Morton throws TD pass, catches another as Colorado State beats Nevada, 35-20, improves to 3-0

Colorado State 3-0 after 35-20 victory over Nevada

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Grant Stucker accounted for three scores while wide receiver Dion Morton threw a touchdown pass and hauled in another, leading Colorado State to a 35-20 win over Nevada on Saturday.

The Rams are 3-0 for the first time in 15 years. They also moved to 6-0 against the Wolf Pack (0-2) in Fort Collins.

Stucker ran for a 35-yard touchdown and threw for two more. He had a 32-yard strike to Zac Pauga and hit Morton on a 49-yard post route midway through the third quarter that broke open a close game.

Morton harkened back to his high school days as a quarterback in the first quarter, tossing a 25-yard strike to Eric Peitz on a gadget play. Morton took a lateral from Stucker and lofted it to a wide open Peitz.

It was Morton’s second touchdown throw of the season.

John Mosure returned to Colorado State’s backfield after sitting out last week’s game with a head injury and rushed for 99 yards and a score.

The Rams took advantage of the error-prone Wolf Pack offense, intercepting two passes and recovering three fumbles. The miscues set up 28 of the Rams’ points.

Vai Taua rushed for 95 yards, adding touchdown runs of 31 and 2 yards for Nevada. Brandon Wimberly had a 13-yard TD catch as time expired. He finished with seven catches for 104 yards.

The Rams clamped down on versatile quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who finished with 24 yards rushing and 251 through the air, most coming late in the game. Kaepernick also threw two interceptions and had a fumble.

The Wolf Pack broke a scoring drought that had reached nearly 93 minutes when Taua broke loose for a 31-yard touchdown early in the third quarter. It was Nevada’s first score of the season after being bottled up in a 35-0 loss at Notre Dame in its opener.

Despite an extra week to prepare, Nevada sputtered again in the first half and went into halftime trailing 14-0. It was the first time Colorado State held an opponent scoreless in the opening half since 2003 against Weber State.

With the victory, Rams coach Steve Fairchild tied Sonny Lubick at 10-6 for the second-best start by a coach in program history. Bob Davis has the best mark, going 10-5-1 through 16 games in 1947-48.