The weather in Fort Collins that forced a delay was a sign of things to come for BYU football. It brought the thunder with last season’s Big 12 Player of the Year, LJ Martin, and lightning with freshman standout Legend Glasker.
The Cougar offensive line was killing it in the trenches all game long, starting with the second play from scrimmage. Martin displayed patience and vision behind the line and turned a sliver of room into a 56-yard house call. Gone were the “F— the Mormons” chants for good after that.
The engine of Colorado State’s offense, quarterback Hauss Hejny, answered with a drive of his own. He threw a dart up the seam to RJ Vick for six.
BYU whipped out another Mike Tyson right hook to retake the lead. Quarterback Bear Bachmeier took the top off the Ram defense and unleashed a 70-yard strike to Glasker. Martin secured his second touchdown of the quarter on a two-yard run up the gut. In five minutes of regulation, there were three total touchdowns. Do not blink or you will miss something.
WHAT A CATCH BY LEGEND GLASKER 😳 @BYUFootball pic.twitter.com/tKMfOwRfbA
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) September 20, 2026
An unlucky break halted Colorado State’s mojo. Hejny hobbled off the field after pulling his hamstring on a third down incompletion the following drive. He tried to push through it in his next drive, but he clearly was not right and was later ruled out for the rest of the contest.
Both squads exchanged punts, then Martin completed a hat trick as he visited paydirt on an eight-yard rumble to cap off the first quarter. This already put him up to 92 rushing yards and three touchdowns in a heartbeat. The senior outscored the Rams 21-7 in the first.
An unlucky break halted Colorado State’s mojo. Hejny hobbled off the field after pulling his hamstring on a third down incompletion the following drive. He tried to push through it in his next drive, but he clearly was not right and was later ruled out for the rest of the contest.
Both squads exchanged punts, then Martin completed a hat trick as he visited paydirt on an eight-yard rumble to cap off the first quarter. This already put him up to 92 rushing yards and three touchdowns in a heartbeat. The senior outscored the Rams 21-7 in the first.
The Cougars stalled and settled for a field goal on their next drive before converting their fourth touchdown on the ground, but this time, it was on a Glasker jet sweep. With the offense floating on cloud nine, the score jumped to 31-7.
Colorado State kept beating themselves while trying to stop the bleeding on the final drive of the half. Drop after drop led to defensive end Hunter Clegg’s first interception of his career going into the locker room. Since the Hejny touchdown on the first drive, the Rams punted four straight times before that pick.
Martin probably needed an IV in the locker after 14 carries, 173 yards and three rushing scores at half. That would just about do it for his night since he only touched the ball twice the rest of the game, which is more than fine by me.
Glasker was Martin’s co-star, the Robin to his Batman, in the half. He hauled in 113 receiving yards on three grabs. A 100-yard rusher and receiver in one half has not happened since legendary running back Tyler Allgeier and former receiver Dax Milne pulled that off in 2020 versus Northern Alabama.
The Cougars kept their foot on the gas. It was backup running back Preston Rex’s turn to score a rushing touchdown – BYU’s fifth of the game – to make it a 38-7 ballgame. It is all sunshine and rainbows.
Unfortunately, the Cougar offense looked human the moment it was knocking on the door of a sixth touchdown. BYU gave the ball away for the first time this season when Bachmeier threw a pick in the end zone late in the third on his final drive of the night.
Bourget came in for Bachmeier and threw an interception on his first play to end the quarter.
Certainly not an appealing ending to the third.
From here on, the reserves sadly had an ugly ending to the evening. The Rams capitalized on the Bourget pick with a rushing score, then later a goal line passing touchdown with their third-string quarterback. The reserves might have felt sick to their stomachs for their performance. Thankfully, the game was out of reach long ago, and BYU took home a 41-23 win in Canvas Stadium.
I cannot help but think the CFB committee could disrespect the Cougars once again at the end of the year if they are on the fringe of the college football playoffs since this was not a blow out. I have little faith in them seeing that it was a 38-7 onslaught through three quarters. The one silver lining is BYU covering the spread by half a point.
Aside from that side tangent, it was still a great overall victory. The Cougar rushing attack was absolutely firing on all cylinders, ending the game with 332 rushing yards, with Martin accumulating 176 of those. That mark is the most in any game in four seasons. In addition, the offense as a whole racked up seven explosive plays, or seven plays 20 yards or more.
Bear Bachmeier only needed his arm Saturday night and got to save his legs and his body from taking hits. He completed 12 of 16 passes for 227 yards and one interception.
Glasker was everywhere and elusive. On eight total touches, the freshman nabbed 152 total yards and a rushing touchdown. Whether as a deep ball threat, in the screen game or the run game, he is getting elite production due to his speed, versatility, and ability to learn plays awfully quickly as a true freshman. His presence on the field alone adds another plethora of ways this offense can beat any defense in the country. What a weapon.
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