DENVER -- The Colorado Buffaloes got the alpha they wanted, they aloof didn't get the accomplishment they hoped.
Colorado jumped out to a 10-0 advance and had aggregate activity its way. Once the Colorado State active bold revved up, the Rams dominated.
Transfer Dee Hart rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns in his Colorado State admission to advice the Rams assemblage for a 31-17 win over Colorado on Friday night.
Colorado State's Treyous Jarrells accomplished with 121 yards, giving the Rams two 100-yard active backs in a bold for the aboriginal time aback 1996.
"We started fast and it didn't assassinate as able-bodied as we capital to in the additional half," said apprentice Shay Fields, who accomplished with a game-high eight catches. "We couldn't accomplish the adjustments we bare to. It's affectionate of disappointing, we had some affairs and didn't execute."
After Colorado State trailed best of the game, Garrett Grayson put the Rams on top for acceptable with a 16-yard TD canyon to Rashard Higgins aboriginal in the fourth quarter. Hart continued the advance annual afterwards with a 3-yard blitz as the Rams exhausted the Buffs for a additional time in three seasons.
Sefo Liufau threw for 241 yards and a brace of touchdowns to Nelson Spruce for Colorado.
"Their active bold got activity and that's activity to atom your team," Liufau said. "We were acrimonious them afar for the best part, we aloof couldn't accomplishment drives."
Spruce is demography the abode of electric receiver Paul Richardson, who was drafted by Seattle. Spruce may not accept Richardson's afire speed, but has the adeptness to acquisition amplitude and bolt about annihilation befuddled to him. That's why Liufau alleged Spruce his "safety blanket."
It's not like Spruce doesn't accept speed, though, as he showed aback he deked Colorado State cornerback DeAndre Elliott at the band of flat and hauled in a 54-yard TD canyon in the aboriginal quarter.
That continued comedy bent the absorption of Richardson. He wrote on his Twitter annual anon afterwards the comedy "that adolescent man is a baller."
The Buffaloes didn't advance the casual bold abreast the ambition band aboriginal in the additional quarter. They had a aboriginal bottomward at the Rams' 2 and autonomous to run the brawl three beeline times afore clearing for a 23-yard acreage goal.
The Rams acclimated that goal-line bend to about-face the drive abaft its active game.
"They did a acceptable job active the ball, time of possession, befitting it abroad from us," Liufau said. "Wait until the attempt alarm got bottomward to the aftermost two, three seconds. It absolutely aching us in our accent game."
Hart spent three seasons at Alabama, area he appeared in 17 amateur and agitated the brawl 43 times for 172 yards. He abutting the Rams this abatement as a alum apprentice and instantly alveolate to the top of the abyss chart.
Most of the week, Colorado State drillmaster Jim McElwain played up the underdog angle, adage the Buffs were a Pac-12 aggregation with added assets and added talent. But the Rams were the ones advancing off a basin win aftermost season.
They struggled aboriginal on breach beneath the chief administration of Grayson, who's advancing off a division in which he threw for a school-record 3,696 yards. With the casual advance stymied, Colorado State artlessly angry to its active bold as Hart and Jarrells aged and bounced off Buffalo defenders.
Hart's accustomed with McElwain, dating aback to aback the drillmaster served as the abhorrent coordinator of the Crimson Tide from 2008-11.
Hart & Co. are aggravating to alter Kapri Bibbs, who rushed for 1,741 yards and 31 TDs aftermost season.
Early in the additional half, all the drive appeared to be with Colorado aback Grayson fumbled and Liufau capitalized by throwing his additional TD canyon of the night to Spruce, who fabricated a one-handed catch.
Soon after, Jarrells fabricated it 17-14 in the third division on a 3-yard run, starting the Rams on the improvement trail.
• Read added accessories by MICHAEL KELLY