CSU football suffers defeat against OSU in double-overtime thriller

Michael Hovey, Sports Editor

October 5, 2024

Colorado State University defensive back Isaiah Essissima questions a call from the referee during the Rocky Mountain Showdown football game Sept. 14. CSU lost to the University of Colorado Boulder 28-9.

Colorado State football showed it can be a competitor.

The Rams came up just 11 yards short on their last double-overtime play in Corvallis, Oregon. Oregon State scored a 1-play touchdown and 2-point conversion to bring the score to 39-31 in its favor just a drive earlier. Despite a tough matchup and loss, CSU came away from the thrilling matchup with a plethora of positives against its future Pac-12 opponent.

OSU started the day as the overwhelming betting favorite, but the Rams adjusted their game plan well and displayed fierce resolve. CSU’s offense finally matched the quality of play from their offensive line and looked improved in almost every facet.

Early in the fourth quarter, CSU put together a 14-play, 75-yard drive resulting in a touchdown — one of the most complete possessions of the season. The Rams fell less than three minutes behind in total offensive time of possession to the current No. 1 in that category. Not bad at all.

Clock management starts with defensive stands and ends with solid rushing. The offensive line consistently generated openings on the ground throughout the game. Running back Avery Morrow’s statline of 140 rushing yards, one touchdown and 5.6 yards per carry only solidified that fact. The running room was ample.

Quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi did his part and supplemented the now-typical rushing attack with a 162.3 passer rating. The Rams’ signal caller missed a few wide-open throws that could’ve resulted in big plays, but overall played on-tempo and more synced with his receivers.

In particular, Fowler-Nicolosi found Caleb Goodie on a perfectly-executed rollout pass to go up by one touchdown during the first overtime. Big plays under pressure to a receiver not named Tory Horton are hard to come by.

The return of Horton was a major boost to the offense as a whole. The star wideout finished the day with a score of his own, 158 receiving yards and a crucial two-point conversion that led to the first overtime.

As a legitimate playmaking threat, his presence on the field allowed CSU to experiment more with its play-calling. Morrow took advantage of a trick-play design on a motioned wildcat late in the fourth quarter to put the Rams up by three. CSU’s coaching staff also utilized pre-snap motion as a way to identify coverages — something other teams have had great success with.

The defense deserves flowers of its own despite the high-scoring affair. The Rams ended with two forced fumbles — one being recovered — and an interception while holding the Beavers 41-yards under CSU’s total yardage.

The defensive backs knew they’d have to hit more coming into this week, and they did not disappoint. Cornerback Dom Jones led the team in solo tackles with eight, and Henry Blackburn followed up in second with six of his own.

Nuer Gatkuoth finished his season debut with a forced fumble and a tackle-for-loss. As he ramps up, opposing offenses may soon remember why he was named a First team Freshman All-American last year.

Overall, CSU looked competent against a competitive team. However, the Rams still struggled on third-downs, converting only 4-12 in week six. On the season, CSU fell to a 33.33% third-down conversion rate — clearly something that could be improved.

Just like the 13 penalty markers that littered the field in Corvallis.

The Rams saw mistakes ruin potential scoring drives, while also allowing OSU redemption in crucial moments. Cleaning up mistakes hasn’t been a total killer yet, but it has shifted momentum away from CSU in key instances.

Playing messy doesn’t sustain drives. The first possession for the Rams in week six resulted in a punt — largely due to miscommunication and subsequent trip from Fowler-Nicolosi.

CSU fell in the end — even with OSU missing star running back Jam Griffin for the majority of the game. When it mattered most, the offense missed opportunities and the defense relented.

The Rams will look to bounce back at home against San Jose State in week seven.

Reach Michael Hovey at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @michaelfhovey.

Interested in more sports content? Sign up for Ram Report here for weekly CSU sports updates!

About the Contributors

Michael Hovey, Sports Editor

Michael Hovey is one of the sports editors for The Rocky Mountain Collegian, facilitating the sports desk, collaborating with reporters and writing pieces of his own. He joined the newspaper in February and has greatly appreciated all the opportunities that have come with the organization. After settling on a business administration major with a concentration in marketing, Hovey stumbled upon The Collegian at the recommendation of a friend. Writing news stories gave him a deeper connection to Colorado State University and its community, making his studies that much more meaningful. Having played numerous sports at a fairly mediocre level, Hovey jumped at the opportunity to cover Division I sporting events. He now gets the chance to surround himself with talented writers, artists and athletes while exercising his preferred form of the English language. Hovey's favorite part of the job is meeting new people and learning about the things they’ve dedicated their lives to. The most surprising part has been the extraneous passions he’s discovered in nearly each one of these people. Hovey’s main goal this year is to foster discovery and allow people in athletics to show a separate side of themselves that may not generally be known. His secondary goal: Try not to stutter on a national broadcast. If not working at The Collegian, Hovey can be found engaging in outdoor activities, finding something tasty or listening to hip-hop.

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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