Anderson proving to be unstoppable

Not only is sophomore wide receiver David Anderson tearing up

teams in the Mountain West Conference like he did against Air Force

on Thursday night, but he is also making his mark around the nation

as well.

“David Anderson, I’ve never had anyone like him,” CSU head coach

Sonny Lubick said.

In eight games, Anderson has 45 receptions for 908 yards and an

average of 20.2 per catch. He has scored seven touchdowns and has

an average 113.5 yards a game. Those numbers are good enough to

rank him among the best in the nation, including first in receiving

yards. He is also averaging more receiving yards per game than any

other MWC wide receiver

“I was hoping for a season like this but you can’t go out and

expect to break records or do this and that,” Anderson said. “I

just gotta go out there and keep playing hard.”

Anderson added eight more receptions for 199 yards against Air

Force, which are both career highs. The yardage is fourth most in

CSU receiving history. It also marked the fourth time this season

Anderson has gone over 100 yards. The Falcons’ failure to change

their coverage led to one touchdown and six first downs for

Anderson.

“I caught that same route six times and they kept staying

inside,” Anderson said. “If they aren’t going to change, we aren’t

going to change.”

Anderson made a 22-yard diving catch in the third quarter to

give the Rams a critical first down at the CSU 47-yard line.

Although the Rams were later forced to punt, the catch prevented

Air Force from attaining good field position and started another

unsuccessful drive from their own 14-yard line.

“You gotta pride yourself on catching those ones,” Anderson

said.

Anderson attributes much of his success to quarterback Bradlee

Van Pelt who has also put up impressive numbers this season. In

addition to his 506 rushing yards, he is 30 yards away from

obtaining the 2,000 passing yard mark and has thrown for 15

touchdowns.

“Bradlee has a lot of confidence,” Anderson said. “He is going

to put the ball where you can get it and you gotta catch the ones

that come your way.”

Van Pelt went 14-for-22 for 258 yards and one passing touchdown

against Air Force. He also added 125 yards on the ground and two

rushing scores. He capped one drive with three minutes remaining in

the second quarter by scoring the Rams first touchdown on a 13-yard

run followed by a headfirst leap into the end zone. The play ran

several times on ESPN and was one of many that caught the attention

of Air Force head coach Fisher DeBerry.

“Bradlee Van Pelt was outstanding. He is a fine football

player,” DeBerry said. “He did a great job of getting Anderson the

ball.”

Van Pelt helped lead the offense to 564 yards and the Rams have

now scored 34 points or more in their past three games. Being back

in conference contention and riding a three-game winning streak,

Van Pelt also realizes how strong CSU’s offense has become.

“We are gelling together as a team,” Van Pelt said. “We are

doing what they (the coaches) are telling us to do and it feels

good to get it done. We are bringing in packages and teams don’t

know what to do with us.”

The next challenge for the Rams awaits in Laramie, Wyo., for a

Nov. 1 game against the Wyoming Cowboys in the CSU-Wyoming Border

War.