Colorado State Rams vs Colorado Buffaloes Match Player Stats On Sep 01, 2012

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 1, 2012

Colorado State 22, Colorado 17: Garrett Grayson threw two touchdown passes and the Rams held the Buffaloes to 76 yards in the second half to win the Rocky Mountain Showdown in Jim McElwain's coaching debut.

Sophomore kicker Jared Roberts was 3-for-3 in his first collegiate game, including a go-ahead 48-yarder with 6:39 left for Colorado State, which trailed 14-3 in the second quarter before coming back to win for the second time in the last six meetings with Colorado and third in the last 10.

Grayson was 14-of-21 for 173 yards and threw touchdown passes to Dominique Vinson and Joe Hansley as the Rams snapped an eight-game losing streak.

Quarterback Jordan Webb, a transfer from Kansas playing his first game for Colorado, was 22-of-41 for 187 yards. Webb, who fought off a leg injury in the third quarter, was sacked five times and under constant pressure. Freshman Nelson Spruce and Tyler McCulloch had touchdown catches for the Buffaloes.

After gaining 12 yards on 12 plays in its first three drives, Colorado scored on two straight possessions in the second quarter. Webb capped a nine-play, 81-yard drive - kept alive by a 12-yard completion to Spruce on fourth and 7 - with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Spruce, and McCulloch's one-hand, 9-yard TD grab gave Colorado a 14-3 lead.

Colorado State took momentum into the intermission after Trent Matthews recovered a fumbled punt. One play later, Grayson found a wide-open Vinson for a 20-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-9 with 26 seconds left. The extra point was blocked.

The Rams went ahead 16-14 in the third quarter when Grayson threw a screen pass in the left flat to Hansley, who took it 32 yards for a touchdown.

Colorado had a golden opportunity to retake the lead when Will Pericak recovered a fumble at the Colorado State 15, but turned it over on downs at the 1 after Webb's fourth-down pass sailed out of the end zone. The Buffaloes, though, took a 17-16 lead on their next possession when Will Oliver kicked a 30-yard field goal with 13:27 remaining.

GAME NOTEBOOK: McElwain was offensive coordinator at Alabama the past four years and helped the Crimson Tide to a pair of national championships. ... Roberts also kicked a 47-yarder in the first and his 32-yarder with 2:56 left completed the scoring. ... Colorado State was 5-for-8 on third-down conversions in the second half after going 0-for-7 in the first 30 minutes. ... Webb was 4-15 in two seasons at Kansas. ... The Rams recovered an onside kick after taking their 16-14 lead, but were called for delay of game because they attempted it before the officials signalled for play to start. ... Colorado State's Cory James was credited with 2.5 sacks while Colorado's Chidera Uzo-Diribe had two. ... The Buffaloes lead the series 61-21-2.