FORT COLLINS — Colorado State collected its first win in a Rocky Mountain Showdown tuneup, but the cost might have lasting effects on the Rams’ season.
CSU defeated Northern Colorado, 38-17, in a Saturday performance at Canvas Stadium that will draw mixed reviews in its own right. But the biggest story moving forward could be the availability of star wide receiver Tory Horton for the showdown next weekend with rival Colorado in FoCo.
The all-conference pass catcher left Saturday night’s game in the third quarter and did not return. Horton hauled in his second catch of the game, made a nifty move to shake off a defender along the sideline, but almost immediately pulled up because of an injury. He took a couple of steps with a limp before going down in pain on the CSU sideline.
Horton went into the injury tent and then to the locker room.
CSU coach Jay Norvell didn’t have an update on Horton’s status after the game. Norvell said he hopes the injury isn’t serious, but it is too early to tell.
“We are a work in progress as a football team,” Norvell said. “I was pretty irritated for most of this game because I just want our guys to play up to their potential. We do it at times. We scratch the surface at times, but I was not happy for most of this game. But I’m very proud of some of the efforts we had.”
There were a couple of iffy moments, but beyond the Horton injury scare the Rams (1-1) were never in serious duress while rebounding from a 52-0 loss in Week 1 at Texas. Caleb Goodie hauled in a 40-yard touchdown from Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi two plays after Horton was injured to give CSU a 31-14 lead.
Fowler-Nicolosi finished 17 of 26 for 180 yards. Keegan Holles and Justin Marshall combined for 156 yards on the ground. Ten different receivers caught passes from Fowler-Nicolosi.
“I feel like other people got to step up, so that’s pretty good,” Goodie said. “I’ve just got to be ready when it’s my moment.”
Quarterback Peter Costelli threw for 187 yards and two touchdowns for the Bears (0-2), who are still in the early stages of a long-term rebuilding project with second-year coach Ed Lamb. Costelli was also injured in this game on a rushing play late in the fourth quarter.
After a quiet first weekend in Austin, Horton found the end zone on his first play at home. Horton fielded a punt and raced through the middle of the UNC coverage team for a 78-yard touchdown just 1:42 into this one.
Colorado State’s first offensive series began with big plays but sputtered at the goal line. If there’s one specific area to work on before the rival Buffaloes arrive at Canvas Stadium next weekend, it might be short-yardage situations.
Three plays from the 2-yard line resulted in zero yards and a field goal on the first drive. CSU had no trouble on its second goal-line opportunity — Fowler-Nicolosi jogged in from 2 yards out on a keeper. But it also took three tries after first-and-goal from the UNC 1-yard line late in the half before Holles scored.
Save for a couple of short-yardage hiccups and one lost fumble, the Rams were proficient on offense in the opening half. Beyond the big play to Goodie, it was more of a struggle to string together drives in the second half.
“We’re just getting started as a team,” Norvell said. “We have a lot of improvement to make. We have to get better in a lot of areas. I think we’ll gain confidence from this game, but we’re going to see a lot better opponents as we move forward and we need to improve.”
Northern Colorado had some bright moments on offense as well. Costelli connected on a pair of tough passes in traffic to lead the Bears on a scoring drive after the Rams’ turnover. Costelli found tight end Fisher Clements in the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown despite great coverage late in the first quarter, which cut Colorado State’s lead to 10-7.
UNC was also moving the ball again midway through the second quarter, but tight end Cash Cheeks dropped a 4th-and-2 pass. The Bears had another promising drive in the third quarter end on what looked like a catchable ball as well.
Colorado State appeared to be in control at the half, but Northern Colorado cut the lead to 24-14 on its first drive of the third quarter. Costelli hit Brayden Monroe in stride for a 50-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass.
“I feel like we showed a lot of good things out there, but there are obviously some things we need to improve,” CSU linebacker Buom Jock said. “It’s a big game next week.”
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