It didn’t take long for No. 11 BYU to make a statement against Colorado State in Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins Saturday night.
The Cougars climbed to 3-0 with a 41-23 win over this former conference brother. BYU rolled early, and after mercy substitutions the 2-1 Rams scored 16 face-saving points.
For half the game Saturday night, BYU’s offense and defense made the Rams look like mutton on a skewer.
The Cougars had scoring drives of two plays for 65 yards; seven for 75; three for 81; and six for 73 to lead 21-7. BYU led 38-7 with 9:29 left in the third quarter.
From there, it wasn’t pretty. Down two QBs, CSU fought hard.
Leading so far in front, BYU could have used more reserves down the line.
But face it folks, this was a bruise dealer for Kalani Sitake’s team.
The Cougar offensive line versus the Ram defensive front seven was a master class in lay-em-down run blocking. It freed up Cougar star running back LJ Martin, who looked and ran like Earl Campbell.
“It was a lot of fun out there,” said Martin.
Martin scored three touchdowns, all on power run plays. These were his first touchdowns of the season. He gained 176 yards on 15 carries while averaging a whopping 11.7 yards per carry.
Those Martin runs were punishing, and included breakaway sprints. Two were bulldozing grader-type maulings behind center Bruce Mitchell and his associate guards and tackles.
Martin carry 1: 9 yards.
Martin carry 2: 56 yards for TD.
Martin carry 3: 2 yards for TD.
If that isn’t domination, what is?
A typical Martin run featured Ram tacklers bouncing off his legs, futile grabs at his ankles, and shoulder attacks that left defenders looking like bowling pins.
On his first score, a 56-yard run to the end zone, Martin had freshman Legend Glasker and wideout Jojo Phillips running interference for him in the final 20 yards, while tight end Walker Lyons cleaned up anyone in the end zone.
But at the start of his run, BYU’s offensive line had moved CSU’s defensive front 5 yards downfield. He had only to pick his angle and go.
How dominant were BYU’s blockers? On a short Preston Rex TD run, you’d be hard to find a CSU defender within arm’s length of him.
Then there was the freshman Glasker.
He almost scored on his second touch of the night. After a 9-yard rush on BYU’s second possession, Bear Bachmeier found Glasker down the sideline. He’d separated from the CSU corner and caught the pass with one hand as the tackler frantically tried to grab and hold on as the rookie advanced inside the 5-yard line, where reinforcements arrived to help to take him down.
“I didn’t know it was one-handed,” Glasker told reporters. “He was grabbing my arm and I was just trying to get the ball.”
Glasker was targeted five times and caught five passes for 131 yards. He scored his fourth touchdown in three games on a jet sweep with a minute to play in the first half.
Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick is putting Glasker in motion, treating him like a running back, placing him in both the slot and at wideout, and he gives him opportunities with jet-sweep handoffs. He’s being treated like a senior and given WR1 duties as if he was Puka Nacua. He’s going deep on posts, coming across the middle on drag routes and separating himself down the sidelines.
And he keeps winning.
“The sky’s the limit for him,” said Sitake. “He deserves everything that’s coming his way.”
Bachmeier completed 12 of 15 passes for 227 yards with a 181 pass efficiency rating, but didn’t have to do too much with Martin munching yardage. BYU rushed for 332 yards and gained almost 10 yards per play.
“We said it all week, that’s a really good football team,” said CSU coach Jim Mora. “They don’t have any holes.”
“We have to do a better job of putting out players in position to make plays. When you are playing against a quarterback like that and a great running back like that and a team like that you almost have to play perfect.”
As good as BYU looked for half a game, CSU kept fighting and wouldn’t lay down. That led to some BYU starters and reserves playing with passion, but with less-than-sound execution.
Miscues, mistakes and penalties cost BYU a touchdown (Journee Tonga TD called back for holding) in the second half and CSU took advantage before their dwindling crowd in the stands.
The Cougars will take the week off before traveling to play TCU on the road in Fort Worth.
There’s a lot of whiteboard material for Sitake’s staff to hit players with the next two weeks before this team returns to Big 12 play.
And that’s a positive when you’re 3-0 and knocking on the door of a top 10 ranking.
