Rams can’t overcome early mistakes, fall to BYU

PROVO, Utah — Brigham Young handed Colorado State its first loss of the year Saturday, 42-23. Coach Bronco Mendenhall got the Cougars back on track after last week’s blowout loss to Florida State and continued his streak of never losing consecutive home games as head coach.

It was early turnovers that put the the Rams in a hole they couldn’t overcome. Normally great in the first quarter, their offense was a disaster. On the opening drive, WR Rashaun Greer tipped a pass that was intercepted at the 15-yard line. It took BYU only two plays to capitalize, using its “pineapple express” rushing combo of backs Manase Tonga and Harvey Unga.

Colorado State would then miss a field goal, and later in the quarter Greer tipped another pass that resulted in a BYU interception. This led to another score by the Cougars, who again needed only two plays to get in the end zone. QB Max Hall threw for a 37-yard gain and then ran it in from the CSU 5.

The third mistake of the quarter for the Rams was a blocked punt, giving the defense the ball at the 18-yard line. Same story for BYU — two plays, a 13-yard catch by TE Dennis Pitta, followed by a five-yard rushing score from Unga. Colorado State found itself down 21-0 at the end of the first quarter, while BYU had three scoring possessions less than a minute in length.

In the second quarter, BYU seemed to loosen up and let CSU hang around. The Cougars had only 12 yards of offense in the period and at times appeared to struggle with their pass defense. The Rams managed to get a touchdown on the next drive but afterward couldn’t take advantage of their defensive stops before the end of the half.

There was improvement from Colorado State in the second half, but the same could be said for Brigham Young. The Cougars found their stride on offense, and on one particular drive could not be stopped on third down. They would see the situation five times and on each come up with just enough yards to convert. The final conversion would be Unga’s third rushing touchdown of the day, part of a 113-yard performance.

Meanwhile, QB Grant Stucker would have his best day of the year trying to keep the Rams in the game, but those familiar problems with third down kept his efforts from succeeding. Stucker threw for 370 yards, going 31 for 51, but the team could go only seven for 17 on their must-convert downs.

Colorado State couldn’t get witihin fewer than 11 points of the lead, as Cougars QB Max Hall would answer each Rams score with a long touchdown drive of his own. He had one for 84 yards and another for 64 in the second half. Although it was enough to get the job done, Hall threw for only 240 yards total, going 18 for 29.

Perhaps there are some moral victories for CSU, who beat its opponent in total yards, passing, time of possession and penalties, making the game much closer than the final score. But knowing Rans coach Steve Fairchild, the focus will be on those early mistakes.