2006 Colorado State Rams Season, Game Recaps, Scores and Reviews
Dec. 2
San Diego State 17 ... Colorado State 6
San Diego State only cranked out 235 yards of total offense,
but it got a good day from the defense and went on two good drives to
get the points it needed. Atiyyeh Henderson ran for a three-yard score
in the second quarter and Kevin O'Connell put the game away with a
14-yard run halfway through the fourth. Colorado State converted eight
of 21 third down chances and managed two Jason Smith field goals. Player of the game ...
San Diego State
LB Joe Martin made 14 tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss Stat Leaders: Colorado State- Passing: Caleb Hanie, 20-37,
162 yds, 1 INT Rushing: Michael Myers, 18-68, Receiving: Johnny
Walker, 6-56 San Diego State - Passing: Kevin O'Connell, 7-19,
51 yds
Rushing: Kevin O'Connell, 12-68, 1 TD Receiving: Brett Swain,
2-26 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... The defense finally came up with a good game holding San
Diego State to 235 yards and nine first downs, but the offense didn't go
anywhere. Caleb Hanie did a good job throwing the short range passes,
but there was nothing deep and not nearly enough plays in the clutch to
keep the chains moving. This was an ugly second half of the season that
might mean major changes in the program. Nothing worked on either side
of the ball over the last seven games.
Nov. 25
TCU 45 ... Colorado State 14
TCU cranked out 606 yards with 350 on the ground on the way to
an easy win. Colorado State scored first on a 22-yard Kory Sperry catch,
and then the floodgates opened as TCU scored 31 straight to close out
the first half on two Aaron Brown touchdown runs, a Jeff Ballard
seven-yard dash, and a 54-yard Brent Hecht pass play. Ballard with a
one-yard scoring run in the third and Brown with a 45-yard touchdown
dash made it a laugher. The Rams managed just 34 yards of rushing
offense. Player of the game ...
TCU RB Aaron
Brown ran 14 times for 166 yards and three touchdowns Stat Leaders: Colorado State- Passing: Caleb Hanie, 14-23,
138 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Billy Farris, 5-19, Receiving: Dustin Osborn,
4-61, 1 TD TCU - Passing: Jeff Ballard, 17-25, 238 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Aaron Brown, 14-166, 3 TD Receiving: Michael DePriest, 4-36 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... With six straight losses and the defense getting worse
by the week, the program has spiraled to a new low under Sonny Lubick.
To lose is fine, but to get the doors blown off with little to no
defense, and absolutely no hint of a running game, is another. The team
is getting worse each week. With San Diego State coming up to finish off
the year, the team has to show some life and Caleb Hanie has to prove he
can be the type of quarterback who can lead the team next year. The
Aztecs are playing worth than the Rams.
Nov. 11
Utah 35 ... Colorado State 22
Utah rolled up 526 yards of total offense getting production
from everywhere as Brett Ratliff threw two first half touchdown passes
and CB Eric Weddle ran for a six-yard score. Colorado State appeared to
be on its way to tying it up with a 51-yard Luke Roberts touchdown catch
and a two-yard Gartrell Johnson scoring run, but a two-point conversion
attempt misfired and Utah rolled from there. The Ute offense rolled for
65 yards in 11 plays closing with a Ratliff scoring pass to Derrek
Richards, and the Rams were never a threat the rest of the way. Player of the game ...
Utah QB Brett
Ratliff completed 20 of 32 passes for 296 yards and two touchdowns with
an interception Stat Leaders: Colorado State- Passing: Caleb Hanie, 13-30,
186 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT Rushing: Caleb Hanie, 13-75, Receiving: Johnny Walker,
4-30 Utah - Passing: Brett Ratliff, 20-32, 296, 2 TD, 1
INT
Rushing: Darryl Poston, 16-66, 1 TD Receiving: Brent Casteel,
6-92, 1
TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Things keep spiraling downward for Colorado State losing
fifth straight as the season keeps spiraling downward. There was
actually some semblance of a running game for the first time in a while,
but that was mainly because QB Caleb Hanie started to scramble more. The
big offensive plays simply haven't been there over the last few games.
The defense wasn't able to stop anything the Ute offense wanted to do
getting run and thrown on with equal ease, and now comes a date with
red-hot TCU team that could put a nail in the season's coffin.
Nov. 4
BYU 24 ... Colorado State 3
BYU's defense came up with five sacks and held Colorado State to
just 151 yards of total offense and seven first downs giving up just
a 28-yard field goal. The Cougar offense got three short touchdown
runs including two from Fui Vaukapuna and one from Manase Tonga, and
Hared McLaughlin hit a 25-yard field goal. The Cougars held on to
the ball for over 34 minutes.
Player of the game ... BYU's Cameron
Jensen made nine tackles and two sacks Stat Leaders: Colorado State- Passing: Caleb Hanie,
13-23, 125 yds Rushing: Nnamdi Ohaeri, 13-53 Receiving: Damon
Morton, 4-51 BYU - Passing: John Beck, 22-30, 290 yds, 1 INT Rushing: Curtis Brown, 16-81 Receiving: Jonny
Harline, 6-59 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Things
have gone from bad to worse for Colorado State on the four game
losing streak that's taking it out of the season. The offensive line
couldn't handle anything the Cougar defense wanted to do. There's no
Ram running game, so if Caleb Hanie isn't effective, there's no
chance. Hanie has to be throwing for 250 yards, and the defense has
to always be ahead in the turnover battle, for the Rams to win
against Utah and TCU over the next few weeks.
Oct. 28
New Mexico 20 ... Colorado State 19
Kenny Byrd hit a 33-yard field goal with no time left on the clock to
completed a fourth quarter comeback. The Lobos got out to a 10-0 first
quarter lead on a 39-yard Byrd field goal and a six-yard Rodney Ferguson
run, but Colorado State owned the next two quarters with two Damon
Morton touchdown catches and two Jason Smith field goals. New Mexico
started the comeback with a 35-yard Travis Brown touchdown catch off a
turnover, and completed the win with a ten-play, 63-yard drive in the
final 3:16.
Player of the game ... New Mexico’s Kenny
Byrd averaged 65 yards on his four punts and connected on both of his
field goal attempts, including the game-winner from 33 yards as time
expired. Stat Leaders: New Mexico- Passing: Donovan
Porterie, 15-25, 195 yds, 1 TD Rushing: Rodney Ferguson, 21-80, 1 TD Receiving: Marcus
Smith, 6-81 Colorado State - Passing: Caleb Hanie, 25-40, 254
yds, 2 TDs, 1 INT Rushing: Nmadi Ohaeri, 12-24 Receiving: Damon Morton,
7-94, 2 TDs Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... When
things aren't going well, teams tend to find ways to lose. Colorado
State had struggled in two straight losses, but seemingly had the New
Mexico game in hand before blowing it late. The offensive line couldn't
get any push for the running game and did a horrible job of protecting
Caleb Hanie. The D was strong all game long before being unable to get
one key stop on the Lobos' final drive. Bowl hopes are still alive, but
things just got a whole bunch tougher with BYU, Utah and TCU up in the
next three games.
Oct. 21
Wyoming 24 ... Colorado State 0
Wyoming got two touchdown passes from Karsten Sween in the
third quarter and got a 25-yard Joe Harris touchdown run in the fourth
on the way to the shut out win. The defense forced three turnovers and
held the Rams to 259 yards of total offense and only 42 rushing yards.
The Rams never got within scoring range.
Player of the game ... Wyoming RB Wynel
Seldon ran 18 times for 112 yards. Stat Leaders: Colorado State - Passing: Caleb Hanie,
23-45, 217 yds, 2 INT Rushing: Nnamdi Ohaeri, 8-30 Receiving: Johnny
Walker, 6-69 Wyoming - Passing: Karsten Sween, 10-22, 152 yds, 2
TD
Rushing: Wynel Seldon, 18-112 Receiving: Hoost Marsh,
3-26 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
For the rest of the year, Colorado State is
going to have to get used to trying to overcome tough offensive days
like it had in the loss to Wyoming. Caleb Hanie wasn't throwing the ball
effectively, so there needed to be some semblance of a running game to
fall back on. There wasn't any. The Ram passing game should get back on
track to handle New Mexico at home, but to get through possible
shootouts against BYU, Utah and TCU, the offense has to be far more
effective.
Oct. 12
Air Force 24 ... Colorado State 21
Air Force overcame a 21-3 halftime deficit by scoring 21
unanswered points with a 19-yard touchdown catch from Victor
Thompson to finally get ahead. Colorado State had several chances,
but the final drive was stopped by a Chris Sutton interception. The
Rams started off hot with Caleb Hanie throwing two touchdown passes,
highlighted by a 60-yard play to Dustin Osborn, to go along with a
three-yard scoring run with 37 left in the first half. AIr Force
controlled the ball and the clock in the second half with Carney
throwing two touchdown passes and Jacob Kendrick scoring from six
yards out. CSU's Klint Kubiak finished with 19 tackles. Player of the
game ...
Air Force QB Shaun Carney completed 8 of 13 passes for 102 yards and
two touchdown and ran 14 times for 106 yards Stat Leaders: Colorado State - Passing: Caleb
Hanie, 14-23, 282 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT Rushing: Gartrell Johnson, 16-75 Receiving:
Johnny Walker, 6-48 Air Force - Passing: Shaun Carney, 8-13, 102
yds, 2 TD Rushing: Shaun Carney, 14-106 Receiving: Victor Thompson,
4-49, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Getting
rolled on for 318 yards by
Air Force doesn't mean the Colorado State ground game has reverted
to last year's woes. Having problems with Wyoming's ground game next
week would mean it's time to panic, but the bigger problems are on
offense. Once again, Gartrell Johnson ran relatively well, but he
didn't have too much room to move and the ground game failed
to take control of the game and helped hold the lead in the second
half. Caleb Hanie was hot early, but cooled off and couldn't keep
the a chains moving in the second half.
Oct. 7
Colorado State 28 ... UNLV 7
Caleb Hanie ran for a touchdown and threw a 64-yard touchdown
pass to Damon Morton for a score as Colorado State had an easy time with the
Rebels. UNLV answered a two-yard Gartrell Johnson touchdown run with a 25-yard
David Peeples score, but the defense couldn't handle the offensive balance that
helped the Rams hold on to the ball for over 36 minutes. CSU outgained the
Rebels 387 yards to 250. Player of the
game ...
Colorado State QB Caleb Hanie completed 23 of 28 passes for 257
yards and a touchdown and ran for a score Stat Leaders: Colorado State - Passing: Caleb
Hanie, 23-28, 257 yds, 1 TD Rushing: Gartrell Johnson, 15-57, 1 TD Receiving:
Damon Morton, 5-115, 1 TD UNLV - Passing: Rocky Hinds, 19-34, 198 yds, 1
INT Rushing: David Peeples, 9-39 Receiving: Casey
Flair, 8-100 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
The Rams did what they were supposed to do against a
bad team like UNLV with a good, balanced offensive performance and the best job
against the run the D has done all season long. Gartrell Johnson is starting to
provide a bit of a running game, but it's still up to Caleb Hanie to carry the
attack. The confidence should be sky-high, and now it's time to see if all the
parts can be consistent and even more explosive against a tough Air Force team
and on the road against Wyoming.
Sept. 30
Colorado State 35 ... Fresno State 23
Colorado State broke open a tight game with 211 straight
second half points with Damon Morton returning a punt 58 yards for a
score and catching a 41-yard touchdown strike from Caleb Hanie to put
the game away. Fresno State's offense sputtered after getting two first
half touchdown on a one-yard Dwayne Wright run and a 28-yard Chastin
West catch, but the Rams stayed around highlighted by a 53-yard score
from Kory Sperry. Darren Williams picked off two passes for the Rams.
Player of the game ... Colorado State QB Caleb Hanie completed
15 of 23 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns Stat Leaders: Colorado State- Passing:
Caleb Hanie, 15-23, 248 yds, 3 TD Rushing: Gartrell Johnson, 24-55, 1 TD,. Receiving:
Damon Morton, 5-103, 1 TD Fresno State - Passing: Tom Brandstater,
19-42, 205 yds, 1 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Dwayne Wright, 16-77, 1 TD Receiving:
Dwayne Wright, 5-96 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Sort of quietly, Colorado State has come up
with a nice 3-1 start going into a winnable game against UNLV. Caleb
Hanie came up with a great game against Fresno State with several big
plays, but it was the defense that got the job done only allowing FSU to
convert two of 13 third down chances and keeping the running game to 115
yards. On the down side, the Ram running attack did absolutely nothing
yet again averaging 1.2 yards per carry. The loss of Kyle Bell is going
to be felt all season long.
Sept. 16
Nevada 28 ... Colorado State 10
Nevada got a nearly perfect game out of QB Jeff Rowe, who
threw two touchdown passes highlighted by a 39-yard play to Mike McCoy,
while the D held Colorado State to 64 rushing yards and allowed only a
36-yard field goal in the surprisingly easy win. The Rams made it 14-10
late in the second quarter on a blocked punt for a touchdown, but Row
answered with a ten-play, 80-yard drive culminating with pass to McCoy.
Nevada outgained Colorado State 21- yards to 113. Player of the game ... Nevada QB Jeff Rowe completed 19
0f 22 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, and
ran 13 times for 65 yards. Stat Leaders: Nevada- Passing: Jeff
Rowe, 19-22, 210 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Robert Hubbard, 22-88, 1 TD. Receiving:
Caleb Spencer, 8-78 Colorado State - Passing: Caleb Hanie,
14-25, 113 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Caleb Hanie, 12-32. Receiving: Johnny
Walker, 6-53 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Colorado State either needs a fantastic game
from QB Caleb Hanie, or it's not going to beat most decent teams. No one
is stepping up in Kyle Bell's place meaning there's no running game
whatsoever, so Hanie has to bomb away and bomb away some more. 113
yards, like he put up against Nevada, won't get the job done. The run
defense has been decent so far, but it struggled against the Wolf Pack
and will have mega-problems with Dwayne Wright and Fresno State next
week if it plays like it did in Reno.
Sept. 9
Colorado State 14 ... Colorado 10
Colorado State QB Calib Hanie was nearly perfect completing 20
of 23 passes, but he wasn't able to lead the Rams to any second half
points with the final points coming on a five-yard pass to Kory Sperry
late in the first half. Hanie also ran for a three-yard touchdown in the
first quarter to tie it up after Colorado started off the scoring on a
three-yard Bernard Jackson scoring run. Mason Crosby kicked a 40-yard
field goal for the Buffs in the second quarter for a 10-7 lead. The
defenses dominated throughout with Colorado sacking Hanie six times with
three coming from Abraham Wright. CSU came up with five sacks. Player of the game ... Colorado State QB Caleb Hanie
completed 20 of 23 passes for 233 yards and a touchdown and ran
for a short score. Stat Leaders: Colorado- Passing: Bernard
Jackson, 8-13, 70 yds Rushing: Bernard Jackson, 18-30, 1 TD Receiving:
Patrick Williams, 5-37 Colorado State - Passing: Caleb Hanie,
20-23, 233 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Gartrell Johnson, 14-17 Receiving:
Johnny Walker, 10-158 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Caleb
Hanie was terrific against Colorado at not making mistakes and making
the key throws when absolutely needed, and he's going to be the offense
all season long with no running game to help him out. The absence of
Kyle Bell was felt against the Buffs netting a mere 15 yards, but Johnny
Walker emerged as a go-to receiver for the passing game. The defense was
terrific for the second straight game and showed that things really are
different, the group looks stronger and more physical, than last year.
Sept. 2
Colorado State 30 ... Weber State 6
Colorado State's defense stuffed Weber State with seven sacks
and a -38 net rushing total. The Ram offense got three short scores from
RB Gartrell Johnson and a late six-yard scoring run from QB Caleb Hanie.
WSU only managed 86 yards of total offense and two Conor Foley field
goals. The Ram D allowed WSU to convert a mere two of 14 third down
chances, while the CSU offense converted seven of 11 tries. Player of the game ... Colorado State DB Mike Pagnotta
led the defense with five tackles and one quarterback hurry. Stat Leaders: Weber State- Passing: Ian
Pizarro, 13-24, 124 yds Rushing: Adrian Conway, 15-14 Receiving:
Terry Larsen, 4-46 Colorado State - Passing: Caleb Hanie,
15-22, 212 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Nnamdi Ohaeri, 3-39 Receiving: Damon
Morton, 6-67 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... This is
exactly what the team needed after last year. The 2005 Ram run defense
was shoved all over the place, so holding Weber State to -38 rushing
yards was a major step in the right direction going into the Colorado
showdown. It was running back by committee in an attempt to replace Kyle
Bell, but no one stood out. Gartrell Johnson has to average more than
1.9 yards per carry if the Rams are going to win over the next few
weeks.
Colorado
State used to be known as a Big Ten-like team playing in the Mountain
West thanks to a power running game and a gritty,
punch-you-in-the-mouth defense. Unfortunately, over the last two
season head coach Sonny Lubick's club has turned into a bunch of
fancy lads finishing 111th against the run in 2004 and 117th last
year. While injuries were the problem a few seasons ago and
inexperience hurt in 2005, it still wasn't pretty to watch missed
tackle after missed tackle.
Offensively, Ram fans used to seeing a solid
running game had to be peeved to see the attack
turn so pass happy. The Rams have averaged over 201 rushing yards per game in the
101 wins under Lubick and averaged 124 in the 56 losses. With
pure-passing quarterback Justin Holland at the helm last year the
air attack was sensational throwing for 286 yards per game, but the
ground game suffered averaging a mere 122 yards per outing. Now it's
time to go back to Colorado State football.
The backfield has 225 pounders Kyle Bell and Gantrell Johnson to
power the ground game behind an experienced offensive line, but
it'll be tempting to keep chucking the ball around in the
high-octane Mountain West. The defense has enough experience
to be far better if all the past playing time actually turns into
production and the kicking game should be one of the best in the
league. In other words, the potential is there for a return to the
glory days.
For all the
negatives, last season wasn't all that bad overcoming a rough start to
get to a bowl game. There were a few problems from the power outage late
in the year in losses to TCU and San Diego State by a combined score of
63-16, but there were wins over good teams like Nevada and Utah and a
total of six victories despite a horrific year from the defense.
So now the question becomes whether or not Colorado State can become a
true player in the Mountain West again. It depends on how physical the
team can become and it depends on if Lubick can summon some of
the same magic that made him such a hot commodity a few years ago. If
there can be just a little bit of overall improvement, the Rams could
surprise and be in the mix for the conference title late in November.
The
Schedule:
The Rams finally get a scrimmage in before the Colorado showdown playing
Weber State in the opener. This will be a battle-tested team for
Mountain West play after going on the road to face WAC heavyweights
Nevada and Fresno State, while there's no better way to ease into the
conference slate than a home date with UNLV. It'll all come down to
November playing BYU, at Utah and TCU in four-week span. CSU will likely
be conference champs if it wins all three of those, and it'll be in the
hunt by winning two of the three.
Best
Offensive Player:
Junior RB Kyle Bell. He was ganged up on by the better run defenses, but
his bruising running style provided a nice ying to the passing game's
yang. It'll be up to him to carry the offense even more this season and
take some of the pressure off QB Caleb Hanie.
Best
Defensive Player: Senior CB
Robert Hebert. He has been one of the nation's top tackling corners over
the last two seasons along with being one of the Mountain West leaders
in broken up passes. He's a big corner who packs a wallop with his hits,
but just being a solid cover-corner would be enough for the Rams this
year.
Key player
to a successful season:
Sophomore DTs Blake Smith and Matt Rupp. They're a little on the light
side with Smith, a big-time recruit, checking in at under 270 pounds on
the nose and Rupp, a tremendous weightlifter, a 275-pound tackle. They
have to play big or the run defense has no hope of improving.
The season
will be a success if ... CSU finishes second in the Mountain West. There are a few too
many holes on both sides of the ball from the depth problems on the
offensive line to a lack of a proven number one receiver to all the
major issues with the run defense. Even so, the schedule is nice and the
team really isn't all that bad. Finishing second in the race would be a
very nice season and the springboard for what should hopefully be a
really big 2007.
Key game:
Nov. 11 at Utah. New Mexico, BYU and TCU have to come to Fort
Collins, and any team that wants to be the Mountain West champion has to
plan on taking care of business at home in all three games. The one
trouble spot in the home oasis is the road trip to Utah. If the Rams
beat the Utes, they'll be flying high with two weeks off to rest before
the showdown with the Horned Frogs.
2005 Fun
Stats:
- Second quarter scoring: Opponents 138 - Colorado State 68
- Average yards per carry: Opponents 5.1 - Colorado State 3.5
- CSU points by quarter: 1st 61, 2nd 68, 3rd 68, 4th 124
The Last Time
Colorado State…
…played in a bowl game…2005 (Poinsettia Bowl v. Navy)
…missed a bowl game…2004
…pitched a shutout…1997(Hawaii)
…was shutout…2004 (USC)
…scored 50 points…2003 (BYU)
…went undefeated…1916
…won a conference title…2002 (Mountain West)
…had a 3,000-yard passer…2005 (Justin Holland)
…had a 1,000-yard rusher…2005 (Kyle Bell)
…had a 1,000-yard receiver…2005 (David Anderson)
…had a first-round draft choice…1987 (QB Kelly Stouffer)
