LJ Martin’s historic three-touchdown first quarter fueled a dominant offensive explosion in Fort Collins, propelling the unbeaten Cougars to a blowout victory over their former conference rivals.
The BYU Cougars cruised to a 41-23 win over former WAC and Mountain West rival Colorado State on Saturday night.
The 11th-ranked Cougars jumped out to a big lead over the Rams in the first half and never looked back. For the Cougars, this marked the fourth straight season starting with a 3-0 record.
The Cougars now have 20 seasons where they’ve started 3-0, with six under head coach Kalani Sitake.
LJ Martin rushed for 176 yards and three touchdowns, including a 56-yard run on the second play of the game. The Doak Walker award preseason candidate was due for a breakout game and got one in Fort Collins. Martin became the first BYU player since Taysom Hill in 2014 against Texas to rush for three touchdowns in a quarter. He did that to open the game.
Martin’s night started off with a bang as he took the second play of the game to the house. He jetted off to the end zone with a 56-yard touchdown run. The reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year rushed for 173 yards in the first half on 14 carries for an average of 12.4 yards per carry. Martin had his helmet off on the sidelines starting at the midway point of the third quarter.
“LJ is one of the best running backs in the country,” Sitake said after the game. “He could be sitting right now playing in the NFL. He just had come back for a reason and thankfully he came back.”
“As far as our team goes, we’re exactly where we want to be,” Sitake added.
Martin and the BYU offense had to wait an extra 45 minutes to see action on the field. A thunderstorm around Canvas Stadium pushed back the kickoff time to 8:15 p.m. ET.
The Cougars started lighting up the scoreboard not long after kickoff. Bear Bachmeier had 227 yards passing and an interception. Freshman receiver Legend Glasker caught five passes for 131 yards with a rushing score. BYU finished with 559 total yards.
The Rams (2-1) took their first loss under coach Jim Mora Jr., who came to Fort Collins after turning around the program at UConn.
“The feeling I get from our players in the locker room is, yeah, they’re disappointed, but they’re not discouraged,” Mora said.
"There were no cracks and when you’re building a football program, those are the things you’re looking for."
BYU faced a hostile crowd and didn’t flinch to open the game. They took it right to CSU in the first half and pounded the ball down the field. The Cougars were greeted with derogatory rhetoric during pregame warm-ups. However, none of the "F--- the Mormons" chants phased BYU as they picked up momentum as the game went on.
The Cougars won their first true road game of the season for the ninth straight time under Sitake. BYU moves on to open up Big 12 play against TCU on Oct. 3.
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