The 18th ranked, 6-0 Utah Utes of coach Ron McBride traveled to Fort Collins to meet the 12th ranked, 7-0 Colorado State Rams of coach Sonny Lubick. Utah lead 9-7 at the half but the scoreboard lit up for 60 points & 4 lead changes between the teams in the 2nd half as Utah claimed The Belt with a 45-31 victory. The game featured highlights & missteps of every kind as the Utes had a safety, blocked a punt, blocked an extra-point attempt, blocked a field goal attempt, intercepted four of Colorado State’s QB Anthoney Hill’s passes (two of which they returned for touchdowns), & 14 penalties for 117 yards lost. Colorado State blocked two punts, recovered three fumbles & intercepted Utah’s QB Mike McCoy once. The game started slowly with the only points of the 1st quarter coming when Hill mishandled a snap & the ball went out of the end zone for a safety giving Utah a 2-0 lead. The Utes scored on another mistake by Hill when Utah’s All-WAC CB Kareem Leary intercepted his pass intended for TE Justin Shull, & returned it 39 yards for a touchdown pushing the lead to 9-0. Hill got some redemption when he scored on a 1-yard touchdown run before the half but with the score 9-7 with Utah leading as the teams went to their locker rooms, the fun was just about to start. McCoy scored on a 1-yard touchdown run that capped an 80-yard drive as Utah pushed the lead to 16-7 but the Rams rallied with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Hill to WR Eric Olson. The highlight of the drive was a 62-yard scramble by Hill getting the Rams out of a 3rd & 8 situation. A 28-yard field goal by Colorado State’s PK David Napier gave the Rams a 17-16 lead. After McCoy connected with All-WAC WR Curtis Marsh for a 41-yard pass, the Utes’ RB Charlie Brown broke free for a 44-yard touchdown run. The 2-point conversion had Utah back ahead at 24-17. The conversion came on a gimmick formation called “The Duck” that had 4 players line-up wide left, 4 in the middle of the field, & 2 in between with McCoy taking the shotgun snap & hitting RB Rob Hamilton for the points. The Utes used the same formation to score on their next drive with McCoy finding TE Rick Tucker for the 5-yard touchdown pass & a 31-17 lead. The 4th quarter saw Colorado State rally with 2 touchdowns by RB Van Ward on runs of 5 & 1 yard to tie the game. McCoy got the lead back for Utah after a 70-yard, 14-play drive when he found Marsh on a fade pattern for an 8-yard touchdown pass with 3:36 to play for a 38-31 lead. The Rams tried to respond & drove to the Utah 10-yard line with 0:44 left. Hill tried to hit WR Matt Phillips in the end zone but Utes’ S Harold Lusk made the interception that he returned 105-yards with 0:22 left to secure the Utah win. McCoy finished with 210 yards passing with his 2 touchdowns & an interception as well as a rushing touchdown. Hill finished with 243 yards passing with a touchdown but 4 interceptions as well as a rushing touchdown while Olson added 8 catches for 118 yards to his touchdown. The Rams finished 10-2; WAC Champions, ranked 16th nationally while the Utes finished 10-2 & ranked 10th nationally. Colorado State would play for The Belt again in 1996.
Pickin' Splinters
Rochester's Independent Sports Source
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