CSU Rams hang on for bounce-back victory over UTEP behind strong running game

FORT COLLINS — The Rams held on for dear life in their get-right, gimmie game on Saturday.

After getting roughed up by rival CU last week, and with the schedule stiffening with Oregon State and conference play in October, CSU picked up a harder-than-it-should’ve-been win over UTEP at Canvas Stadium.

In the 27-17 victory, the Rams’ well-oiled running game paved the way. Avery Morrow led with 21 carries for 156 yards amid a 224-yard rushing day overall. Special teams also had a big play to set up an easy score, which made up for the defense’s dominant first-half performance turning somewhat sour in the second half.

“To have to play hard and win is good,” CSU head coach Jay Norvell said. “Yeah, we have to be better in some areas, and we could’ve extended a couple more drives and scored. We’re a work-in-progress… but I’m convinced the confidence we gain from winning is going to help this football team.”

Last year, the Rams have seven explosive runs (gains of 15-plus yards) all season. On Saturday, they had six to underscore their victory, and now have 13 on the year.

“When we have explosive runs, it changes our team,” Norvell said. “That’s a delating thing for a defense to run the ball on them like that, and big chunks of yards changes the game. We want to continue to build on that.”

While Canvas Stadium reverted to its typical half-empty form following the record crowd in the Rocky Mountain Showdown, the Rams turned in a much-needed response on the field seven days after their letdown against the Buffs.

It was an ugly triumph, but a triumph nonetheless, even as the uneven performance didn’t allay all of the overarching concerns about the Rams’ ability to get back to a bowl this season for the first time since 2017.

For Murrow, the performance was a redemptive game of sorts. It was the second-highest single-game yardage tally of his career, and came after his 2023 season and ’24 preseason was mired by legal trouble. In February, Murrow was found guilty of third-degree assault for assaulting another CSU student who hit Morrow’s parked car as that student rode by on a longboard in January 2023.

The running back was sentenced to work release and probation, and was also ordered to complete 200 hours of community service and pay approximately $7,000 in restitution and fees.

“I hit rock bottom at a point — being arrested, being (suspended from the team), and not being the player that I was supposed to be last year,” Murrow said. “I was mentally out of it. Hearing all that (critique) from the judge, about my life being on the line, facing two to four years in prison. My mind couldn’t focus. I was always worried.”

So after tearing up UTEP, Murrow remembered that life humbling, and said he remains focused on what the Rams can do over the next several months.

“I’m not going to get too hype about what I just did, because there’s still work to be done, and we’re only 2-2,” Murrow said. “This organization hasn’t been to a bowl game in seven years and this is my last year playing and I’m focused on changing the culture.”

CSU let winless UTEP hang around for much of the first half and then rally in the second half. But behind Morrow, Justin Marshall (14 carries for 43 yards) and a defensive line that finally flexed its muscle — the Rams held the Miners to just 48 rushing yards and had three sacks, more than their first three games combined — CSU moved to 2-2 entering its bye week.

The Rams took control quickly on the opening possession with a 12-play, 75-yard drive finished off by Morrow’s 2-yard touchdown run to put the home team ahead 7-0 midway through the first quarter.

But as the CSU defense forced punts on UTEP’s first three drives, the Rams offense also lost its mojo. CSU’s passing attack never really found that mojo at all on Saturday, as QB Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi finished with only 132 yards passing.

The Rams were stopped on fourth down twice, punted once, and then midway through the second quarter Fowler-Nicolosi gave the Miners their first significant momentum swing of the game. While scrambling, the redshirt sophomore QB threw an ill-advised interception to UTEP cornerback AJ Odums.

“We still have some young receivers that just haven’t played with Brayden very much,” Norvell said of the passing game struggles so far in 2024. “On the interception, Brayden thought Caleb (Goodie) was going to come in front of the defender… it was just a little bit miscommunication. So we have to continue to clean that (passing game) up and bring those younger players along.”

That pick set the Miners up at the CSU 27-yard line and led to a 45-yard field goal to cut the score to 7-3 with 6:12 left in the half.

But CSU had a swift response, as less than a minute later, Murrow burst through a hole wide enough to drive a truck through and dashed untouched for a 73-yard touchdown.

In the second half, CSU continued to add on. After stuffing UTEP to begin the third quarter, Dane Olson blocked the Miners’ punt, which the Rams recovered at the visitors’ seven-yard line. Three plays later, CSU converted that special teams highlight into Fowler-Nicolosi’s 5-yard TD pass to Armani Winfield to go ahead 21-3.

Jordan Noyes’ 37-yard field goal on the Rams’ next drive pushed the score to 24-3, a three-touchdown advantage that appeared to put the game well out of reach for the sputtering Miners offense.