The BYU-Colorado State series is back on the board Saturday in Fort Collins, and it arrives with a little more weight than your average nonconference game. It’s game No. 70 between the Cougars and Rams, a matchup that started in 1922 and then disappeared for more than 15 years after their last meeting in 2010.
That break says plenty about where college football has gone. Rivalries have been swallowed up by realignment, scheduling headaches and the money that drives both. But this one survived long enough to return, and it comes back with Canvas Stadium ready for a full house and CBS on hand to broadcast it nationally.
Colorado State opened the series with a 33-0 win in Fort Collins in 1922, then took the first six meetings before BYU finally broke through with a 20-12 win in Provo in 1938. The teams played regularly across different conferences over the years, but the rivalry really hit a groove in the Mountain West days.
Colorado State took three of four from 2000 through 2003. Luke Staley had four touchdowns in BYU’s 56-34 win at Provo in 2001, but the Rams answered with a 58-13 blowout in 2003, a game in which Bradlee Van Pelt threw three touchdown passes and Marcus Houston ran for three more. That was BYU’s worst home loss since Wyoming beat the Cougars 48-0 in 1950.
Then came BYU’s seven-game run.
In 2004, Austin Collie’s 40-yard touchdown catch and Fahu Tahi’s 3-yard score in the fourth quarter lifted the Cougars to a 31-21 win in Fort Collins. Curtis Brown carried 31 times for 147 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-14 BYU win in 2005. In 2006, the Cougars held Colorado State to 151 total yards and just 23 on the ground in a 24-3 victory at Fort Collins.
Max Hall took over the next two meetings in a big way, throwing for 355 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-16 win in 2007 and then for 389 yards and five scores in BYU’s 45-42 thriller in Fort Collins in 2008. Dennis Pitta caught the winning touchdown with 22 seconds left in that one.
In 2009, Harvey Unga ran for 113 yards and three touchdowns as BYU held off a 372-yard passing day from Grant Stucker in a 42-23 win in Provo. The final meeting before the long pause came in 2010, when BYU rolled 49-10 in Fort Collins. Luke Ashworth caught four passes for 113 yards and four touchdowns from Jake Heaps, with all four scores coming in the first half.
A handful of current BYU coaches know this matchup firsthand. Head coach Kalani Sitake, offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick, defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga and running backs coach Harvey Unga all played against Colorado State during their BYU days.
“I remember how good the Rams were,” Roderick said. “When I was at BYU we had our butts handed to us.
When I coached up the road at Utah we went there a few times and had some tough battles with that team. They’re a good program and I have a lot of respect for what it means to fans and the town.”
Poppinga said the staff has leaned on those past experiences while getting the Cougars ready.
“The best way to let the players know what they’re getting into is by people who have been there before,” he said. “I’ve been there a bunch of times as a player and a coach.
The last year was 2010. There was a blizzard that day and nobody was in the stands.
It was cold, Jake Heaps had a great day if I remember right, and we played well and won the game.
“I remember two years prior to that we were ranked and we might have been undefeated. We were 17th in the country and it was a dogfight.
We ended up pulling it out right at the end. Dennis Pitta made great catch in the end zone and got the crap knocked out him and we ended up winning 45-42.”
BYU’s move into the Big 12 changed the way the Cougars were lined up geographically. When they joined in 2023, Texas Tech was the closest league opponent at 879 miles from Provo. The next year, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona joined the league and brought back more regional games.
Still, BYU and Colorado State are only set to meet again in Provo in 2029, and beyond that the Cougars’ future regional nonconference schedule is thin, with Weber State and Southern Utah on the slate in 2030.
For now, Saturday stands alone. BYU enters as a 17.5-point favorite, and Poppinga expects the atmosphere to match the occasion.
“These are battles. I think the guys are ready for this environment.
It’ll be a sold-out crowd and loud. Their team is playing well and their team has lot to cheer about.”
Colorado State coach Jim Mora also sees something bigger in the game than just one afternoon in Fort Collins.
On Monday, he said, “It’s just that those (earlier) days, there was just a bit of an underdog feel (to BYU) and now they’re a powerhouse.
“They were a WAC team and now they’re a contender in the College Football Playoff. Quite frankly, it’s a bit of a road map for us here. Sticking with good people, doing the right things, making good decisions, continuing to elevate all areas of your program, which are the things that we’re doing here.”
In Other News...
BYU Now Faces The Quarterback It Nearly Brought To Provo
Hauss Hejny is back in the spotlight this week as Colorado States starting quarterback, adding a little extra intrigue for BYU fans who followed his transfer recruitment not long ago. Before landing in Fort Collins, Hejny had already spent time at TCU and Oklahoma State, and BYU was among the programs trying to bring him to Provo before he chose another path.
The Cougars ultimately turned to Bear Bachmeier at quarterback after Hejny committed elsewhere, leaving this matchup with a familiar what-if attached to it. Colorado States staff has its own BYU connection too, with former Cougars assistant Matt Mitchell helping recruit Hejny, which only deepens the crossover as BYU gets ready to see the quarterback it came close to adding. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Just Added More Heat To BYUs Big 12 Race
Texas Tech found a way to survive Houston in Lubbock, edging the Cougars 28-26 in a Big 12 game that carried plenty of late tension and even more weight in the conference standings. The Red Raiders had to rally from an early deficit, and they got enough from key moments involving Kenny Johnson and JKoby Williams to stay alive in a game that looked headed for even more drama down the stretch.
For BYU, the bigger takeaway is what this does to the conference chase. Every Texas Tech win in a tight Big 12 race adds another layer of pressure, and this one came with a controversial finish at the goal line on a two-point attempt that left Houston frustrated and the outcome hanging on a razor-thin call. The Cougars are going to feel that ripple, because results like this keep tightening the path to the top. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Faces Its First Real Road Test With Early Momentum At Stake
BYU heads into Saturday evenings trip to Fort Collins with a little early-season buzz and a first meaningful chance to find out how real it is. The Cougars will face Colorado State at Canvas Stadium in their third game of the year, and the matchup brings together two 2-0 teams in the 70th meeting between the programs, with BYU holding the edge in the series.
Its the kind of road environment that can tell a lot more than the first two weeks usually do, especially for a team trying to build momentum before the schedule gets heavier. Fans who want to follow along will find the game on CBS, with BYUtv also carrying pregame and postgame coverage around a night that could say plenty about where this BYU team stands. [Read more 🡒]