FORT COLLINS — Colorado State entered the Rocky Mountain Showdown looking to make a statement. The Rams ended up making the wrong one.
After hanging around early and taking a 3-0 lead, the Rams folded in a 28-9 loss to the CU Buffs. Poor offensive execution, key penalties on defense and four turnovers doomed CSU to its seventh straight loss in the rivalry series.
Now, the Rams (1-2) face several questions going forward after CU took some of the shine off CSU’s announcement earlier this week that it will join the Pac-12 in 2026.
Can their offense, which has floundered in two of three games, find a rhythm? Has redshirt sophomore quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi regressed? And do the Rams have enough firepower to snap a six-year bowl drought in head coach Jay Norvell’s third season in Fort Collins?
“We just weren’t good enough tonight,” Norvell said. “I’m disappointed in the turnovers we had, and disappointed in the penalties. We needed to play clean, and we didn’t. And we didn’t make enough plays in the first half to really respond to some of the opportunities we had.
“… The good thing is we have a lot of season left, but we also have to look at where we have to prepare to play in a game like this, and to play well. That responsibility falls on me.”
CSU’s Air Raid offense was grounded as Buffs defensive coordinator Robert Livingston held down Norvell’s attack.
Fowler-Nicolosi threw for 209 yards, but a large chunk of that came after the game was out of reach. He also tossed a pair of interceptions, one on the Rams’ opening possession of the second half that all but iced the game.
CSU’s most explosive player, wideout Tory Horton, played hurt and it showed. He made little impact, with two catches for 24 yards in the first half before exiting the game.
“He tried to play, but he wasn’t healthy, and I probably should’ve pulled him earlier,” Norvell said.
On the other side of the ball, the Rams failed to generate pressure on Buffs QB Shedeur Sanders, who threw for 310 yards and four touchdowns. The senior looked comfortable in the pocket after an inconsistent first quarter, and was sacked only once — a slide that resulted in a loss of three yards.
“They have explosive players, and if you give them enough opportunities, it’s going to hurt you after a while,” Norvell said.
CSU’s defense, near the end of a decent first-half effort, committed a pair of personal foul penalties that extended CU drives and led to two TDs.
A roughing-the-passer call on redshirt freshman defensive lineman Andrew Laurich turned a would-be third-and-13 at the CU 44-yard line into a first down. A little over two minutes later, CU took its first lead at 7-3.
Later in the half, a face mask called on defensive lineman James Mitchell turned a would-be third-and-5 at the CU 37-yard line into a first down at the CSU 48. Just 35 seconds later, the Buffs scored again to go ahead 14-3.
“We need to clean those (penalties) up,” redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Gabe Kirschke said.
Amid all of that, there were a few glaring mistakes in the first half by CSU’s offense.
A mistimed snap inside the CU 10-yard line stalled one Rams drive that ended in a field goal. Two others ended with Fowler-Nicolosi throwing off-target to open receivers on third-and-long.
“We weren’t good enough in the passing game today,” Norvell said. “We didn’t get open enough, and we didn’t make enough plays. And I’ve got to look at our protection, because (Fowler-Nicolosi) was running around a lot.”
The dagger came in the third quarter, when Fowler-Nicolosi made a mistake reminiscent of last year, when he led the Mountain West Conference with 16 interceptions.
After CSU forced a punt on the Buffs’ opening drive of the second half, the Rams QB made an awful decision in his own end zone. Scrambling to his right, Fower-Nicolosi threw off his back foot across the field into double coverage — where senior cornerback Preston Hodge was waiting to pick it off.
Travis Hunter reeled in the first of his two touchdown catches two plays later to go up 21-3.
“That was just a mental error,” Fowler-Nicolosi said. “There was no need for it.”
The mistakes kept piling after that for the Rams, who turned the ball over three more times on CU’s side of the field with a Keegan Holles fumble, Fowler-Nicolosi interception and botched snap from center Jacob Gardner.
The sellout crowd of 40,099, a CSU home game record, was already streaming for the exits by the time Gardner’s low snap was fumbled and recovered by CU.
“I appreciated all the fans coming out — I wish we could’ve given them a bit more to cheer about,” Norvell lamented.
CSU last won the Rocky Mountain Showdown in 2014, and the Rams’ last victory in the series in Fort Collins came in 1955, when the university was known as Colorado A&M.