FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Near the end of the third quarter, Colorado State University fans chanted in unison “We want 12. We want 12,” in reference to the team’s backup quarterback Tahj Bullock. That about sums up the play of Rams starting quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi. Still, UTSA football struggled to pull away from Colorado State. Luckily for the Roadrunners, they have senior running back Robert Henry Jr., and the Rams don’t. Henry willed UTSA to a 17-16 win over Colorado State on Saturday at Canvas Stadium.
Henry’s production through four weeks of the 2025 season has been the sole reason the Roadrunners (2-2) are currently sitting at .500. The workhorse back picked up his sixth-straight 100-plus rushing yard game, while adding 76 yards and a touchdown through the air. The Rams (1-2) had no problem containing junior quarterback Owen McCown, stifling the ‘Runners’ passing attack by holding McCown to just 173 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Colorado State attempted a potential go-ahead two-point conversion with 29 seconds left in the game, but Bullock’s pass led his receiver too far out of bounds.
“I knew they probably thought we were expecting a quarterback power or a quarterback counter,” coach Jeff Traylor said of the two-point attempt. “We did an unbelievable job setting the edge and getting off the block, forcing them to throw the ball in the back of the endzone out of bounds.”
The first score of the game didn’t come until five minutes into the second quarter; Henry found a hole in the Rams’ front seven and broke a couple tackles en route to a 76-yard rushing touchdown. With that score, Henry has now registered four 75-plus yard rushing touchdowns through four games on the season.
Both teams knocked down field goals in the second quarter. The score was deadlocked at 10-3 until Colorado State broke through on a 10-yard rushing touchdown with a little over six minutes left in the game.
The Roadrunners responded with a 74-yard passing touchdown from McCown to Henry.
“I saw green grass,” Henry recalled during the play. “Being able to catch the ball out of the backfield, I feel like that’s a big part of being a running back. A lot of NFL teams like it, so that’s what I work on.”
Revitalized by a quarterback change, the Rams found paydirt with 29 seconds left. Colorado State’s new quarterback, Jackson Brousseau, connected with tight end Rocky Beers for a 4-yard score. In a puzzling move, Rams’ coach Jay Norvell took the ball out of Brousseau’s hands for the final play, sealing the loss.
The UTSA defense had its best statistical performance of the season, recording three sacks, five tackles for loss and holding the Rams to just 16 points. Senior linebacker Shad Banks Jr. led in tackles with 11; Senior linebacker Nnanna Anywanu led in sacks with three.
UTSA will head to Philadelphia to take on Temple University on Saturday at a time not yet determined.
