Colorado State 31, Colorado 17: Dee Hart ran for a career-high 139 yards and two touchdowns as the Rams pulled away from the Buffaloes late in the 86th Rocky Mountain Showdown at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver.

Treyous Jarrells added 121 yards and a short score in his debut for Colorado State (1-0), which outgained Colorado 266-134 on the ground and improved to 22-62-2 in the all-time series. Garrett Grayson, who threw for 134 yards and a touchdown, became only the third quarterback in school history to beat Colorado twice.

Sefo Liufau passed for 241 yards and threw a pair of scoring strikes to Nelson Spruce, who finished with seven receptions for 104 yards to pace Colorado (0-1). Shay Fields collected a game-high eight catches and Michael Adkins II ran for 68 yards for the Buffaloes, who had won eight of the previous 11 meetings.

Following an exchange of punts on each team’s opening possession, Spruce ran under a deep throw from Liufau and scored from 54 yards out to stake Colorado to an early advantage before Will Oliver made it 10-0 with a short field goal early in the second quarter. Hart got the Rams on the board with 2:39 left in the first half when he went off right tackle from the 8-yard line and powered through three tackles before reaching the ball across the end line.

The Buffaloes restored their double-digit lead on their first drive of the third quarter on a Liufau’s 12-yard TD toss to Spruce, but Jarrells drew Colorado State within 17-14 with a 3-yard TD run on the following possession. The Rams pulled ahead for the first time with 13:10 remaining when Rashard Higgins made a leaping grab over a defender in the front of the end zone before Hart capped the next drive with a 3-yard score.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Grayson, who become the first Rams quarterback since Robert Hainlen (1945, 1947-48) to start against the Buffaloes three times, joined Matt Newton (1999-2000) and Alexander Hutton (1915-16) as the only Colorado State quarterbacks to register multiple wins over Colorado. … Spruce – a junior tight end – has amassed 23 catches for 267 yards and three TDs in three career games against the Rams. … Jim McElwain became the first Colorado State coach since Bob Davis in 1948 and 1949 to post two wins over Colorado in his first three seasons.