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Live Recap: CSU football team hosts defending Mountain West champ Utah State

kevin lytle, fort collins coloradoan
·9 min read

Are we in store for more mayhem?

It seems when the Utah State and Colorado State football teams are scheduled to play that something crazy happens. Recent history is littered with weird games and even some off-field oddities (more on that below).

The battle between the two teams Saturday, Oct. 15 (5 p.m. CBS Sports Network) is a meeting of two teams who had rough starts to the season but are coming off big wins to snap long losing streaks.

Can CSU upset the defending Mountain West champion? Or does Utah State show it's still a threat to win the Mountain Division?

Follow Coloradoan reporter Kevin Lytle for updates through the day Saturday from Fort Collins.

Final

Utah State beats Colorado State 17-13.

Read more about it:Here are your three takeaways from CSU football's loss to Utah State

Utah State interception

Utah State picked off Pooler and returned it for a TD, but penalties wiped off the TD. Still, Utah State ball at own 38.

CSU ball again

CSU ball at own 21 with 6:54 to go. Rams trail 17-13.

CSU offense still struggling

The CSU defense again is doing enough to keep the Rams in the game, but the offense can't move it. CSU might need to force another turnover to have a chance to win this.

Utah State ball at own 39 with a 17-13 lead and 8:30 to go.

Big homecoming crowd

An announced crowd of 35,009 at Canvas Stadium for homecoming. That's the fourth-largest crowd in Canvas Stadium history (it opened in 2017).

CSU field goal

CSU offense can't take advantage of the fumble. Rams go nowhere in the red zone and Boyle kicks a 35-yard field goal.

Utah State lead is 17-13 with 14:08 to go.

End third quarter

Utah State lead is 17-10. CSU 2nd and 9 at Utah State 11 to start fourth quarter.

CSU picks up fumble

Huge play from the CSU defense with 18 seconds left in the third quarter. Dequan Jackson with a strip, Cam Bariteau falls on it and CSU 1st and 10 at the Utah State 12 down a touchdown.

Avery Morrow surpasses 100 rush yards

CSU running back passed the 100-yard rushing mark in the middle of the third quarter. That's back-to-back games with 100+ for the Nevada transfer (he had 168 last week).

He's the first CSU RB to have back-to-back 100+ rushing games since Marvin Kinsey in 2019.

Davenport leads Utah State to touchdown

The true freshman is making plays. Davenport leads Utah Sate down the field and a 4-yard TD run by the QB puts the Aggies up 17-10 on CSU with 7:34 to go in the third quarter.

Utah State field goal

Davenport leads Utah State into CSU territory and Coles hits a 48-yard field goal to tie the game.

CSU and Utah State at 10-10 with 10:57 left in third quarter.

CSU punts on first drive, new Utah State QB

Rams get one first down to open second half, but then punt and it's Utah State ball at own 23.

Utah State at QB has true freshman Bishop Davenport after injuries to Cooper Legas and Levi Williams in first half. Remember, first-string QB Logan Bonner is out long term.

Halftime

CSU leads Utah State 10-7 at the half.

Rams receive the second-half kickoff.

Utah State leads in yardage 209-188. Keep an eye on the QB situation. CSU's Giles Pooler took several big shots late in half. Jackson Stratton would likely be next up.

Both Cooper Legas and Levi Williams went down at one point for Utah State. True freshman Bishop Davenport took the final snap of the first half at QB.

CSU misses opportunity

CSU could not convert the blocked punt into any points. A 39-yard field goal attempt from Michael Boyle missed wide.

It's 10-7 CSU with 3:20 until half. Huge missed opportunity.

Blocked punt

CSU special teams comes up with a huge play when Dane Olson blocks a Utah State punt and the Rams recover it at the Aggies 20 with 5:04 to go.

Another missed Utah State field goal

A pass interference helped put Utah State in CSU territory but the Aggies stalled at the 35. Coles came on for a 52-yard field goal attempt but he missed it wide right.

New Utah State QB

Utah State QB Cooper Legas goes out with a possible concussion. Wyoming transfer Levi Williams replaces him. Williams lit up CSU with his legs last season.

Legas is 9-12 for 85 yards and a TD passing. He also has 27 rush yards.

Williams has had great success in the past against CSU while at Wyoming, but Rams forced a three-and-out on his first drive.

Avery Morrow goes beast mode

Following up his career game a week ago, Avery Morrow is running hard as heck once again. He converts a short third down and then busts a tough 26-yard score.

It's CSU first rushing TD of the season. Morrow has 63 yards on nine carries already.

Rams lead Utah State 10-7 with 14:21 left in the first half.

End first quarter

Utah State leads CSU 7-3 and Aggies have 160-73 advantage in yardage.

CSU has a third and 2 at Utah State's 33 to start second quarter.

Utah State takes the lead

A long Utah State drive started in its own territory and a questionable roughing the passer call helped the Aggies get started. From there Cooper Legas was balling with several quick throws.

The drive finished with a 32-yard strike to Justin McGriff to give Utah State a 7-3 lead with 1:54 left in the first quarter.

Utah State misses field goal

Utah State has moved the ball on each drive, but no points. On the second drive, CSU held and forced a fourth down to force a 45-yard field goal attempt.

Connor Coles missed the attempt. CSU lead is 3-0 with 7:32 to go in first quarter.

CSU kicks field goal

The Rams started their first drive of the game with a trick play following the interception. Tory Horton got the ball on a reverse and threw it to A'Jon Vivens for 19 yards to put CSU in the red zone. First pass of the career of Giles Pooler came on third down when he was unable to connect with a well-covered Tory Horton in the end zone.

But the Rams stalled just inside the 10 and settled for a 23-yard Michael Boyle field goal. CSU lead is 3-0 with 11:45 to go in first quarter.

CSU interception

The Ram defense with a big play to start. Utah State was driving on first series then Mo Kamara hits QB Cooper Legas as he throws and Cam'Ron Carter with the pick and returns it to Utah State's 29.

Utah State ball first

And here we go. CSU defers to second half and Rams will kick to Utah State to start the game.

Jack Howell looks ready to play

CSU football star safety Jack Howell is in uniform and going through warmups. He missed last week's win at Nevada through injury.

Despite missing that game, Howell leads the team in tackles (45) and interceptions (3).

Utah State and Colorado State weirdness

Crazy stuff happens between these two teams. Each year seems to bring something new and unique.

How to watch:TV listings and more game day info for Utah State at CSU

Here's a look:

  • 2021: Utah State is on the way to an eventual MW title, but CSU could have/should have pulled the upset. The Rams staged a late rally to set up a game-winning field goal, only to botch the execution with players running on and off the field in chaos. Then-CSU coach Steve Addazio pinned the blame on his players after the game to add to the drama.

  • 2020: Before what was to be the final game of the weird COVID season, Utah State players opted out in protest as players voiced concerns about religious discrimination during the search for a new football coach.

  • 2019: Rain and a controversial fumble. It was a soggy night in Logan with a 30-minute pregame lightning delay. A Marvin Kinsey fumble was returned for a touchdown late when it appeared Kinsey's forward momentum had been stopped.

  • 2018: A top-15 Utah State squad against a bad CSU team nearing the end of a lost season shouldn't have been a good game, but this sure was! On a fiercely frigid day with snow on the field, the final sequence was one of the craziest in college football that season. CSU took a one-point lead with 1:37 to go only for Utah State to go up by five with 43 seconds to go. The final play was a 34-yard heave to Preston Williams, who grabbed it for a game-winning touchdown. Or not! Refs threw a flag for Williams stepping out of bounds during his route, negating the win for CSU.

And that's just the recent history! What will be next?

CSU football mailbag:How big will next signing class be? What areas will be emphasized?

Basketball before football

The CSU men's basketball team hosted an open scrimmage in the afternoon before the homecoming football game. Check out a gallery from the scrimmage:

New QB for CSU

For the third week in a row, the Rams will start a different quarterback. Starter Clay Millen is still out with a shoulder injury. True freshman Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi is beat up after an ineffective first start a week ago. In steps Fort Collins native Giles Pooler.

Pooler's chance:A look at what Giles Pooler could bring to the CSU football offense

Personalized jersey sales

As part of new NIL regulations, fans can now purchase authorized jerseys of their favorite current CSU players. They're now online at shop.csurams.com.

Fans can customize with the name and number of a current player and no longer have to worry about NCAA violations. The jerseys are listed at $134.95 online.

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

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Live recap: Colorado State football hosts Utah State