FORT COLLINS — Colorado State football ended its spring slate of 15 workouts with its annual Green & Gold spring game Saturday on a cold and snowy afternoon at Canvas Stadium.
With the focus of ending spring practices on a high note, the results and reactions were mixed from the coaches and players.
The format of the game, as it has been in each of head coach Jay Norvell’s seasons at CSU, was 1s (Green) vs. The World (White), with the World team beginning with a 21-0 lead.
After four quarters of a game-like atmosphere, the World ended up on top 28-17, but essentially, the 1s outscored the World (mostly backups), 17-7.
The game was also played with many key players sitting it out, including several offensive linemen and defensive players. A couple of players who are expected to play big roles in the fall also saw limited action in the game. Those included receiver Tory Horton and running back Kobe Johnson.
“Today, I was sitting out there looking at our kids, and half the kids were in pennies and half the kids were in this color jersey,” Norvell said. “It’s just hard with the lack of numbers in the offensive line to build continuity. I thought we were not as sharp, especially offensively, today. But I really like the growth of our team.”
With several players out and some limited, it was an opportunity for some of the team’s younger players and transfers who have enrolled already to get some exposure, and several took advantage of that.
Colorado State’s Damian Henderson is tackled by Niko Lopez during the Rams’ annual Green & Gold spring game Saturday at Canvas Stadium. (Nathan Wright/Loveland Reporter-Herald)
The teams began with two 15-minute quarters, with neither team able to move the ball much. The first-team offense finally found some life in the second quarter.
A long pass to Caleb Goodie from Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi helped the 1s drive to a first-and-goal situation, but on fourth-and-goal from inside the 5-yard line, the Rams’ quarterback tossed an incomplete pass.
After forcing a punt, the 1s finally got on the board at the end of the first half. Passes to Goodie and Donovan Ollie got their side into field goal position, where Jordan Noyes booted a 47-yard field goal for the only points scored in the first 30 minutes.
“I think today was a big step for us offensively and defensively to get in that live situation,” Fowler-Nicolosi said. “I know we’ve had two scrimmages, but to have fans and distractions all around us to where we need to lock in and focus on the job at hand, that was a big step for us today and being able to get those reps, I feel like today was a pretty solid scrimmage offensively and defensively.”
The second half — two 12-minute quarters — saw the 1s offense be more productive. The 1s started their first drive of the third quarter with a 25-yard pass from Fowler-Nicolosi to Ollie, and after another pass from Fowler-Nicolosi to Jamari Person got them to the 12, Fowler-Nicolosi found Ollie for the first touchdown of the game, from 6 yards out.
On the ensuing possession for the World, Buom Jock recovered a fumble for the 1s and returned it to the 5-yard line where Damian Henderson ran it for a touchdown. That brought the 1s within 21-17 on the scoreboard.
Again, the 1s defense forced a punt and Fowler Nicolosi took over with a chance to overcome the 21-point deficit, but after driving inside the red zone, the 1s turned the ball over on downs.
With two minutes remaining, the 1s took over again at their own 23. But four straight incomplete passes gave the ball back to the World, who was able to score in just a couple of plays on a run by Ryan McConnell. That pushed their lead on the scoreboard to 28-17.
With 57 seconds remaining, the 1s had one more shot on offense, but Fowler-Nicolosi was intercepted by Jace Bellah and the World was able to run out the clock on the game and spring practice for the Rams.
Now the team will get some time off before getting back together in August to prepare for the fall season, which will begin with a trip to Texas on August 31.
“I really thought it was a good spring,” Norvell said. “It’s always good to finish up and keep people relatively healthy. We have been very specific on how we practiced and worked. I really thought our kids did a nice job of taking on what we wanted them to do and we’re really excited about what we’re doing.”