ALBUQUERQUE — Perhaps for added motivation prior to kickoff, coaches like to tell seniors that they will they always remember their last football game.
Still shaking his head long after Colorado State's improbable 48-45 come-from-behind victory Saturday over Washington State in the New Mexico Bowl, CSU's senior cornerback Shaq Bell said he now knows what the coaches meant.
"I'm telling you, this means everything," Bell said. "I will never forget this game, never forget it — for the rest of my life."
How could he forget it? How could anyone on the Colorado State roster forget it? Or the announced crowd of 27,104 at University Stadium? Or the national ESPN audience, for that matter?
Holder Joe Hansley gets the ball ready as Jared Roberts approaches for a field goal that gave CSU an improbable victory over Washington State in the New Mexico Bowl. (Matt York, The Associated Press)
Down 45-30 with less than three minutes remaining, underdog Colorado State forced two fumbles, scored two touchdowns, made a two-point conversion and watched a 41-yard field goal by junior Jared Roberts complete an amazing comeback.
"How do you duplicate something like that?" CSU coach Jim McElwain said. "It's pretty amazing how it worked out. It's about being resilient. It's about understanding that every play has a history and a life of its own."
Colorado State (8-6, 5-3 Mountain West) got another monster rushing game of 169 yards and three touchdowns from sophomore Kapri Bibbs. But the Rams trailed by as many as 23 points in the second quarter and appeared willing to help Washington State junior quarterback Connor Halliday shatter every passing record for bowl games.
Halliday, named the offensive player of the game, threw for six touchdowns, including five in the first half. West Virginia's Geno Smith (2012 Orange Bowl) and Iowa's Chuck Long (1984 Freedom Bowl) also recorded a half-dozen passing touchdowns. Halliday is the first to be on the losing side.
"Congrats to (Halliday). He put up some crazy numbers," CSU quarterback Garrett Grayson said. "But I'm happy we got the win."
Washington State (6-7, 4-5 Pac-12) appeared to gain enough cushion with a 45-30 lead when Halliday hit Isiah Myers for a 22-yard touchdown with 9:35 remaining in the fourth quarter.
That score held until the Rams moved 72 yards in nine plays, with Grayson connecting with Jordon Vaden for a 12-yard score to cut the deficit to eight points with 2:52 to go.
Then all the craziness took over. CSU senior linebacker Shaquil Barrett, named the game's outstanding defensive player, separated the ball from Halliday and Rams linebacker Max Morgan recovered. That turnover was overturned, however, when an officials' replay ruled that Halliday's knee had been down before the fumble.
Barrett then showed the tenacity that earned him 2013 Mountain West defensive player of the year. On the next play, he stripped the ball from Cougars running back Jeremiah Laufasa. Barrett fell on the ball at the WSU 33, and this time there was no disputing it.
That led to a 1-yard Bibbs touchdown run with 33 seconds left, but CSU still needed a two-point conversion. On a CSU version of the playground Statue of Liberty play, Grayson faked a pass and handed the ball from behind his back to Donnell Alexander, who dived to the left pylon and just made it — following another officials' review.
The game appeared headed to overtime, but Washington State returner Teondray Caldwell fumbled the ensuing kickoff on a hit by Steven Michel that was recovered by Jake Schlager, a true freshman.
Three plays later, CSU's Roberts booted his game-winner as time expired.
The last play of the game marked the only time CSU had the lead.
"Our coaches tell us to never give up," CSU senior tight end Crockett Gillmore said. "They say it's never over. Even when we were playing bad, it never felt like it was over."
The teams combined for 995 yards of offense, with CSU racking up 595.
Grayson finished with 369 yards passing and two touchdowns; Halliday finished with 410 yards to go with his six TDs.
"We had a pretty good shot at it; we just needed to hang onto the ball," Washington State coach Mike Leach said. "But I thought Colorado State's defense played really hard. They didn't lose intensity when things weren't going their way."
Tom Kensler: tkensler@denverpost.com or twitter.com/tomkensler
The biggest of the big plays in CSU's wild win
• Trailing 45-37 with two minutes left and no timeouts, Colorado State linebacker Shaquil Barrett strips the ball from running back Jeremiah Laufasa and recovers the ball at Washington State's 33-yard line.
• After Kapri Bibbs scores from the 1 with 33 seconds left to make it 45-43, CSU's Donnell Alexander takes a handoff on a Statue of Liberty play. He appears to score, but the call on the field is he is out of bounds. Upon review, it's ruled he reached and hit the pylon with the ball. ... Two points. Game is tied 45-45.
• On the ensuing kickoff, Washington State's Teondray Caldwell gets hit, fumbles, and CSU recovers at the 24.
• After a running play and a spike to kill the clock, Rams kicker Jared Roberts boots a 41-yard field goal as time expires. CSU wins 48-45.
Key play
All hope for CSU appeared lost when, after a replay, officials overturned a lost fumble by Washington State. That fumble was caused by Shaquil Barrett with just over two minutes left — and then Barrett did it again. This time, Barrett stripped the ball from Jeremiah Laufasa. That led to a game-tying drive, including a two-point conversion.
Key stat
Somehow Colorado State was able to overcome six touchdowns passes thrown by Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday, who tied an all-time bowl record shared by West Virginia's Geno Smith (2012 Orange Bowl) and Iowa's Chuck Long (1984 Freedom Bowl).
Tom Kensler, The Denver Post
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