Red Zones woes come back to haunt Colorado State in a gut wrenching loss to Boise State

DENVER — Colorado State knew that it could not afford to miss opportunities in a massive game against Boise State. 

With the loser essentially eliminated from Mountain West Championship contention, the 11th all-time meeting between the two teams had serious implications for the conference standings, and everyone knew that both squads were going to lay it all out on the line. 

Things looked good for Steve Addazio’s team early. CSU’s defense was able to force three-and-outs on each of Boise State’s first two possessions, while the Rams’ offense was able to score on each of its first three possessions (13-0). 

After getting off to a hot start, the Rams kept up that intensity on the defensive end throughout the first half. Really, outside of a 97-yard drive in the second quarter, the Broncos offense was essentially completely neutralized early. CSU looked solid out of the gate on offense as well, particularly between the 20’s, as the Rams were able to mount four scoring drives in the first two quarters. The problem was that in three trips to the Red Zone, the Rams came away with just 9 points, which is why the Green & Gold only led 16-9 at halftime despite completely out-playing their opponent. 

At halftime CSU was out gaining Boise State in total yardage (275 vs. 141), the Rams recorded five more first downs (15 vs. 10) and they held a slight advantage in time of possession (15:39 vs. 14:21). After leaving the door open, though, it was tough for Ram Nation to feel confident. The Green & Gold looked tremendous, they honestly dominated the first 30 minutes, but harsh memories from the Vanderbilt game in Week 2 came natural. After all, this was a position CSU had been in before and failed to close it out.

Neither team did anything with their opening series of the third quarter, but a quality punt return from Khalil Shakir, Boise State’s jack of all trades, set up the Broncos well on their second. They took advantage almost immediately with a four play, 38-yard scoring drive that lasted just over a minute (16-14 CSU). And again, despite still having the lead, the tide felt like it could turn at any moment. 

That moment ultimately came at the 4:01 mark of the third quarter, when Hank Bachmeier (QB) connected with Stefan Cobbs (WR) for an 11-yard touchdown to give Boise State its first lead of the game (21-16). The scoring play capped off a 13 play, 97-yard drive for the Orange & Blue, and what was particularly gut wrenching was that it was Boise State’s second 95+ yard drive that resulted in a touchdown. 

To their credit, the Rams didn’t lay down and marched right back down the field with strong play from Todd Centeio (QB). Unfortunately the Red Zone woes continued and once again the drive ended with a 28-yard field goal from Cayden Camper (21-19). 

A massive sack from Toby McBride early in the fourth quarter stopped what appeared to be a promising series for the Broncos on their ensuing possession, and for a moment it appeared that the Rams might have just enough juice to come back. After gaining a first down, though, the Rams failed to take advantage of the stop. What’s worse, Ryan Stonehouse had his punt blocked as CSU’s special teams woes against the Broncos returned at the worst possible moment. Four plays later Bachmeier hit Ty Hopper for a 51-yard touchdown to put the final nail in CSU’s coffin (28-19).  

Considering the way the offense was able to move the football consistently, the 11th loss in a row to Boise State is going to sting a little bit more than most of the others. Centeio was phenomenal through the air and legitimately put his team in position to win the game with great decisions, patience in the pocket and quality touch on his throws down the field. He finished the night 23-of-37 for 276 yards (61 percent) and a touchdown. But in the end it was the team’s inability to capitalize for more than 12 points in the Red Zone that cost CSU once again. For the second time this season, they left the door open at home and the opponent said thank you very much. 

Moving forward the Rams will have to figure out their struggles in the Red Zone if they want to have any shot of reaching the postseason. With four games to play, winning three is definitely still on the table, but none of the remaining contests will be easy. If they miss it, though, it’s going to be really hard to not think about what could have been in 2021.

We’ll see how they respond with a chance to keep the Bronze Boot next week at Wyoming.