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The Colorado State Rams fell to 0-1 on the season following a 44-7 loss to the Colorado Buffaloes on Friday night in Denver. The Rams struggled to get in a rhythm offensively, putting up just 225 yards of total offense, compared to 578 for the Buffaloes. The attendance of 69,850 was the highest for a Rocky Mountain Showdown game since 2003, when a sellout crowd of 76,219 packed the stadium.
“I did not have this team ready to play,” Head Coach Mike Bobo said following the game. “They (Colorado) were ready and they came out hot, they had the momentum and we were unable to do anything to slow it down. It’s one of those things, it’s embarrassing, that’s what I told them. We embarrassed our name. But there is only one thing we can do and we have to go back to work.”
Junior Nick Stevens started the game at quarterback for the Rams, but was replaced in the third quarter by senior Faton Bauta after completing 6-of-20 passes for 31 yards and two interceptions. Bauta, a graduate transfer, finished the game 6-of-9 for 32 yards and a touchdown, while adding 39 yards rushing.
Dalyn Dawkins paced the running backs with 88 yards on 14 carries (6.3 avg.), followed by freshman Anthony Hawkins and sophomore Izzy Matthews with 17 and 13 yards, respectively. Junior Michael Gallup recorded four catches for 38 yards, and sophomore Marcus Wilson scored the Rams’ lone touchdown late in the third quarter on a seven-yard catch, the first reception of his career.
Defensively, senior linebacker Kevin Davis led the Rams with a career-high 19 tackles, the most tackles by a Colorado State defender since Max Morganrecorded 20 against Utah State in 2013. Davis, Deshon Mayes and Justin Sweet all forced fumbles, with Jake Schlager and Demontrie Taylor each logging a recovery. Junior defensive tackle Jakob Buys recorded his first career sack.
Friday night’s game featured 14 Rams making their Colorado State debuts, 12 of which were making their Division 1 debuts. Detrich Clark , Dalton Fackrell, Justin Falls, Michael Gallup, Tavis Guerra , Anthony Hawkins, Richard King, Marvin Kinsey, Jr., Deshon Mayes, Toby McBride, Nate Ryken, , Marcus Wilson, ,and were all seeing their first career action, while Faton Bauta and Paul Thurston each made their Colorado State debuts.
“That’s going to help them,” Bobo said referencing the newcomers. “Michael Gallup in the first half had some critical errors on some pass plays, some on execution, which we knew would happen. As he played more you saw his talent come out. Detrich Clark had a couple plays… Anthony Hawkins… some guys that I believe have talent. Marvin Kinsey got to play a bit tonight and I thought he missed some runs from the sideline, but he will see that from the tape.”
The Colorado State Rams will look to bounce back next week when they take on the University of Texas- San Antonio Roadrunners at Hughes Stadium at 2 p.m. Saturday’s game marks Colorado State’s final home opener at Hughes Stadium, and will kick off the #FarewellHughes campaign.