A dramatic night in Nevada: Final observations from CSU football's win

There was simply a lot going on Friday night when the Colorado State football team played at Nevada.

The Rams won a dramatic game 17-14. Here's some notes, thoughts and observations from my trip to Reno that may not have have made it into the immediate postgame stories.

• Jay Norvell was on a mission pregame. The CSU coach clearly wanted to make a point to Ken Wilson, his replacement at Nevada. When Norvell took the field for warmups, he made a beeline for the Nevada side.

• It was a quick, but heated conversation with Wilson. Coincidentally, a ref from the game was on my flight out of Reno and he said it was very tense. Norvell took umbrage with Wilson basically accusing him of NCAA violations. It was a grenade lobbed by Wilson, a pretty unusual move in the coaching industry. Norvell responded politely postgame but made his feelings clear.

• What Norvell said: “It’s taken me a long time to be a head coach and I respect head coaches. I just told him, if he wants to talk to me, he can call me any time. The public comments were unnecessary and they weren’t true and I was disappointed in him for that.”

CSU fights back:Nevada talked a lot of smack, but CSU football and Jay Norvell get final laugh with win

• This wasn’t another game, no matter what everyone said in the lead-in. The energy was crackling. Also, you don’t usually see a coach with two police officers flanking them when taking the field, as Norvell had. CSU running back Avery Morrow, who was literally bloodied in the game, said there were some real tears of happiness in the locker room after the game.

• The postgame scene in and outside the CSU locker room was lively. While waiting for postgame interviews, I could hear the CSU fight song being shouted. Kim Norvell, Jay’s wife, was one of many who looked filled with happy emotions in the hallway outside. She gave CSU kicker Michael Boyle a big hug before his interview and apparently said something along the lines of thanks for making the game-winning kick. “Just doing my job,” he said to her with a smile.

• Boyle executed the kicking plan as practiced. CSU coaches preach to him to kick it no matter what if there’s a whistle for a timeout. He did that when Nevada tried to ice him. He said he was even-keeled during the process and that punter (and holder) Paddy Turner is a very calming influence, repeating that it’s just another kick.

• Ever hit a game-winner before, Michael? "I have not. Well, actually I did once, freshman year of high school. I don't know if that counts," Boyle said with a laugh.

• The crowd overall was not impressive. It speaks to one of the reasons why Norvell left: lack of fan support. The announced attendance was 18,255 and in reality it was less. Kudos to the Nevada students, though. Their section was pretty full and they were loud and hostile.

• The reffing was problematic. I generally try and not make too big a deal about refs because there are so many tight plays in a game. This was not a goof performance, though. There was inconsistency all over the place. CSU received a late hit for a push out of bounds where the player never even fell, yet Tory Horton was decked then taunted way late and nothing was called. This game was on the edge of a brawl all night and the refs are lucky it was a close score. If it were lopsided, this could have become ugly. There were significant missed calls both ways.

• Then there’s the non-first down. If Nevada won, this first down would have been the big talking point. CSU was up 14-0 and if the ball was properly spotted at the 10, the Rams likely receive a punt near midfield. Instead, Nevada goes 99 yards (including that questionable late hit) and score a touchdown. It swung the momentum of the game. This isn’t the NFL where a coach throws a challenge flag, but I think Norvell should have called a timeout to help force the booth to buzz for a challenge. It was an awful spot and worse decision for the booth to not review.

• Horton plays HARD. He “only” had 64 receiving yards, but they were the two biggest catches of the game. He was dangerous on punt returns and many times I saw him blocking downfield to (and maybe past) the whistle. This may be his only season as a Ram (I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s playing on Sundays next year) but he is a joy to watch. Horton’s 491 yards receiving is tops in the Mountain West.

• Mohamed Kamara will play in the NFL. Kamara is in the backfield all the time. He had four tackles for loss, plus a half-sack at Nevada. He leads the MW in tackles for loss (9.5) and is third in sacks (four).

• The CSU defense was awesome. Play like that and just an OK offense will lead to a few more wins.

• About that offense. The game-winning field goal provided the only points from the offense. That’s bad. Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi struggled, going 11-of-22 for 78 yards and two interceptions. Credit to him for final drive execution but overall there were too many misses. He had happy feet, despite overall decent pass protection.

• What now? My hunch is Clay Millen won’t be ready to go again this week. Go with Fowler-Nicolosi again? Or give Giles Pooler a chance? Pooler is a tall, sturdy QB who could stand in the pocket. He looked poised in spring. I could make an argument both ways. On one hand, you don’t want to keep changing and changing and Fowler-Nicolosi may be more comfortable with a start under belt. On the other hand, you can’t win often with this lack of production and Pooler might be more poised to step in and connect on some of these throws.

• Colorado is the only winless team in FBS following CSU's win.

• Utah State is an early nine-point favorite in CSU’s homecoming game. USU had a very impressive win over Air Force this week.

• It looks like a sellout could be in play Saturday, so long as CSU students show up.

Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on Twitter and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Observations from a wild Colorado State football win at Nevada