Colorado State’s first loss under Jim Mora came with a blunt reminder of where the Rams stand right now - and where Mora believes they can get.
No. 11 BYU rolled past the Rams 41-23 on Saturday night in Fort Collins, piling up 559 yards of offense, 332 on the ground and 9.6 yards per play while leading by as many as 31 points. Colorado State, meanwhile, was held to 302 total yards and found the end zone on only 3 of 11 drives.
After the game, Mora didn’t dance around it.
“We said it all week, I mean, that’s a really good football team. They don’t have any holes,” Mora told reporters postgame, referring to BYU. “They’re a really good football team and we didn’t perform well.”
He was careful with the wording, too, making clear that he didn’t want the blame pinned only on the players.
“I say ‘perform’ because I think when coaches say we didn’t play well, they’re putting it on the players, and it’s it’s on all of us. It’s a program performance, so we have to do a better job of putting our players in position to make plays.”
BYU struck immediately, scoring on its second play from scrimmage and then again three snaps later. From there, the Cougars kept leaning on Colorado State with physicality and explosiveness, while the Rams never found much rhythm on either side of the ball.
The run game was a major problem. Colorado State came in averaging more than 220 rushing yards per game, but managed just 82 against BYU. Mora pointed directly at the mismatch.
“When you’re playing against a team like that, with a quarterback like that, and of course (running back LJ Martin), and those big receivers and a big, physical offensive line, you know, you have to play darn near perfect, and you’ve got to stop big plays,” Mora said. “That’s been a real, real, real, big, big, big, big problem for us defensively.
“We gave up over 300 yards rushing, which is not OK, and we didn’t run the ball well.”
Still, Mora also used the loss as another data point in the larger picture he’s trying to build. He had called BYU a “road map” for what Colorado State could become earlier in the week, and after seeing the Cougars in person, he said that belief only grew stronger.
“I think everybody that’s involved with this program has to take a look at (BYU) and understand that that’s what we’re striving to be,” Mora said.
“But we’re not a Big 12 school, so we don’t have the resources that they have, but we have a group of people here that are just as committed as you’ve ever been around to doing all they can with what we have to be special ... so that’s another clue that leads me to believe that we’re going to be a good football program, because we have the right people with the right mindset.”
The Rams are now 2-1 after opening the year with two straight wins for the first time since 2011. They head to UTSA next weekend for one last nonconference game before beginning Pac-12 play against Oregon State on Oct. 3.
Mora said the key now is making sure one loss doesn’t turn into something bigger.
“It’s up to us whether or not (losing to BYU) defines our season. You have to attack the next challenge with the same vigor,” Mora said.
“You attack this challenge. It just didn’t work out for us tonight, you know?
“... 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 they’re disappointed, but they’re not discouraged, because they did stick together, they did stay connected.
They did continue to compete. They did continue to cheer each other on.
There were no cracks.”
In Other News...
BYU Draws Another Ugly Road Response And Fans Will Notice
Colorado State University spent part of its postgame weekend dealing with the fallout from chants aimed at BYU and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during a game at Canvas Stadium. The school apologized, saying mocking anyones faith runs against its community values and that it is addressing the matter with its students, a reminder that road games can still carry an edge long after the final whistle.
For BYU, the response fits a familiar script. Kalani Sitake has long steered his program toward the positive side of these moments, urging attention on the fans who do things the right way instead of judging an entire crowd by the actions of a few. It is the kind of sideline tension the Cougars would rather leave behind, but it is also the sort of thing that tends to travel with them from stadium to stadium. [Read more 🡒]
BYUs Biggest Winners And One Clear Concern From Colorado State
BYUs 41-23 win over Colorado State came with a clear theme from the PFF grades: the Cougars were getting top-level work on both sides of the ball from familiar names and a few emerging ones. Legend Glasker stood out as the highest-graded offensive player, while Isaiah Glasker earned the top defensive grade, giving BYU a strong showing from the Glasker family in a game that also featured excellent line play. Bruce Mitchell anchored an offensive front that allowed only one quarterback pressure, and true freshman Bott Mulitalo drew praise in limited snaps, an encouraging sign for the Cougars depth moving forward.
The one area that will draw the most attention is on defense, where a few players did not grade nearly as well as the unit overall. Braxton Lindsey, Kini Fonohema, and Justin Kirkland were among the lower marks after issues tied to missed tackles and penalties, the kind of details that can quietly shape a tighter game even in a comfortable finish. For BYU, the result was never in doubt, but the grades show there is still some cleanup work to do if the Cougars want the performance to match the final score more consistently. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Just Entered A National Debate Cougars Fans Will Love
The latest Associated Press Top 25 ballot after a busy Saturday did what these weekly rankings always do best: it turned a handful of big results into a national argument. Texas handled UTSA, Ole Miss got past LSU behind a strong showing from quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, and several other notable outcomes reshaped how teams were being viewed in the moment, with the ballot serving as one writers snapshot of who looked worthy of moving up and who didnt.
For BYU fans, the appeal is obvious. Anytime a personal ballot starts stirring up the national conversation, the Cougars are right there in the mix of teams whose standing can be helped or hurt by how the rest of the country is being judged. The debate around the rankings is still fluid, and for BYU, that means every major result around the sport carries a little extra weight as the conversation continues to sort itself out. [Read more 🡒]