Saturday, September 9
Fort Collins, Colo.
1:30 PM MT
Colorado State
38
vs
10
Abilene Christian
Photo by: Tommy Joe Waido
Rams top Wildcats 38-10 on Ag Day
9/9/2017 6:43:00 PM | Football
Defense remains stalwart, Stevens leads balanced offensive attack
POSTGAME NOTES
PHOTO GALLERY - DON REICHERT
PHOTO GALLERY - TOMMY JOE WAIDO
PHOTO GALLERY - TOMAS REDONDO
PHOTO GALLERY - MATT BEGEMAN
by Grant Larson
Athletics Communications
FORT COLLINS, Colo.-- The Colorado State Rams improved to 2-1 on the season with a 38-10 victory over Abilene Christian (0-2) on Saturday at CSU Stadium. CSU honored its Aggie heritage on Saturday for the Orange Out, donning its traditional Colorado A&M colors of pumpkin and alfalfa. The "Aggies" are now 8-0 when wearing the orange alternate uniforms.
Senior quarterback Nick Stevens completed 25-of-40 passes (62.5 percent) for 337 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Dating back to last season, it marks the fourth consecutive game the signal-caller has eclipsed the 300-yard mark and the ninth multi-touchdown performance in his last 10 games.
The Colorado State defense did not allow a touchdown, as Abilene Christian's lone trip to the end zone came ona blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown. Spanning back to the final 43:36 of last week's game against Colorado, the Rams defense has not allowed a touchdown in 103:36 of clock time.
Running backs Izzy Matthews and Dalyn Dawkins led the Rams on the ground, rushing for 89 and 73 yards, respectively. First-team All-Mountain West wide receiver Michael Gallup pulled in 10 catches for 103 yards and a touchdown, while Detrich Clark went for 67 yards and a touchdown on six catches. Matthews also pulled in three catches for 34 yards, including his first career receiving touchdown.
Linebacker Josh Watson has been the Rams' leading tackler in all three games this season, as the junior recorded seven total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one pass breakup on Saturday. Sophomore safety Jamal Hicks recorded two interceptions and redshirt freshman Trey Sutton logged CSU's only sack.
The Rams scored the game's first 17 points on touchdowns from Dawkins and Gallup, as well as a 22-yard field goal from Wyatt Bryan. ACU would cut CSU's lead to 17-7 early in the third quarter after blocking Ryan Stonehouse's punt, but Colorado State answered by scoring the game's final 14 points.
Joctavis Phillips (offensive line), Livingston Paogofie (defensive line), Kavapele Maka (safety) and Brenden Fulton (wide receiver) all made their Division I debuts on Saturday. Including Phillips and Paogofie, the Rams have had 12 true freshmen suit up so far this season, and 25 total players make their Divison I debuts.
The Rams will travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., next week to take on the No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide. In the teams' lone prior meeting, in 2013, No. 1 Alabama defeated CSU 31-6. Continue to check CSURams.com and follow @CSUFootball on Twitter for exclusive content from the Rams' 2017 season.
Stat of the Game:
PHOTO GALLERY - DON REICHERT
PHOTO GALLERY - TOMMY JOE WAIDO
PHOTO GALLERY - TOMAS REDONDO
PHOTO GALLERY - MATT BEGEMAN
by Grant Larson
Athletics Communications
FORT COLLINS, Colo.-- The Colorado State Rams improved to 2-1 on the season with a 38-10 victory over Abilene Christian (0-2) on Saturday at CSU Stadium. CSU honored its Aggie heritage on Saturday for the Orange Out, donning its traditional Colorado A&M colors of pumpkin and alfalfa. The "Aggies" are now 8-0 when wearing the orange alternate uniforms.
Senior quarterback Nick Stevens completed 25-of-40 passes (62.5 percent) for 337 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Dating back to last season, it marks the fourth consecutive game the signal-caller has eclipsed the 300-yard mark and the ninth multi-touchdown performance in his last 10 games.
The Colorado State defense did not allow a touchdown, as Abilene Christian's lone trip to the end zone came ona blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown. Spanning back to the final 43:36 of last week's game against Colorado, the Rams defense has not allowed a touchdown in 103:36 of clock time.
Running backs Izzy Matthews and Dalyn Dawkins led the Rams on the ground, rushing for 89 and 73 yards, respectively. First-team All-Mountain West wide receiver Michael Gallup pulled in 10 catches for 103 yards and a touchdown, while Detrich Clark went for 67 yards and a touchdown on six catches. Matthews also pulled in three catches for 34 yards, including his first career receiving touchdown.
Linebacker Josh Watson has been the Rams' leading tackler in all three games this season, as the junior recorded seven total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one pass breakup on Saturday. Sophomore safety Jamal Hicks recorded two interceptions and redshirt freshman Trey Sutton logged CSU's only sack.
The Rams scored the game's first 17 points on touchdowns from Dawkins and Gallup, as well as a 22-yard field goal from Wyatt Bryan. ACU would cut CSU's lead to 17-7 early in the third quarter after blocking Ryan Stonehouse's punt, but Colorado State answered by scoring the game's final 14 points.
Joctavis Phillips (offensive line), Livingston Paogofie (defensive line), Kavapele Maka (safety) and Brenden Fulton (wide receiver) all made their Division I debuts on Saturday. Including Phillips and Paogofie, the Rams have had 12 true freshmen suit up so far this season, and 25 total players make their Divison I debuts.
The Rams will travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., next week to take on the No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide. In the teams' lone prior meeting, in 2013, No. 1 Alabama defeated CSU 31-6. Continue to check CSURams.com and follow @CSUFootball on Twitter for exclusive content from the Rams' 2017 season.
Stat of the Game:
Colorado State's defense did not allow a touchdown on Saturday. Spanning back to the final 43:36 of last week's game against Colorado, the Rams defense has not conceded a touchdown in 103:36.
In Their Words...
Head Coach Mike Bobo:
On the team's defensive mentality
"I believe it's the attitude of our guys. They have been challenged since January when they walked back in the building. They said 'This is how we are going to play as a football team and this is how we are going to play as a defense.' They did not quit all throughout spring practice or fall camp when things did not go well. They developed some toughness on defense, and no matter what happens, we are going to continue to play for each other. I think that's what you have seen from the first three weeks from our defense."
On the high expectations of the Rams' offense
"We had over 600 yards of offense and then we had long faces in the locker room. We have grown so accustomed to scoring every drive or putting up 50 points, that we think we are a failure if we don't accomplish that. That's players and coaches."
Sophomore safety Jamal Hicks:
On the defense forcing nine turnovers through three games
"We just believe in what the coaches tell us. We practice hard every day and during the spring and the fall, the coaches kept talking to us about creating turnovers. Just keep creating turnovers."
Redshirt junior linebacker Josh Watson:
On the team's defensive mindset
"Guys' mentality is to get to the ball. If the ball goes in the air, it's our ball. We've got to go get it, get it knocked down and not let the other team make a play off of it. Guy know their responsibility, guys know where the help is and they know their job. A lot of guys are just doing their job and this defense has come a long way."
In Their Words...
Head Coach Mike Bobo:
On the team's defensive mentality
"I believe it's the attitude of our guys. They have been challenged since January when they walked back in the building. They said 'This is how we are going to play as a football team and this is how we are going to play as a defense.' They did not quit all throughout spring practice or fall camp when things did not go well. They developed some toughness on defense, and no matter what happens, we are going to continue to play for each other. I think that's what you have seen from the first three weeks from our defense."
On the high expectations of the Rams' offense
"We had over 600 yards of offense and then we had long faces in the locker room. We have grown so accustomed to scoring every drive or putting up 50 points, that we think we are a failure if we don't accomplish that. That's players and coaches."
Sophomore safety Jamal Hicks:
On the defense forcing nine turnovers through three games
"We just believe in what the coaches tell us. We practice hard every day and during the spring and the fall, the coaches kept talking to us about creating turnovers. Just keep creating turnovers."
Redshirt junior linebacker Josh Watson:
On the team's defensive mindset
"Guys' mentality is to get to the ball. If the ball goes in the air, it's our ball. We've got to go get it, get it knocked down and not let the other team make a play off of it. Guy know their responsibility, guys know where the help is and they know their job. A lot of guys are just doing their job and this defense has come a long way."