No. 11 BYU makes easy work of Colorado State in blowout road victory

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — No. 11 BYU faced little opposition on its way to a 41-23 victory over Colorado State Saturday night.

LJ Martin totaled 176 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries to help power the Cougars offense to 559 total yards of offense and to claim victory over the Rams.

Martin helped BYU jump out to an early lead with a 54-yard touchdown on their opening drive before a response from Colorado State evened things up. The Cougars scored 31 unanswered points to build a strong cushion before a late rally from the Rams.

Colorado State added a pair of touchdowns and 2-point conversions late to bring the final score closer, but BYU held on for the win to improve to 3-0 on the season, while Colorado State dropped to 2-1.

"There's some really good things that we did in the game, and some things that we could have done better, but I thought the reps were valuable for all our players," BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said. "Really proud of the boys and proud of the leadership on this team. They did a great job."

Quarterback Bear Bachmeier was effective on the night and finished 12-of-16 for 227 yards and an interception. His connection with freshman wideout Legend Glasker continued to be a factor for the Cougars, with the pair connecting on a deep pass for the second straight game.

Rams quarterback Hauss Hejny exited the game late in the first quarter after suffering a hamstring injury on the team's second drive of the game. And Colorado State head coach Jim Mora opted to keep Hejny sidelined after the first quarter with his limited mobility affecting his play.

After turning to redshirt freshman K'Saan Farrar, the Rams were unable to generate much offense, while BYU scored on six of its first seven possessions. Farrar eventually suffered an injury of his own, and the Rams turned to Darrius Curry, who ended up orchestrating two touchdown drives to help Colorado State end the game on a high note.

But it wasn't enough against a former Mountain West conference member.

The Cougars had to wait a little longer than expected for the first matchup against the Rams in 16 years after a weather delay pushed back kickoff; however, the delay had no impact on BYU's start, with Martin taking his second carry to the house for a quick score.

"LJ's one of the best running backs in the country," Sitake said. "He could be playing in the NFL, and he decided to come back for a reason, so we're thankful he came back. He put in a lot of hard work in the offseason and it's paying off."

Before Martin's second touchdown, Bachmeier connected with Glasker on a 70-yard strike, highlighting the Cougars' ability to quickly move the ball down field. BYU needed just five offensive plays to get to the end zone for the team's first two touchdowns of the game.

Glasker's speed helps offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick utilize him in various roles along the offense. He turned in his second rushing touchdown of the season on a jet sweep in the second quarter.

"I think Fesi (Sitake) knew right away when we were recruiting him how to use him, and we knew that he was gonna be something special," Sitake said. "The growth that I've seen from him from fall camp to Game 1, then now Game 1 to Game 3, is amazing. And so the sky's the limit for him."

Glasker finished with 152 total yards, with 131 yards receiving and 21 yards rushing and a touchdown. The freshman has quickly become a reliable target for Bachmeier, and their connection has given BYU something it did not have last year — a receiver who can take the top off the defense.

Last season, Bachmeier had no throws of 50 or more air yards, with his longest completion being a deep ball to Chase Roberts that traveled 42 yards. He completed only three passes that traveled 30 or more yards through the air all season. In just the last two games, Bachmeier has two passes with 50 air yards, with both going to Glasker.

In the second half, the Cougars slowly began to take the foot off the gas and allowed Colorado State to creep back into the game in the fourth quarter.

After BYU took a 38-7 lead thanks to a Preston Rex rushing touchdown, Bachmeier was picked off by corner CJ Blocker in the end zone, ending what looked like could have been another touchdown drive.

Sitake replaced Bachmeier with Treyson Bourget at the end of the third quarter after stopping the Rams on a fourth-down attempt. Bourget's first pass, however, was intercepted by D'Angelo Hagans Jr.after it was deflected.

Mistakes, penalties and turnovers from BYU led to a late surge by the Rams, which was something Sitake said he knows his team needs to clean up and work on during its upcoming bye week.

"We had a holding call on defense, we had a roughing the passer," Sitake said. "We had a lot of mistakes, too. We've just got to be better as a team. There are some guys that are backups, but those guys are one play away from getting in the game, and so they need to be ready for it. I did like the fight of all of them."

After a week off, the Cougars will be back on the road in Fort Worth, Texas, to face TCU on Oct. 3

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