FORT COLLINS — Despite outscoring No. 11 BYU 16-10 in the second half, a 24-point halftime deficit was too much for Colorado State to overcome Saturday at Canvas Stadium.
The Rams allowed more than 550 yards of offense to the Cougars, including more than 300 on the ground as they suffered their first loss of the season following a 1-0 start.
In the second half, following a pair of quarterback injuries, the Rams made an effort to close the gap, but the big BYU lead proved to be insurmountable in a 41-23 loss.
“It just didn’t work out for us tonight,” CSU head coach Jim Mora said. “So, we have to go back to work, and we have to maintain the same standard. The standard never changes whether you’re behind or ahead. The standard can’t change and we won’t let it change.
“The feeling I get from our players in the locker room is, yeah, they’re disappointed, but they’re not discouraged. I like the way that our men competed. They came out in the second half and they kept fighting. And they kept their energy up.”
CSU was already down 21-7 when starting quarterback Hauss Hejny tweaked his hamstring and was replaced by K’saan Farrar.
The loss of their general, who had led the team to back-to-back wins to begin the season, only made the potential to upset the Cougars much more difficult.
Hejny didn’t return, but Mora downplayed the seriousness of his injury after the game.
“It’s a hamstring,” Mora said. “It’s not a big injury. I told him to go get some treatment. He’s a guy that, he needs to be able to move around, and he didn’t have mobility and he couldn’t drive and throw the football. He wanted to play, but he wasn’t capable of playing.”
A lot happened before Hejny’s injury late in the first quarter. The game had the makings of a high-scoring shootout in the opening minutes.
BYU struck first just 49 seconds in on a 56-yard run by LJ Martin that gave the Cougars a 7-0 lead.
The Rams answered quickly. On their first drive, Hejny found RJ Vick in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown that tied the game at 7-7 with 11:22 left in the opening period.
That would be the last time CSU would score in the first half.
Martin, who had a big game with 176 yards on just 15 carries, found his way into the end zone two more times in the first quarter for the Cougars. Both shorter spurts, he scored from 2 yards out with 9:42 left and then from 8 yards out with 51 seconds remaining.
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After taking a trip to the medical tent during the first quarter, Hejny briefly returned to the field. But he proved he could not continue effectively, and Farrar came in with minimal success the rest of the first half.
The Cougars added 10 more points in the second quarter, three on a 44-yard field goal by Matthias Dunn and seven on a 5-yard run by Legend Gasker followed by the extra point.
BYU took a 31-7 lead into halftime.
CSU’s defense didn’t help its struggling offense out either. BYU had 377 yards in the first half and finished the game with 559. In addition to Martin’s rushing success, Glasker tallied 131 yards on just five receptions. Journee Tonga had 91 rushing yards on 10 carries, too.
“When you’re playing against a team like that, with a quarterback like that, and of course the running back, those big receivers and the big physical offensive line, you have to play darn near perfect,” Mora said. “And you’ve got to stop big plays. That’s been a real big problem for us defensively.”
The Cougars only scored once in the third quarter, on a 5-yard run by Preston Rex that gave them a 38-7 lead. Two CSU interceptions, one by CJ Blocker and another by D’Angelo Hagans, helped give the Rams a fighting chance to climb back in the game.
“It’s just how I prepare,” Blocker said after nabbing his third pick of the year. “I just harp on myself being able to showcase those skills that I’m getting picks and it’s cool and all but at the end of the day, I just want to win. And if me getting picks or me playing my best is going to get a win, then that’s what it takes.”
The Rams now have forced 10 turnovers this season, at least two in each of their first three games.
After passing for 70 yards with an interception, Farrar was helped off the field early in the fourth quarter and Darius Curry took over at quarterback.
Mora said Farrar was poked in the eye and could have returned to the game, but Curry was doing a good job leading the team at the time.
The Rams scored their first touchdown since the first quarter when Durell Robinson scored from a yard out that cut the BYU lead to 38-15 after a two-point conversion pass from Curry to Jackson Harper with 12:16 left.
BYU then scored its final points on a 26-yard field goal by Dunn before the Rams’ final touchdown of the game came on a 1-yard pass from Curry to Nader Chirchi.
CSU will be back in action next Saturday at UTSA. Kickoff is scheduled for 10 a.m. MT in San Antonio.
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