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The Colorado State Rams opened their new on-campus stadium in style on Saturday in Fort Collins, Colo., beating Pac-12 Conference foe Oregon State 58-27. The new facility was broken in by a sellout crowd of 37,583 fans, making it the highest-attended season-opener and third-highest attended home game in school history.
Senior quarterback Nick Stevens completed 26-of-39 passes (66.7 percent) for 334 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Running backs Dalyn Dawkins, Marvin Kinsey Jr., and Izzy Matthews each scored rushing touchdowns, while redshirt freshman Rashaad Boddie added 56 yards on eight carries. A preseason first-team All-Mountain West selection, wide receiver Michael Gallup pulled in 11 catches for 134 yards—his sixth consecutive 100-yard receiving game dating back to last season. True freshman tight end Cameron Butler, wide receiver Detrich Clark and Dawkins were on the receiving end of Stevens’ touchdown passes. It was Stevens’ eighth consecutive multi-touchdown game, and third in a row with three or more touchdown passes.
The Rams defense forced five turnovers, their most in a game since 2012 and more than one-third of their total of 14 in 2016. Linebackers Tre Thomas and Josh Watson, and cornerback Anthony Hawkins, recorded interceptions, while safety Jamal Hicks and Watson forced fumbles. Watson was the Rams’ leading tackler with nine total including four solos, and safety Jake Schlager followed closely behind with eight total and five solos.
Oregon State wide receiver Timmy Hernandez scored the first touchdown of the game, but the Rams answered quickly on the ensuing drive with a 1-yard touchdown rush by Matthews. Aside from one turnover from each squad, both defenses struggled to string together consecutive stops in a high-scoring first half.
Coming out of the locker room with a 24-20 lead, the Rams opened the third quarter with a six-minute drive that resulted in a 25-yard Wyatt Bryan field goal. Oregon State threw interceptions on its next two possessions, the first of which was returned 44 yards for a touchdown by Thomas. Hawkins, a sophomore, recorded the second pick just one minute and 42 seconds later.
Bryan’s third field goal of the day came at 14:42 of the fourth quarter, giving the Rams a 37-20 lead. Capitalizing on a muffed punt by the Rams, Oregon State cut the lead to 10 with 11:52 to play. CSU scored on the next possession and pulled away by forcing two more OSU turnovers and scoring the final 21 points of the game.
Twenty-one Rams made their Division I debuts today including 10 true freshmen. Ryan Stonehouse averaged 51.0 yards on his two punts and linebacker Patrick Moody recorded two tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss and two quarterback hurries. Junior-college transfers Nicho Garcia and Ben Knox started at right guard and right tackle, respectively.
Colorado State enters a short practice week with the annual Rocky Mountain Showdown against in-state rival Colorado coming up on Friday in Denver. The Buffaloes did not play a Week 0 game, making the Showdown their season opener.
