Rams overall with four catches for 61 yards. Eight other receivers caught passes for the Rams, but only Lavon Brown and Tay Lanier recorded multiple catches.
Overall, it was just a miserable day at the office for the Rams, who were officially eliminated from bowl contention sitting at 2-7. As for UNLV, the Rebels jumped back into MWC title contention, receiving some help out in paradise when Hawaii destroyed San Diego State. These two teams are in very different phases of their programs, and this game certainly proved that.
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
9:07 – Rocky Beers 3-yd pass from Jackson Brousseau (Isaiah Hankins PAT)
UNLV 0 – Colorado State 7
2nd Quarter
12:53 – Jai’Den Thomas 57-yd run (Ramon Villela PAT)
UNLV 7 – Colorado State 7
9:33 – Isaiah Hankins 23-yd FG
UNLV 7 – Colorado State 10
7:07 – Anthony Colandrea 5-yd run (Ramon Villela PAT)
UNLV 14 – Colorado State 10
1:55 – Jaylon Glover 6-yd run (Ramon Villela PAT)
UNLV 21 – Colorado State 10
3rd Quarter
12:22 – Troy Omeire 68-yd pass from Anthony Colandrea (Ramon Villela PAT)
UNLV 28 – Colorado State 10
3:11 – Anthony Colandrea 2-yd run (Ramon Villela PAT)
UNLV 35 – Colorado State 10
4th Quarter
13:36 – Taeshaun Lyons 39-yd pass from Anthony Colandrea (Ramon Villela PAT)
UNLV 42 – Colorado State 10
Final: UNLV 42 – Colorado State 1o
Coming Up
UNLV will return home to face a Utah State team that needs one more win to reach a bowl game, and that just routed Nevada by putting up 41 unanswered points by halftime. Judging by how the Rebels’ defense usually performs, this will likely end up being a good old-fashioned shootout. Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 15 at 4:00 p.m. PST. Coverage will be provided by CBS Sports Net.
Colorado State will head on the road to Albequerque, New Mexico, to take on the red-hot New Mexico Lobos. The Lobos are coming off of their bye week, a likely celebratory week after clinching their first bowl game since 2016. This will be a tough matchup for the Rams. Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 15 at 1:00 p.m. MT. Coverage will be provided by the Mountain West Network.
