Colorado State arrived at the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl with a prime opportunity to howl and put a holiday bow on its season.
Instead, dogged by mistakes, four turnovers, penalties and poor execution, the Rams were dominated by Miami of Ohio on Saturday afternoon in sunny Tucson, Ariz.
The final score: RedHawks 43, Rams 17.
Woof.
“(Miami) played a very similar game that they have played all year,” coach Jay Norvell told reporters in Tucson. “We talked a lot about what we had to do to win this game, but we didn’t execute the way we needed to.
“We talked about wanting to run the ball effectively and play field position and we didn’t want to turn the ball over. But we didn’t do any of those things tonight. There (will be) a lot of analyzing on this game, but it’s pretty simple: We turned the ball over, and we had too many penalties.”
The Rams were flagged seven times for 50 yards.
Miami (9-5) owned the second half, turning a close, grinding affair into a rout, spoiling CSU’s first trip to a bowl game since 2017, and ending Norvell’s third season on a sour note.
The RedHawks, stymied by CSU’s defense during the first half, opened the third quarter with a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, capped by Kevin Davis’ 4-yard run to extend their lead to 16-3. CSU gifted the ball back with its third turnover when Vince Brown II fumbled after catching a pass from Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi at the CSU 42. Five plays later, Miami senior quarterback Brett Gabbert strolled in from the 10 to make it 22-3.
If the blowout had a tipping point, it arrived shortly thereafter in a two-play sequence.
CSU’s offense finally put together a solid drive, and it looked like it would get back into the game. But the Rams stalled on a fourth-and-goal play when running back Avery Morrow was stonewalled at the 3-yard line. On the very next play, Davis found a seam and sprinted 97 yards, putting the RedHawks ahead 29-3.
Davis, who had nine carries for 148 yards and two touchdowns, was named the game’s MVP.
The Rams had one more highlight left in a season that ended with an 8-5 record. On a fourth-and-2 play late in the third quarter, CSU turned to razzle-dazzle with a 56-yard, flea-flicker TD pass from Fowler-Nicolosi to a wide-open Stephon Daily.
But trickery wasn’t enough. The RedHawks outrushed the Rams 271-141. CSU entered the game averaging 170.6 rush yards per game.
Miami led 9-3 at the half and should have been ahead by much more. Gabbert was erratic, completing just 7 for 18 passes for 83 yards. He missed two wide-open receivers on should-have-been touchdown passes. The RedHawks were 1 of 7 on third-down conversions and managed only three field goals in three trips to the red zone.
Two of the RedHawks’ field goals were set up by CSU turnovers.
Fowler-Nicolosi completed a 17-yard pass to Morrow, who fumbled after a solid hit by Ambe’ Caldwell, and the ball was recovered by Ty Wise at the CSU 34. That set up Dom Dzioban’s 34-yard field goal, tying the game in the first quarter.
Then Fowler-Nicolosi made an ill-advised swing pass into heavy traffic and straight into the arms of Miami’s Adam Trick, who returned the pick 5 yards to the CSU 11. The Rams’ defense kept Miami out of the end zone again, forcing the RedHawks to settle for Dzioban’s 26-yard chip shot field goal.
The Rams’ first drive in a bowl game since 2017 was mostly a thing of beauty. After receiving the opening kickoff, they drove smartly downfield to the Miami 3-yard line. But the 72-yard drive stalled when Fowler-Nicolosi’s third-down pass for Jordan Ross fizzled, and CSU settled for a 21-yard field goal by Jordan Noyes.
However, CSU’s offense was comatose for the rest of the first half. After rushing for 22 yards on the opening drive, the Rams managed just 116 yards on the ground over their next six drives.
Morrow needed 44 yards to become the Rams’ first 1,000-yard rusher since 2017, and he made it, barely, finishing with 50 yards on 18 carries.
The Rams haven’t won a bowl since 2013 and are now 6-12 in bowl games.
Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.