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CSU drops late lead in crucial loss to UNLV

Ben Fairly, Sports Reporter

October 22, 2023

Collegian | Cait Mckinzie

Colorado State University wide receiver Dylan Goffney (6) catches the ball and runs it into the endzone for a touchdown Oct. 14. CSU won against Boise State 31-30 at the end of the fourth quarter.

After completing one of the most improbable comebacks in school history against Boise State, the Colorado State football team was poised to remain in the win column as they took on the UNLV Rebels at Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders.

With 43 seconds left in regulation, that seemed like the case after 31-year-old kicker Jordan Noyes nailed a career-high 55-yard field to put the Rams in front of UNLV 23-22.

Unfortunately for CSU fans, 43 seconds was just enough time for Rebels quarterback Jayden Maiava and his wideouts to complete a late-game comeback.

Maiava used his ability to create plays and found his favorite targets, Ricky White and Jacob de Jesus, to drive downfield and get his team into field goal range with just three seconds left.

UNLV kicker Jose Pizano looked downfield for a 28-yard field goal to finish off the comeback for the Rebels, which he struck right down the middle of the goalpost, capping off a 25-23 win for UNLV.

The scoring didn’t start until the second quarter, when the Rebels got the scoring started with a 42-yard field goal.

Shortly after, Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi and Avery Morrow led the Rams downfield to quickly tie up the game. In the Rams’ following drive, they finally found the end zone.

Vann Schield highlighted the drive with a monster 52-yard run — the longest run by a Ram this season. The ground game kept it rolling from there, where Morrow scored the first touchdown of the game with a 2-yard run, giving the Rams a 10-3 lead.

CSU kept it going again in their next drive. Fowler-Nicolosi connected with Dallin Holker, who leads all tight ends in the Football Bowl Subdivision in receiving yards, for a 34-yard gain, setting up Noyes for a 27-yard field goal.

The Rebels quickly found their stride in the third quarter. After hitting two consecutive field goals, Maiava and Donavyn Lester came up with big plays to put their team into the red zone. Lester found a hole up the middle for an 11-yard touchdown, giving UNLV a 16-13 lead late in the third quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter, UNLV found themselves in field goal range yet again, giving themselves a six-point lead over the Rams.

Fowler-Nicolosi did regain his touch in the Rams’ next drive, connecting with Justus Ross-Simmons on a clutch 35-yard gain and a third-down conversion. Fowler-Nicolosi later found Ross-Simmons again in the end zone for a 20-yard gain as the Rams regained their lead over the Rebels.

UNLV kicked another field goal to put themselves up 22-20. Following a critical field goal from the Rebels, CSU went on to lose to UNLV 25-23 in a disappointing loss.

The Rams look to bounce back against the Air Force Falcons Saturday, Oct. 28, in Canvas Stadium with kickoff slated for 5 p.m.

Reach Ben Fairly at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @benjaminfairly.

About the Contributor

Cait Mckinzie, Photo Director

Cait Mckinzie is a second-year student double majoring in art and journalism and media communication. She is one of two photo directors for the 2024-25 school year. Despite growing up in Renton, Washington, Mckinzie knew she wanted to go to Colorado State University since middle school. She had only ever been to Colorado twice, but she visited campus once, and that was all it took. At first, there wasn’t much in Fort Collins that Mckinzie was familiar with. But in high school, she was the co-head of visuals for her school newspaper, so she applied to The Collegian as a photographer to get back into a similar environment. Mckinzie was first introduced to photography by her grandfather, who has been a photographer most of his life. After he gifted Mckinzie her first camera in her junior year of high school, she began to take any assignment she could for her high school paper to improve her skills. Of all the memories made in her first year at CSU, most of the interesting ones came from The Collegian. One Halloween drag show assignment, a lot of mentorship and a few months of practice later, Mckinzie found herself being offered the position of photo director for the next academic school year. Mckinzie is excited for another year at The Collegian and aims to continue learning and growing during her time as one of the photo directors.

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