Dane Olson held the front lines down until the cavalry could arrive. When they finally did, magic followed.
In a 42-37, 17-point fourth quarter comeback win over Utah State, Olson made plays over and over again, keeping Colorado State football in the fight. His effort proved insurmountable for an Aggies team, which was overwhelmed 29-7 in the final quarter of regular season Mountain West play.
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Late in the second quarter is when Olson’s heroics began. The Rams found themselves down 10, facing a third-and-10 on the USU 28. Yet to score a touchdown, CSU needed someone to make a play. Enter Olson, who caught the ball, made a couple of guys miss and 28 yards later he had the first touchdown of the game for the Rams.
“Getting the score before the half was big for the momentum and getting our guys back into the fight at halftime,” coach Jay Norvell said. “At halftime we were just really convinced we needed to come out, start fast and then finish in the fourth.”
That’s exactly what the Rams did. To start the second half the Rams forced a three-and-out from Utah State. The following drive CSU drove down the field and Canvas had finally come alive. After falling short on third down, Jordan Noyes had a 40-yard try to tie things up at 16.
Instead the kick sailed left and what could have been a tie game with momentum staunchly in the Rams’ corner, the stadium became deflated, afraid of what a missed kick might foreshadow.
Just a few drives later that fear became a reality when Bryson Barnes found Otto Tia for six, and grew again when Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi threw a pick-6, extending a three point USU lead to 17 in the matter of 18 seconds.
“That was just an unfortunate series of events,” said Fowler-Nicolosi, who finished with 370 yards and four touchdowns, going 31-of-46. “Really it is credit to them, they read it nicely and made a play out of it. And so understanding we just got to bounce back and stay consistent, trust the coaches and that’s exactly what we did.”
When the clock struck zero for a third time, a 17-point hole separated disappointment from glory. On one sideline there was hope, on the other a fire that had just begun to ignite.
The fire was met by the cries of cavalry. CSU’s night needed to be saved and while Olson continued the fight to do so, he no longer stood alone. Instead he marched side-by-side with so many of his brothers up and down the field.
“We struggled to score 29 points all year long and we scored 29 points in the fourth quarter,” Norvell said. “It just shows what we’re capable of doing when we play together, offense, defense and special teams.”
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On the first drive of the fourth quarter CSU found itself facing fourth-and-6, needing a play. Once again Olson was the one who delivered, drawing a pass interference and resetting the downs.
Two plays later, Fowler-Nicolosi completed a pass to Vince Brown II, who willed himself in for six. With an Odell Beckham Jr. style catch from Jamari Person on the 2-point try, CSU cut the lead to just nine.
“We have a lot of guys that are playing their very best at times that we need them to,” Norvell said. “I just think that bodes well for the future.”
Brown II’s touchdown stole the hope from the other sideline, replacing it with fear.
That hope was temporary — or so it seemed. On third-and-15, on a drive where the CSU defense needed a stop, Barnes went for a 16-yard scramble, getting a fresh set of downs and temporarily haulting what had been a great comeback effort from CSU.
“A lot of times that’ll knock the wind out of the defense,” defensive back Jack Howell said. “That would have been the end right there if we let them score.”
That was just one of the many plays Barnes made on a career night for himself. He finished with 189 yards through the air and 185 on the ground, running the ball 24 times. 23 of those times he looked unstoppable, but all it took was once to turn the dagger the Aggies had to seal the game, against them.
Ayden Hector forced a fumble that Buom Jock was able to corral. Following that fumble, Fowler-Nicolosi found Jordan Ross for his first collegiate touchdown. That of course doesn’t happen if Olson doesn’t go 26 yards on a catch and run on fourth-and-9.
“These guys just keep fighting,” Howell said. “It doesn’t matter what happens during that play — you’ve got to line up and go again. And until you get in that endzone it doesn’t matter; you’ve got to see us on that field.”
When a receiver is having as good of a game as Olson was having, it doesn’t matter if there is 11 guys blanketing them, they’re always open.
That’s when Fowler-Nicolosi can say fuck it, Olson is down there somewhere. Or something along those lines.
“Coach Norvell doesn’t want to hear me say that,” Fowler-Nicolosi said. “I think (Olson) just manages to find a way to get open a lot and he’s incredible at it. And so knowing he’ll be open was definitely a factor down that stretch.”
Olson finished his final game in green and gold in a career way. Throughout the entire season, his best moments came when the team needed them the most.
His 140 yards will be a career high for him, once again stepping up when he was needed the most.
“I wish we could have been doing this for a lot longer,” Olson said. “But to have this happen on senior night, it was just a surreal feeling for me.”
Olson’s contributions allowed for one special Ram to also see the field one last time.
At the very end of the game, in victory formation stood No. 14 Tory Horton. Someone who has given so much to Fort Collins was able to be on the field sharing the glory of victory.
A magical way to end a perfect night.
“That made my night getting to see him out there,” Howell said. “He said he’s probably going to do it if it was kind of a blowout and we were winning. But I wasn’t sure if he was going to suit up then, and he must have gone back in that locker room and changed real quick and to be able to see him out there one last time. … It’s very fitting that he got the applause he did.”
Reach Damon Cook at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @dwcook2001.
