San Diego State vs. Colorado State Recap: Rams embarrass Aztecs on senior night

Senior night is supposed to be a memorable night that ends in a victory. However, the Colorado State Rams (7-5, 5-3) completely dominated the San Diego State Aztecs (9-3, 6-2) to a 63-31 victory on a rainy night at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA.

The Rams came out firing against the Aztecs in the first half. On the first drive of the game, QB Nick Stevens threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Michael Gallup. After forcing the Aztecs into a quick three-and-out, the Rams continued to put the pressure on the Aztecs. The Rams finished a six play drive with a 27-yard touchdown reception by Detrich Clark to put them up 14-0 with 8:12 in the first quarter.

The Aztecs would respond as QB Christian Chapman threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to David Wells to put the Aztecs on the board. To cap off an excellent first quarter, the Rams Izzy Matthews ran for a three-yard touchdown that put the Rams ahead 21-0. The Rams had 210 total yards and the Aztecs trailed 21-7 after one quarter.

At the start of the second quarter, Chapman finished a drive when he threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Mikah Holder as the Aztecs trailed 21-14. Later on in the quarter, Stevens found Michael Gallup once again for an 18-yard touchdown that put the Rams ahead 28-17 with 7:14 before halftime.

The Rams finished an incredible offense display in the first half as Robert Ruiz returned a punt return for 91-yards to put them ahead 35-17. To put in perspective, the Aztecs’ defense allowed a little under 17 points per game coming into tonight’s game. The Rams led the Aztecs 42-24 at halftime.

Turnovers plagued the Aztecs in the second half. After a rare interception thrown by Chapman, the Rams capitalized with a 6-yard touchdown reception by Michael Gallup. In addition, Rashaad Penny’s fumble led to an Izzy Matthews rushing touchdown that extended the blow out to 63-24 early in the fourth.

One of the few highlights for the Aztecs was freshman running-back Juwan Washington’s 81-yard touchdown run with 4:50 in the fourth quarter. Senior running-back Donnel Pumphrey was limited to 53 yards on 18 carries and one touchdown.

Player of the game:

Rams QB Nick Stevens threw 10 of 15 for 210 yards and four touchdowns. The junior QB was replaced early on in the season by freshman Collin Hill, until he tore his ACL midseason. Stevens led several successful drives throughout the game and threw no interceptions.

Up Next:

SDSU: The Aztecs will try to bounce back as they face Wyoming on Dec. 3rd in the Mountain West Championship Game on ESPN.

CSU: The Rams are bowl-eligible and will have to wait until the selection committee decides their next game.