FORT COLLINS, CO — The Colorado State Rams (1-4) picked up its fourth loss on Saturday afternoon falling to the Illinois State Redbirds (3-0) 35-19.
As poor as the Rams’ defense has been this year, they surprisingly were able to hold The Redbirds’ hot offense to just 14 points in the first half.
Colorado State was the first to score with a touchdown pass from quarterback K.J. Carta-Samuels to wide receiver Olabisi Johnson, but a missed extra point off only put the Rams up 6-0. The Redbirds were able to respond quickly with a touchdown and extra point to give them the 7-6 lead.
With two seconds before the half, Illinois State’s Markel Smith scored a touchdown to put the Redbirds ahead 14-6.
In previous years, the Rams’ home games were played at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. However, its aging structure and small capacity made it difficult to get students and fans to the games. But now, the stadium is located in the middle of campus, drawing tons more fans. Even a brand new stadium and more local support couldn’t help the Rams notch a win on Saturday, though.
In good Illinois State fashion, the Redbirds broke out the second half with a quick touchdown by Brady Davis to extend the score to 21-6.
Colorado State fought hard throughout the fourth quarter, but the missed extra point in the first quarter made it almost impossible to get ahead of Illinois State.
“Our guys were open and we couldn’t hit them,” said Colorado State head coach Mike Bobo. “We’re not good in any aspect, to be honest. It was embarrassing.”
The Rams managed to score one more touchdown in the fourth, but Illinois State doubled that by scoring two to secure the win and defeat an FBS opponent for the second time in a row.
