On Thursday night, the 4-1, defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles travelled to face their division rivals: the 1-4, consistently miserable New York Giants, starting a young QB in his third
career start.
In a shocking upset, the lowly Giants gave all of their fans an early Christmas present, destroying the Eagles 34-17, with crucial takeaways and an efficient offense leading the way.
A little over 24 hours later, the 5-1 Fresno State Bulldogs, who entered their match atop the Mountain West Conference, travelled to face their division rivals: the 1-4, consistently miserable Colorado State Rams, starting a young QB in his third career start.
The result? Deja vu.
In a shocking upset, the lowly Rams gave all of their fans an early Christmas present, destroying the Bulldogs 49-21, with crucial takeaways and an efficient offense leading the way.
Colorado State (2-4, 1-1 MWC) entered the game as 6.5-point underdogs against the Bulldogs (5-2, 2-1 MWC), but jumped out to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter and never looked back, scoring a crucial win that may save some jobs come season’s end.
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
9:59 – Justin Marshall 73-yd run (Isaiah Hankins PAT)
Fresno State 0 – Colorado State 7
5:13 – Javion Kinnard 29-yd pass from Jackson Brousseau (Isaiah Hankins PAT)
Fresno State 0 – Colorado State 14
2nd Quarter
14:11 – Rocky Beers 4-yd pass from Jackson Brousseau (Isaiah Hankins PAT)
Fresno State 0 – Colorado State 21
11:42 – Josiah Freeman 23-yd pass from E.J. Warner (Dylan Lynch PAT)
Fresno State 7 – Colorado State 21
6:08 – Rocky Beers 20-yd pass from Jackson Brousseau (Isaiah Hankins PAT)
Fresno State 7 – Colorado State 28
5:58 – Paul Tangelo 36-yd fumble return (Isaiah Hankins PAT)
Fresno State 7 – Colorado State 35
1:20 – Josiah Freeman 26-yd pass from E.J. Warner (Dylan Lynch PAT)
Fresno State 14 – Colorado State 35
3rd Quarter
5:51 – Rayshon Luke 23-yd pass from E.J. Warner (Dylan Lynch PAT)
Fresno State 21 – Colorado State 35
4th Quarter
9:15 – Lloyd Avant 12-yd run (Isaiah Hankins PAT)
Fresno State 21 – Colorado State 42
1:12 – Jalen Dupree 4-yd run (Isaiah Hankins PAT)
Fresno State 21 – Colorado State 49
Final: Fresno State 21 – Colorado State 49
Offense
Silencing all doubters, the Rams’ offense came out firing on all cylinders, scoring touchdowns on each of their first four drives. Yes, two of these drives came off of Fresno State turnovers (one INT and one turnover on downs), but even those drives were hardly gifted to them. All four drives covered over 50 yards, totaling 266 yards of offense over the course of 28 plays. Yes, each of the five drives after that were three-and-outs, but the Rams kept their foot on the gas in the fourth quarter, tacking on two more touchdowns to put the game well and truly out of reach when it looked as if the Dogs could get back in the game.
Jackson Brousseau had by far the best game of his career, completing 12 of 18 passes for 144 yards with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. While the yardage total may not be the most eye-popping in the world, his efficiency was off the charts, and that’s all that really matters in a game like this.
Brousseau’s passes were completed to six different receivers: three players had three and the other three had one. Javion Kinnard led CSU with a 3-for-72, 1 TD performance, serving as the main concern facing the Bulldogs’ defense for most of the night. Armani Winfield and Rocky Beers also had three catches apiece, the latter also scoring two touchdowns.
On the ground, three CSU backs scored a touchdown. Justin Marshall had an amazing game, with his seven rushes resulting in 93 yards for a CSU season-high 13.3 yards per carry, largely as the result of a 73-yard touchdown scamper to open the scoring for the Rams. Lloyd Avant was less efficient, with 52 yards on 16 carries, but again served his role as the lead RB well. Finally, Jalen Dupree went 7-for-31 with a long of 14. All of this took place against the stingiest rush defense in the conference.
Overall, it was a massive bounce-back performance by the Rams’ offense after the disappointment of the unit’s showings the last few weeks. However, this fully pales in comparison to the redemption attained by Tyson Summers’ defense.
Defense
If you were to hear that a team had 135 more yards of offense, 13 more first downs, and possessed the ball for over 9 minutes more than their opponent in a given game, you would be forgiven for assuming the game was a blowout in favor of that team. When it isn’t, the reason is almost always because of turnovers, and that was certainly the case in this game.
In my season preview, I briefly touched on the history of Tyson Summers’ defenses becoming turnover machines, where the WKU Hilltoppers snagged over 20 takeaways in each of Summers’ three seasons there. Entering this game, that fact had not yet translated to his stint in Fort Collins, as through the first five games of the season, the Rams had only secured five takeaways, with the most egregious fact being zero takeaways in each of their last two outings.
Once the final whistle sounded, the Rams’ defensive drought was emphatically over.
The Rams’ defense, fresh off of giving up 45 points to one of the worst offenses in the conference, had a night to remember against Fresno State. Owen Long continued his dominance this season, as his team-leading 17 total tackles kept him in the race for the most in the country, now ranking second in the nation in that stat. Lemondre Joe likewise continued to annoy every QB his team faces, as his three pass breakups on the night led a team that totaled seven in said category, and his 11 PBUs on the year paces the nation by a full three passes.
Through five games, the Rams’ pass rush had a putrid four total sacks, which tied for dead last in the nation. They exceeded that total in just one game, accruing five total sacks of Fresno State’s E.J. Warner, split among seven players. In addition, the Rams, tied for 126th in the nation in tackles for loss with just 20 on the year, had a season-high eight against the Bulldogs.
In total, the Bulldogs’ explosive, yet mistake-prone offense turned the ball over seven times (three INTs, one FR, and three turnovers on downs). That fumble recovery by Saint Francis transfer Paul Tangelo was especially relevant, since the big guy returned it 36 yards for CSU’s first defensive touchdown since September 23, 2023 against Middle Tennessee (whether you count Nevada’s special teams unit leaving a kickoff unattended in the endzone in their game in Reno last year as a defensive TD is up to you).
Warner may have ended the game with 350 yards passing and three TDs, but he did so alongside accounting for all four of the Bulldogs’ giveaways, and his 28-for-49 completion line isn’t exactly what you would hope for. Fresno State’s ground game, averaging over 200 yards rushing per game on the season, couldn’t get going either, as the team’s total of 119 yards on 31 attempts was a far cry from the excellence the Bulldogs are accustomed to.
All this just a week after one of the worst defensive performances by any team so far this season, which really should have been the death knell for the Rams’ season. You should pat Coach Summers on the back, Jay Norvell. He’s earned one with this performance.
Final Thoughts
The question that this game has left me with is the following: where were these Rams hiding all this time?
I honestly have no idea what to think about the Rams at this point. A week after their absolute worst performance of the season thus far, they deliver their very best against the contending Bulldogs. The offense was humming, and the defense was spectacular. No complaints whatsoever here.
A game like this doesn’t just happen by accident, and the pure obliteration on the scoreboard cannot simply be explained away by Fresno State looking past their opponent, either. The Rams were simply the better team in every conceivable way to an extent that I didn’t think was possible.
CSU was unstoppable in this game, and if they keep playing like they did last night, they will continue to be unstoppable going forward. Can they? I really don’t know, but I will hold my concerns and criticisms back for at least another week. Excellent work, Rams. You have made this cynical writer proud.
Coming Up
The Rams get to stay at home this week leading up to their next game at Canvas Stadium against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. The Warriors are currently having their best season in years, and are 4-2 at the time I am writing this, pending their home game against Utah State later today.
The Warriors are awakening their pass-happy ways of old behind the play of freshman QB Micah Alejado, who has impressed as a day-one starter outside of Hawaii’s blowout loss to Arizona in Week 1. Hawaii’s only other loss so far was against Fresno State, ironically enough.
This game’s fate is completely dependent on which Rams team shows up to play. Will we see the ruthless, dominant Rams that eviscerated a strong, contending Fresno State team in Week 6, or will we see the hapless, inept, incompetent Rams team that needed questionable officiating to beat an atrocious FCS team? Only time will tell, but for the first time since the start of the season, I can safely say I am excited to watch.
Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, October 18 at 5:00 p.m. MT. Coverage will be provided by Spectrum Sports and will air on the Mountain West Network app.
