Colorado State bid farewell to Hughes Stadium, honoring their home since 1968 with one final victory.
CSU held New Mexico and the nation’s no. 1 rushing attack in check en route to a 49-31 Saturday night in front of 29,133.
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Fresh off a 49-46 loss to Air Force, in which CSU gave up 485 yards on the ground, the Rams came out prepared for the option attack New Mexico poses.
CSU got on the board early, as senior tight end Nolan Peralta found himself wide-open in the middle of the field where quarterback Nick Stevens would find him for a 19-yard touchdown. It was the second touchdown of the season for Peralta. The opening possession score also marked five times out of the last six games that CSU had tallied points on their first possession.
After seeing the defense force a second straight three-and-out, the CSU offense came back onto the field and picked up right where they left off. Stevens marched the Rams back into the red zone, only this time he finish the drive off himself. Stevens elected to keep the ball on a read-option, fooling the defense and clearing out the right side where he walked into the end zone putting CSU up 14-0.
One wasn’t enough for Stevens, as the redshirt junior punched it in form the 1-yardline on the next possession.
CSU would head into half with a comfortable 28-10 lead and held the powerful Lobo rushing attack to just 57 yards while rushing for 223 of their own.
The second half was more of the same for the CSU offense.
Michael Gallup extended his touchdown streak to six games on a 65-yard catch and run. Gallup went on to finish the game with five catches for 116 yards and one touchdown, putting him over 1000 yards on the season. Stevens continued his efficient play, finishing the night 9-of-10 for 164 yards and two touchdowns.
Gallup’s 65-yard touchdown stood as the longest play from scrimmage for CSU this season for less than a quarter, as freshman running back Marvin Kinsey Jr. out-did Gallup on a 75-yard touchdown run of his own to put CSU up 49-17 late in the third quarter. Kinsey finished the night with 127 yards on 10 carries.
As a team, CSU was able to run all over the Lobos. In addition to Kinsey’s 127 yards, sophomore Izzy Matthews added 106 yards on 13 carries, junior Dalyn Dawkins contributed 102 yards on 10 carries. It was the first time in CSU history to have three players run for at least 100 yards in a game.
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Colorado State held New Mexico to 285 rushing yards en route to a 49-31victory and becoming bowl eligible for the fourth consecutive season.
Collegian sports editor Chad Deutschman can be reached by email at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @ChadDeutschman
