Saturday was a win-win for Colorado State football. They won the game and Nick Stevens soared over Air Force.
After a dismal performance against Top 25 ranked Boise State, the redshirt sophomore quarterback Stevens had a career-high 296 yards passing against the Air Force Academy Falcons.
“It’s good to win on any Saturday,” head coach Mike Bobo said after Colorado State’s (3-4, 1-2 MW) victory over in-state rival Air Force (3-3, 2-1 MW) 38-23. It represented the Rams’ first Mountain West Conference win this year, a game they won in a dominant fashion.
Stevens went 23-30 for a total of 296 yards with three touchdowns with one interception. Stevens’ day was an unexpected spectacle for all CSU fans.
“I thought Nick did an outstanding job all day of going to the right receiver,” Bobo said. “The one interception, I thought he threw it on time. Joe (Hansley) should’ve cut in front of the safety. He threw it before he broke and that’s what I want him to do. We were able to come back later and get him on a double move on that same kind of concept.”
The redshirt sophomore hit a wide variety of targets, eight in all. Junior Rashard “Hollywood” Higgins led all of them with seven catches for 74 yards while senior Joe Hansley caught three balls for 75 yards and two touchdowns. Hansley truly is an all-purpose football player; he also had a punt return for 40 yards to give his CSU team better field position.
“It felt really good,” Stevens said after the great game. “I was really happy this happened because there’s been a couple of games we’ve struggled with. On offense, it was good, especially as a team win. It felt really great to get a team win like that.”
Stevens was able to have this career game partially due to the ability to keep the Falcons defense on edge. One thing which helped keep Air Force guessing was the Rams’ balanced offensive attack. CSU rushed as a squad for 160 yards with senior Jason Oden Jr. being a huge support. Oden enjoyed 11 carries for a net gain of 89 yards and two touchdowns, which allowed Stevens to throw around the field with great success.
Still, there’s room for improvement. One thing that Stevens still needs to work on is his ability to look off defenders. Several times in Saturday’s game the redshirt sophomore stared directly at who he was intending to throw to. This aspect of his game will develop more as he progresses in his career and he has two years to perfect his craft.
Colorado State is now on their bye, perfect timing for the Rams to start the second half of their season after a week off to rest.
“Time to heal up and rehab before going to San Diego State,” said Higgins after Saturday’s game.
The Rams look to rest and to prepare for the upcoming bout against the San Diego State Aztecs (3-3, 2-0 MW) on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 1:30 p.m. MT. The game will be televised by CBS Sports Network and on the radio with 105.5 ESPN for those who will be unable to attend.
