Colorado State makes history with thrilling comeback against Boise State

Colorado State’s comeback victory over Boise State was nothing short of miraculous. 

Trailing by 20 points with just over four minutes left in the game, the Rams scored 21 straight to pull off an insane 31-30 win over the Broncos. 

After losing 12 straight to the perennial Mountain West powerhouse, CSU finally found a way to shake the monkey off their back in this matchup. And coming off of a really tough night against Utah State the week before, the Rams earned the signature win they’ve been looking for under second-year head coach Jay Norvell. 

The comeback began subtly. When all hope was seemingly lost, the Rams started at their own 25 and efficiently went down the field with a six-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 12-yard touchdown catch by Louis Brown.

With 3:57 remaining, the Rams recovered an onside kick and promptly made the most of it with another scoring drive capped off by a 2-yard score by SMU-transfer Dylan Goffney.  

CSU then appeared to recover a second onside kick, however, it was taken away by an illegal blocking penalty on the Rams. But after Boise State failed to run out the clock and punted the ball back to the red-hot Rams, CSU was presented with an opportunity to pull off the impossible. 

With 33 seconds to go, the offense, led by Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, started with a 11-yard pass to Goffney. “BFN” then hit Tory Horton for 44 yards which allowed the Rams to spike the ball at the BSU 33-yard line. And with just six seconds to play, BFN threw a perfect ball into the end zone that ended up in a diving Dallin Holker’s hands off a deflection from a Boise State defensive back. 

As far as improbable wins go, this one was about as crazy as they come. CSU was far from perfect in the game. But when the historic win was there for the taking, unlike so many times before, the Rams responded when the lights were brightest. 

Going back to the Bobo era, it’s been a really challenging stretch for this program. So many times CSU has been the team that came up short in these crazy college football thrillers. Whether it was the 2017 collapse against Boise State, the 2018 “Fail Mary” against Utah State, or any of the other gut-wrenching moments over the years, the Rams have seemingly been snakebit when they’ve had a chance to come away with a big win. 

CSU could have bucked the trend in Boulder earlier this year after out-playing the Buffs for about 95 percent of the night but obviously that game ended up playing out in a heartbreaking fashion. This time, with their backs against the wall, the Rams found a way. 

“It was about time for the ball to bounce our way,” Norvell said postgame. “We’ve had a lot of hard luck types of games where it didn’t.”

Norvell continued, explaining that the CU game was tough because the Rams played well enough to steal one on the road and they let it slip through their grasp. What it did prove, though, despite being a difficult learning experience was that the Rams are capable of doing some special things and they’re a group that should always be in a game. 

“Tonight’s an example of that,” he said. 

Things did not start well for the Green & Gold. The Rams opened the night with four consecutive three-and-outs and produced just 11 yards of total offense in the first quarter. They also struggled mightily to contain Boise State’s star running back Ashton Jeanty. 

In the first half alone, the dynamic rusher produced 167 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 20 carries (8.4 AVG). He was a big reason why Boise State went up 17-0 early and really should have won this game. He finished with 212 rushing yards, 42 receiving yards and three scores, so he’s certainly not the reason the Broncos fell flat on their faces.

In fact, if the fine folks in Idaho are looking for answers on how this game got away from them, Jeanty only getting two touches on Boise State’s first two drives in the second half — both of which ended with punts — was a head-scratcher. As was the decision to rotate Taylen Green and Maddux Madsen at quarterback — seemingly to the detriment of both guys.

Outside of turnovers and some questionable decisions by Andy Avalos, the biggest self-inflicted wound for the Broncos proved to be a holding call with just under two minutes left in the game. The Rams had begun their dramatic rally but Boise State could have sealed the deal by running out the clock. 

With the Rams only possessing one timeout, Green appeared to put the final nail in the coffin with a QB keeper that went for 21 yards. Fortunately for CSU, the run was negated by Matt Lauter’s holding infraction, which not only wiped out the run but also stopped the clock. The Broncos did still run off about one more minute with a pair of carries by Tyler Crowe that combined for three yards. But after failing to put the Rams away once and for all, Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi was able to summon his inner Elway on the game-winning drive. 

The redshirt freshman QB finished the win 32-of-54 with three touchdown passes and one interception. With three more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, the young gunslinger now has 10 TD passes in the fourth quarter or overtime this season. He’s also eighth nationally with 1,942 yards on the year. 

Including his production in the win, Holker now has six touchdown receptions in 2023 which ties with Horton for the team lead. Horton’s team-high 10 receptions for 130 yards now has him at 58 and 690, respectively. Both figures rank in the top 10 nationally. 

We’ll see if the dramatic win can spark CSU’s offense in the coming weeks. The Rams have a really challenging month ahead. After everything this program has been through, though, it feels really good to see them come out on the winning side in a big moment. 

“We needed a breakthrough win and we finally got one tonight,” Norvell said. “That was big.”

Now sitting at .500 on the year, CSU (3-3, 1-1) is in a great spot to return to the postseason for the first time in six years. It’s up to them go and seize the moment.