FORT COLLINS – Garrett Grayson got the short passing game going, and the big plays quickly followed.
Grayson threw for five touchdowns, pushing his career total to a school record 53, and Colorado State beat Wyoming 45-31 on Saturday night for its sixth consecutive win.
It is the longest winning streak in a season for Colorado State since 2002, when the Rams also won six in a row.
“Coach has told me take what the defense gives, and there will be a gain,” Grayson said. “That was a big part of what we did (Saturday night). We dinked and dunked for a while, and then we took some shots and made some big plays.”
Grayson completed his first 13 passes of the game and finished 18-of-21 for 390 yards passing. He had first-half scoring passes of 21 yards to Dee Hart, 65 yards to Joe Hansley and 43 yards to Rashard Higgins to help Colorado State (7-1, 3-1 Mountain West) race to a 24-3 halftime lead.
He finished off the Rams’ opening drive of the second half with his fourth touchdown pass of the night, a 21-yard strike to Xavier Williams to top the previous mark by Moses Moreno, who threw for 51 touchdowns at Colorado State from 1994 to 1997.
“It shows me just by the way he was operating, his preparation this week was excellent,” Colorado State head coach Jim McElwain said of Grayson. “Felt the game slow down for him. He was throwing on time. That’s a good performance by a senior.”
Higgins also had a 73-yard scoring reception from Grayson late in the third quarter, and he upped his touchdown catch total this year to 12, a single-season Colorado State record. Jeff Champine (1981) and Dion Morton (2008) had shared the record with 10 touchdown catches.
The fastest Mountain West receiver to 1,000 yards this season, Higgins wound up with five catches for 174 yards to boost his total to date to 1,137.
“He is pretty good. He can take any play and be gone. Hey diddle diddle, the big dude up the middle,” McElwain said.
Colby Kirkegaard completed 24-of-38 for 335 yards passing for Wyoming (3-5, 1-3 Mountain West), which lost its fourth in a row. The Cowboys have lost back-to-back meetings with Colorado State after stringing together a four-year winning streak.
“We knew we were going to need to play error-free (Saturday night) and have a chance to win,” Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl said. “We certainly didn’t do that. I thought our guys scrapped and fought. ... It took us a little long to get going.”
Trailing by 21 points at the half, Wyoming scored its first touchdown of the night on a 1-yard run by Brian Hill with 4 minutes, 24 seconds left in the third quarter to pull to 31-10.
But the Cowboys’ defense showed its vulnerabilities again on the Rams’ ensuing possession.
Grayson completed a short pass in the flat to Higgins, and the fleet wide receiver outran Wyoming’s secondary, sprinting down the left sideline untouched for the score.
“I expect to make big plays every time – turn 1-yard plays into 80-yard plays,” Higgins said.
Colorado State and Wyoming traded fourth-quarter touchdowns. Hill had another 1-yard scoring run, and Treyous Jarrells scored on a 6-yard run for the Rams before Kirkegaard threw 32 yards for a touchdown to Jalen Claiborne.
Kirkegaard added a 38-yard scoring pass to Tanner Gentry with 15 seconds left to play.
