FORT COLLINS — The new Belgian porch opened his arms wide for the biggest beers in the building.
Especially when that beer — CSU tight end and Valor Christian alum Rocky Beers – is 6-foot-4, 250 pounds and wants to party in the north end zone of Canvas Stadium after his first-ever multi-score game as a collegiate.
“I don’t actually drink,” Beers said with a grin after scoring two touchdowns in the Rams’ 49-21 demolition of Fresno State. “But yes, it fits the surname. It was good to celebrate with the fans.”
It wasn’t just good to be a CSU Ram late Friday night. Oh no. It was great. A 1-4 team (now 2-4) that was left for dead by virtually everyone outside its facility took out a month of frustration on the overrated Bulldogs (5-2).
Fresno was the right sparring partner at the wrong time, a loser who rolled into Canvas three weeks late. One team looked sloppy and stiff, prone to stupid penalties, indifferent to tackles and mentally weak.
The other team was CSU.
Yes. That CSU. Northern Colorado CSU. Washington State CSU. Same guys. Different outcome. Completely different.
“I usually don’t talk to (the team) after we go to the movies, but I did (Thursday) night,” embattled Rams coach Jay Norvell recalled. “And all I said to our team was, ‘The cavalry is not going to ride in and save us. We have to save ourselves. And so we have to take action, we have to go out and take action. No one is going to feel sorry for us.’ And so I think they heard me (Thursday) night. Really.”
Have they ever. Friday’s Rammies were again the best Rammies of 2024: physical on offense, ruthless on defense, desperate, dangerous, opportunistic and refreshingly fun.
CSU’s 49 points were a new game high for the Norvell era, and the most in a win over Canvas since the Rams dropped 58 points on Oregon State on the building’s opening night in August 2017. QB Jackson Brousseau (12-for-18 passing, three touchdowns) was great in the red zone and smart everywhere else. Defensive coordinator Tyson Summers’ crew forced four turnovers and were ejected Fresno State QB EJ Warner – son of Kurt – three times, sacked him once (for a score) and sacked him five times.
“I mean, you guys could see this,” said Rams linebacker Owen Long, who complemented his breakout season with a game-high 17 tackles (nine solo) and a sack. “But I had so much fun on the field tonight.”
It was contagious. Instead of pointing fingers, it seemed like almost every Aries made a point of picking up the rope when they saw it fall.
Defensive end Kenyon Agurs pushed his tail off to get across the field and ripped the ball out of Warner’s mitts with 5:51 left in the first half, setting up a fumbling-stumbling scoop-and-score for linebacker Paul Tangelo and a 34-7 Rams lead before the extra point. Workhorse tailback and new captain Jalen Dupree, who was dealing with ankle problems, came back to close out the game when Justin Marshall went down late in the fourth quarter.
CSU fans, the few who made it, spent most of the first half pulling their jaws apart from the concrete after the hosts raced to a 35-14 halftime lead.
Who were these guys? In fact, where had they been?
Even the low moments didn’t stick. CSU went three-and-out in a row to open the second half. The Rams racked up three times as many penalty yards (60) as total offense (20) in the third quarter.
Yet they persisted. And kept persevering. As for self-inflicted wounds, missed assignments, poor runs, multiple flags, stupid football and costly mistakes, it was all Bulldogs early.
Marshall got free for a 73-yard touchdown jaunt along the right boundary on the Rams’ third play from scrimmage — and CSU was off to the races, literally and figuratively, from there.
At halftime, the hosts had outscored Fresno 140-62 on the ground, led the takeaway battle 2-0 and had been flagged once for 15 yards, while the Bulldogs had six fouls for 50 yards.
“We’re getting a kick in the ass,” Kurt Warner posted during the game against X. “Hats off to CSU!!”
Hats off, indeed.
Pressure away?
We’ll see.
“We have to be a team that doesn’t beat itself,” Norvell said. “And if we can do that, we’re going to put ourselves in a position to do some positive things.”
Amen. Hawaii, next weekend’s dance partner, is no better than Fresno. Wyoming was defeated by a 99-43 margin during a three-game losing streak against Utah, CU and UNLV.
Is Fresno a fraud? Is CSU decent? Or a blind squirrel that ended up in a nut?
“It was finally nice to finally give back to the defense because they kind of carried us the last few games and kept us strong,” reflected Beers, who finished with three catches for 26 yards. “So it was nice to give back to them and put on a show for them.”
Beer was on fire. Now it’s up to Norvell to bottle these Rams, bottle this vibe and carry it the rest of the way.
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Originally published:
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