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The Colorado State Rams fell to 2-2 on the season with a 41-23 loss to the No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Rams put up 391 yards of total offense, and their 23 points were the most scored by a non-Power Five conference team against Alabama since 2007.
Senior quarterback Nick Stevens threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns on 21-of-38 passing, with two interceptions. Dalyn Dawkins totaled 100 yards from scrimmage, including a team-high 59 rushing yards, while Izzy Matthews gained 47 on a team-high 16 carries. Michael Gallup pulled in four catches for 70 yards and true freshman Warren Jackson scored two touchdowns on two receptions.
“Warren’s been a guy that’s been improving week in and week out,” Head Coach Mike Bobo said postgame. “We’re going to try to get Warren on the field more because he’s a big target and against these guys, it’s always going to be tight coverage, so you need a bigger target and a body presence and he played good tonight.”
Junior linebackers Tre Thomas and Josh Watson each recorded seven tackles, and sophomore Max McDonald tallied the Rams’ only tackle for loss. It was the first game this season in which the Rams did not force a turnover.
“I think we went out there and competed well. We were able to rise to the occasion and make plays on offense and defense to stop them. We just came up short,” Watson said.
Colorado State got off to a slow start, putting up just 11 yards of offense in the first quarter and quickly falling behind 14-0. The offense answered with two scoring drives–the latter of which was capped off by Jackson’s first-career touchdown–to bring the Rams within one score. A quick Alabama touchdown before the half sent the Rams to the locker room with a 24-10 deficit.
CSU moved the ball into Alabama territory on the opening drive of the second half, but turned the ball over on an interception. Alabama capitalized on that miscue, as well as a second interception on the next possession, with two touchdowns to stretch its lead to 38-10. The Rams continued to battle, and scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns, but ultimately couldn’t overcome their slow starts to both halves.
“We came here to win and didn’t get it done. But definitely proud of the way the offense handled themselves and didn’t give up until the end. I think everybody played really well. I just have to limit those two turnovers on my behalf. We can’t have those happen if we want to win games,” Stevens said.
The Rams have a bye next week before opening Mountain West play on the road at Hawai’i on Sept. 30. Continue to check CSURams.com and follow @CSUFootball on Twitter for exclusive content from the Rams’ 2017 season.