Colorado State arrives in Provo looking like a completely different offense than the one that stumbled through last season, and that’s what makes Saturday’s matchup with BYU so interesting.
A year ago, the Rams were a mess. They went 2-10, won just one conference game and averaged only 18.5 points per contest.
Nothing about that team suggested an offense that could threaten anyone. Two games into the Jim Mora era, though, Colorado State has flipped the script fast.
The Rams are 2-0 and have already put up 93 points. They’re averaging more than 500 yards of offense per game, and quarterback Hauss Hejny has been the engine behind it all.
Hejny has thrown nine touchdown passes with only one interception, and he’s added 124 rushing yards and another score on the ground. He completed 65.1% of his passes for 539 yards, and Colorado State has hung 35 on Wyoming and 58 on Southern Utah.
It’s fair to note the competition hasn’t been elite. It also doesn’t change the basic reality: Colorado State has found an offense it didn’t have last season.
And it’s not just about totals. The Rams have been explosive in a way that jumps off the page.
Through two games, they’ve averaged 6.9 yards per rush, which ranks 14th nationally. Their offense has produced nearly .40 expected points per play, and against Southern Utah they averaged 9.83 yards per snap and rolled up 678 total yards.
Mel Brown has been a major part of that burst. The UConn transfer has carried the ball 17 times for 228 yards, a stunning 13.4 yards per attempt. Hejny is averaging more than 10 yards per carry himself, and Jackson Harper has been just as dangerous in space, averaging 15.6 yards per catch.
That explosiveness is the challenge for BYU, because Kelly Poppinga’s defense has done a good job so far of forcing offenses to earn everything. The Cougars haven’t put up cartoonish numbers defensively, and Arizona did move the ball at times last week.
Noah Fifita had success in the first half. But BYU has been steady about keeping plays in front of it and making opponents string together drives.
Opponents are succeeding on roughly 37% of their plays against BYU. Against the run, the Cougars have been especially sharp, allowing just 2.6 yards per carry and a successful rush on about one-third of attempts. They’ve also limited what offenses do after the catch.
The second half against Arizona showed exactly how that works. The Wildcats had 17 points at the break, but BYU didn’t chase the game or change everything.
It kept making Arizona execute, and Arizona eventually stopped doing it. The Wildcats managed only 87 yards after halftime, finished with negative rushing yardage in the second half and didn’t score again.
That’s the kind of game BYU wants against Colorado State too.
The Rams have been explosive, but they haven’t exactly been dominant on a down-to-down basis. Their offensive success rate is about 49%, which is solid but not outrageous.
Their third-down conversion rate sits at 50%. The difference has been what happens when they do win a snap: those gains can become huge plays in a hurry.
That’s where BYU’s linebackers and tackling will be tested. The Cougars need to make Hejny settle for throws underneath and make Brown earn six yards instead of breaking loose for 60. If BYU can keep Colorado State in front of it, the Cougars believe the Rams will eventually have to snap it again and something will break.
There’s another wrinkle here, and it’s on the other side of the ball. Colorado State’s defense has forced eight turnovers in two games and is creating havoc on roughly 27% of opposing plays, one of the best marks in the country so far. The Rams have already picked off five passes.
BYU, though, has not turned it over this season.
Bear Bachmeier and the Cougars haven’t been spectacular every time they’ve touched the ball, but they have been efficient. BYU is converting nearly 60% of its offensive plays successfully, one of the best rates in the country.
The Cougars are averaging 5.6 points per scoring opportunity, and they’ve been especially strong running the football. The offensive line has been outstanding.
LJ Martin has been LJ Martin. Bachmeier hasn’t thrown an interception.
So the matchup has a pretty clear shape to it. Colorado State’s defense wants chaos.
BYU’s offense has avoided it. Colorado State’s offense wants explosives.
BYU’s defense wants to take those away.
There are obvious caveats with both teams. Wyoming and Southern Utah aren’t BYU, and Utah Tech isn’t Colorado State. Saturday should give a much clearer read.
What is already clear is that Colorado State is no longer the 2-10 team from a year ago. Hejny looks like a real problem.
Brown can change a game with one touch. Mora and his staff have changed the feel of the program in a hurry.
The Rams are dangerous. But the thing they do best is also the thing BYU seems built to strip away.
Colorado State wants to turn five-yard plays into 50-yard plays.
BYU wants to make them take the five.
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