That was a heckuva game — that was one of the best games ever. – Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, on the Utah-Colorado State game in 1994
SALT LAKE CITY — When the Utah football team plays in the Las Vegas Bowl later this week, it won’t be like the Utes will be facing an unfamiliar opponent.
In fact, the Utes have played Colorado State 79 times, more in their history than all but three opponents — Utah State, BYU and Wyoming — going back to 1902 when the teams battled to a 0-0 tie.
The Utes, who hold a decisive 55-22-2 record in the series, used to play the Rams on an annual basis — 38 of 40 years between 1926 and 1965 and 31 of 34 years between 1977 and 2010.
Perhaps the most memorable of all the games was the 1994 game in Fort Collins when both teams were undefeated and ranked in the Top 15 as Utah escaped with a 45-31 victory in a wild game that went down to the final 30 seconds.
“That was a heckuva game — that was one of the best games ever,’’ said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, who was in his first year with Utah as the defensive line coach. “It was at their place and it was packed, standing room only. It was an awesome environment. I remember Harold Lusk took an interception back 105 yards. They had a great team and Sonny (Lubick) had that program just cranking. That was a terrific game.’’
One Utah-CSU game Whittingham would just as soon forget was the 2005 encounter in Fort Collins in his first year as head coach. That was the year the Utes failed to get the ball into the end zone three times from the 1-yard line in the final minute and lost 21-17. At the time, Whittingham called it “the toughest loss I’ve ever been a part of as a player or a coach.’’
Here’s a look back at those two and a few other memorable Utah-Colorado State football games.
Oct. 22, 1994 — UTAH 45, COLORADO STATE 31
A record crowd of 39,107 at Hughes Stadium and regional television audience on ABC watched as No. 11-ranked, 7-0 Colorado State took on No. 15, 6-0 Utah.
The Rams dominated the offensive stats with 470 yards to 295 for Utah, which had come into the game with the nation’s No. 4-ranked defense. Although the defense gave up a lot of yards, the Utes came up with a safety, a blocked punt, a blocked field goal, a blocked extra point, a fumble recovery and four interceptions, including two for touchdowns.
It was only 9-7 at halftime for the Utes thanks to a pick-six by Kareem Leary and a safety on a bad snap to the CSU punter. But then the two teams heated up and combined for 60 points in a crazy second half.
CSU went ahead 17-16 only to see the Utes come back with a pair of touchdowns to make it 31-17. Then after CSU tied it at 31 midway through the fourth quarter, the Utes put together their only sustained drive of the afternoon, going 70 yards in 14 plays with Mike McCoy hitting Curtis Marsh with an 8-yard touchdown pass with 3:46 left.
The Rams weren’t done yet, however, moving to the Ute 10-yard line in the final minute. But on third down, Harold Lusk intercepted Anthoney Hill’s pass in the back of the end zone and weaved his way up the field for an exclamation point touchdown.
The Lusk interception may be the most memorable moment of the game, but it is also the most overrated. If he had just downed the ball in end zone, the Utes would have had a seven-point victory and no risk of a turnover on the long return.
Oct. 8, 2005 — COLORADO STATE 21, UTAH 17
An offense led by quarterback Brian Johnson and a defense led by future NFL star Eric Weddle staked the Utes to a 14-3 lead after three quarters.
Then Colorado State scored on a pair of touchdown passes by Justin Holland to put the Rams up 15-14. But the Utes re-took the lead on a 24-yard field goal by Dan Beardall with 7:54 left before CSU’s Kyle Bell got loose down the sideline for a 49-yard touchdown run to give the Rams a 21-17 lead with 5:05 left.
The Utes drove down the field and after Johnson was stopped inches short on second down, Quinton Ganther came up short on two tries, the latter with just 22 seconds left.
Sept. 27, 2003 — UTAH 28, COLORADO STATE 21
It was only the fourth game of Urban Meyer’s short tenure at Utah, but it was a big turning point for the Utes, who were underdogs against the Mountain West Conference favorite Rams, who they hadn’t beaten since 1994.
The score was tied at 21 with under two minutes left as the Rams were driving for the apparent winning score. It was third down at the Utah 22-yard line when Marcus Houston ran off the left side and was hit hard by Utah linebacker Dave Revill. The ball popped out, and Utah cornerback Arnold Parker picked up the loose ball and raced 80 yards down the right sideline for the game-winning touchdown.
“Two good players — two senior players — flat-out won the game for us,’’ Meyer said of Revill and Parker.
Oct. 28, 1999 — COLORADO STATE 31, UTAH 24
A CSU punt returner named Dallas Davis nearly single-handedly beat the Utes by racking up 214 yards, including two long touchdown returns in a Thursday night game in Fort Collins.
Davis helped stake the Rams to a surprising 24-3 halftime lead with an 89-yard TD return in the second quarter. Ron McBride’s Utes, who came into the game 6-1, regrouped at halftime and rallied to tie the game as Andre Dyson ran 47 yards off a blocked field goal and T.D. Croshaw hit Steve Smith with a 59-yard touchdown pass with 11 minutes left in the game.
But with 2:35 left, Davis returned another punt for a touchdown, this time going 56 yards, and the Rams held on for the win.
Oct. 19, 2009 — UTAH 24, COLORADO STATE 17
Like the 1999 game, the Utes fell way behind the Rams in Fort Collins, trailing 17-3 late in the third quarter. This time their three-touchdown rally, sparked by safety Robert Johnson, resulted in a seven-point victory.
Johnson intercepted three passes to stop three CSU drives in the second half. The first came with the Utes trailing 17-10. After that, Terrance Cain led the Utes on a 17-play, 73-yard drive, with Eddie Wide going the final yard for the score. After another Johnson interception, the Utes went 73 yards in seven plays with Wide scoring from 8 yards out with 3:40 left.
Oct. 28, 1989 — COLORADO STATE 50, UTAH 10
This was memorable to Utah for all the wrong reasons. The teams seemed pretty evenly matched going in — Utah was 3-5, CSU was 3-4-1 — but the game was never close. Ute quarterback Scott Mitchell, he of current "Biggest Loser" fame, had perhaps the worst day of his Ute career, throwing four interceptions, losing a fumble and getting sacked four times.
A crowd of just 21,389 showed up on a snowy Saturday in Salt Lake and saw Tony Alford rush for a WAC-record 310 yards. CSU coach Earle Bruce rubbed it in the Utes’ faces, ordering a couple of pass plays late in the game with a 44-10 lead. Ute coach Jim Fassel, who would get fired after the season, called his team’s effort “a complete breakdown.’’
Nov. 25, 1972 — UTAH 62, COLORADO STATE 36
Quarterback Don Van Galder had gone out with a shoulder injury two weeks before, so defensive back Steve Marshall took over Ute QB duties and promptly accounted for 348 yards and seven touchdowns — four passing and three rushing.
With Utah leading 55-30 midway through the fourth quarter, coach Bill Meek inserted the injured Van Galder into the game because he needed just 5 yards to break the Ute season passing record. Van Galder completed an 11-yard pass to Steve Odom and left the field to cheers from the Ute faithful.