Patrick O’Brien on the move. November 5, 2020. (Photograph by Bethany Baker of the Coloradan)

By Jonathan Gillham

Fort Collins, Colo. – A dominating performance by the Rams lead to a 34 – 24 victory. Colorado State University gets their first win against Wyoming since 2015. More importantly, the Bronze Boot is back in Fort Collins. 

CSU’s Defense came through big with key plays in the first quarter. The Ram’s defense had a pick-six, forced a fumble, and stopped the Cowboys on a key fourth-down play. The Ram’s were able to capitalize off Wyoming mistakes leading to 17 – 0 lead until midway through the second quarter. 

After a slow third quarter, Wyoming put together a drive leading to field goal. CSU quickly responded with a clutch kick return to midfield. Patrick O’Brien wasted little-time hitting Tight End Trey McBRIDE with a 38-yard touchdown pass (McBride’s second of the game).  The Ram’s lead grew to 31 – 17.

The Cowboys, in the fourth quarter, finally responded with a 8 play, 56 yard drive ending in a Wyoming Touchdown (Williams 3 yard rushing score). The lead was cut down to 31 – 21. CSU later put together a grueling 11 play drive, taking 5:32 off clock, ending in a 48-yard field goal from Freshman Robert Liss. The game would end 34 – 24.  

Key Takeaways: 

CSU’s defense came up big in the game. Forcing an interception for touchdown, fumble, and a big fourth-down stop—all in the first quarter. The defense was led by Dequan Jackson, who had a big game with 10 tackles, 1 sack, and 3 tackles for loss. The defense, as a whole, finished with 6 sacks, 1 Interception for touchdown, and 2 forced fumbles. 

The offense moved the ball much better than last week. At the end of the first half. Quarterback Patrick O’Brien lead three drives with result of 1 touchdown, 1 field goal and 1 field goal missed. The offense seemed to only struggle after key penalties stalled out drives. O’Brien finished the game with 69% passing, 18 for 26 for 255 yards and two touchdowns. 

In case you were wondering—that Trey McBride is pretty good tight end. He kead the team with two touchdowns. His play has earned him to be one of the best Tight Ends in the Mountain West Conference—if not the best. In 2019, McBRIDE lead the Mountain West Conference in the most catches and receptions for tight end. McBRIDE finished the game with 5 catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns. 

Penalties were a struggle for both teams. For instance, CSU had a big punt-return by Dante Wright called back for a running into-the-kicker call. Wyoming had some big personal foul calls hurting their team. 

History:

Colorado State ended Wyoming’s four game winning-streak. The last 5 games have been as follows:

• Nov 22, 2019 – Wyoming 17 vs. Colorado State 7
• Oct 26, 2018 – Wyoming 34 vs. Colorado State 21
• Nov 04, 2017 – Wyoming 16 vs. Colorado State 13
• Oct 01, 2016 – Wyoming 38 vs. Colorado State 17
• Nov 07, 2015 – Colorado State 26 vs. Wyoming 

The Rams lead the matchup all-time with 59 to 48 wins.  CSU also leads in Conference championship—15 to Wyoming’s 14.