Mike Bobo had Hines Ward.

Garrett Grayson had Rashard Higgins.

Nick Stevens has Michael Gallup, a receiver the CSU quarterback can count on to make difficult catches in clutch situations — be they back-shoulder passes, leaping catches over defenders on the sideline or in the end zone.

Stevens' philosophy is whatever it takes to get the ball in Gallup’s hands as often as possible, which the pair plan to do when CSU plays at Utah State at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Both teams are 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the Mountain West.

“I know I can rely on him, I know what I’m going to get out of him,” Stevens said. “You’ve got to love a guy that will get you touchdowns when you throw it to him at the line of scrimmage.”

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That’s what Grayson said about Higgins in 2014, when the two future NFL draft picks were rewriting Colorado State University’s passing and receiving records. Grayson threw for 4,006 yards and 32 touchdowns that season, and Higgins had 96 catches for 1,750 yards and 17 touchdowns — all single-season school records during a year in which the Rams went 10-3.

Grayson, picked by the New Orleans Saints in the third round of the 2015 NFL draft, holds CSU’s single-season and career records for passing attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns. Higgins, selected in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns, holds the school’s single-season and career records for catches, receiving yards and touchdowns.

Stevens saw first-hand what those two did as a redshirt freshman backing up Grayson in 2014. Gallup has seen the highlights on YouTube while studying Higgins, one of his favorite receivers.

Stevens and Gallup have numbers through five games this season that are pretty similar to what Grayson and Higgins did through their first five games in 2014.

Stevens has thrown for 1,578 yards, 19 fewer than Grayson, and 12 touchdowns, one fewer than Grayson, entering Saturday's game at Utah State. His 114 completions are nine more than Grayson had at that point, and his 186 attempts are 15 ahead.

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Gallup only has two touchdown catches through five games to Higgins’ eight, but his 39 receptions are five more and his 597 yards are 15 more than Higgins had.

“They set the standard, and we’re trying to go get it,” Gallup said.

While Gallup is Stevens' main target, senior slot receiver Detrich Clark caught two touchdown passes Saturday night in a 51-21 win at Hawaii. True freshman Warren Jackson, who backs up Gallup at one of the two wide receiver spots, had two touchdown catches in a 41-23 loss at Alabama.

But there’s a special chemistry that develops between a quarterback and his go-to receiver, said Bobo, CSU’s third-year coach.

“It’s almost like a security blanket a little bit,” Bobo said. “I can throw the ball to him, and he’s got a chance to make an explosive play for me every time he touches it.”

For Bobo, Georgia’s starting quarterback in 1996 and 1997, that player was Ward, who went on to become MVP of Super Bowl XL with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ward was on the receiving end of 157 of the 374 passes Bobo completed those two seasons, including 10 of the quarterback’s 32 touchdown passes.

“He was a football player,” Bobo said. “You give him the ball, and he was going to make plays.”

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Sure, Bobo said, he was targeting Ward more often than the Bulldogs’ other receivers. But only because Georgia coach Jim Donnan was moving Ward around in the offense and calling plays that consistently made him the primary receiver. It’s what Bobo, who calls CSU’s offensive plays, is doing with Gallup this season.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Gallup is lining up at both outside receiver spots, the X and the Z, as well as the slot receiver spot in CSU’s offense. Gallup didn’t know the offense well enough last year to pull it off. This year, he does.

He also has a better understanding of how to adjust each of his routes, based on what the defense is doing. It’s why, even with defenses focused on stopping him, Gallup still has more than twice as many catches and yards as any other CSU receiver.

“He’s developing into more of a complete receiver, and Nick’s confidence is growing week in and week out, not just because of Mike but Mike is a big part of that, and you know we’ve got to continue building on that,'' Bobo said.

“Where it can go, I don’t know?”

Maybe as far as Grayson and Higgins went in their record-breaking season.

Follow reporter Kelly Lyell at twitter.com/KellyLyell and facebook.com/KellyLyell.news and listen to him talk CSU sports at 11:35 a.m. Thursdays on KFKA radio (AM 1310).

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

When/Where: 2:30 p.m. MDT Saturday, Maverik Stadium (capacity 25,100), Logan, Utah

Watch/Listen: Watch on AT&T Sports=Rocky Mountain (Comcast Ch. 26/665, DirecTV Ch. 683/684, Dish Network Ch. 414); Listen on KARS (FM 102.9) and KRDO (AM 1340 and FM 104.7)

Facebook live pregame show: Join Coloradoan reporters Kevin Lytle and Kelly Lyell at 1:30 p.m. Saturday on the Coloradoan Facebook page for a look at the matchup and their thoughts on the game.

Twitter updates:@Kevin-Lytle, @KellyLyell

Saturday's weather in Logan: Sunny with a high of 69 degrees and an overnight low of 39.

Coaches and records: CSU is coached by Mike Bobo, who is in his third season and is 17-14. Utah State is coached by Matt Wells, who is 31-27 in his fifth season.

Betting odds: CSU is favored by 7½ points.