A favorite coach-ism is that a team learns more about itself in a loss than in a win.

If that's the case, the 19th-ranked Cougars should be Rhodes Scholars after last week's stunning 54-28 loss to Florida State in LaVell Edwards Stadium.

The Seminoles exposed a myriad of weaknesses, specifically on defense. With nimble quarterback Christian Ponder and an experienced offensive line, Florida State did whatever it wanted on offense.

Guess what? Colorado State has a nimble quarterback in Grant Stucker and an experienced offensive line that head coach Steve Fairchild says has four seniors who could be in NFL training camps next summer.

Uh oh.

Not that Colorado State will be able to reproduce Florida State's overall team speed or athleticism at every position. But the Rams know how to watch game film and will try to exploit some of the same weaknesses exposed by the Seminoles.

The question for BYU is this: Can the Cougars apply the painful lessons learned last week?

"A loss is essential in shaping our identity," BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "Any adversity is just like with our own identities. We find out a lot more who are when we face adversity then when things are easy. Our identity is still being formed."

In just his second year, Fairchild has Colorado State on the rise. There was a bowl win last season and the Rams are 3-0 in 2009 after victories over state-rival Colorado, Weber State and Nevada.

"They have a good football team," Mendenhall said. "Coach Fairchild has them playing with confidence and believing they can win. They've won some close football games and that's got them off to a very nice start. When you get into conference play, every team is capable to beat any other team on a given day."

Stucker is a threat with his arm and his legs and has a very good offensive line in front of him. Running back Gartrell Johnson is in the NFL (Chargers), but John Mosure and Colorado transfer Leonard Mason have been efficient as replacements. Receivers Rashaun Greer and Dion Morton have big-play capability. The Rams have also taken care of the football.

Defensively, CSU is good against the run (88 yards allowed a game) and is led by sophomore linebacker Mychal Sisson (25 tackles) and sophomore defensive back Elijah Blu-Smith, who has an interception in each of the team's first three games.

The Rams can also take confidence from last year's game in Ft. Collins, won by BYU 45-42. The Cougars had to score with under a minute to play to pull out a victory.

Despite BYU's loss last week, Fairchild said he knows it's still a formidable task to win in LaVell Edwards Stadium.

"Florida State just played a very physical football game," he said. "They started off very well and did a very nice job. Florida State was impressive. But, over the years, as we all know, Provo has been a very tough place to go in and play well in. It's definitely a hostile environment for us and this will be our first true test on the road, so it will be a good measuring stick for us."

BYU gets senior safety Scott Johnson back after he missed the Florida State game with a concussion, and that should help the defense. The Cougars need to get better at containing running quarterbacks and getting stops on third down.

"There were five times on Saturday when the quarterback scrambled for first downs, just enough to keep the chains moving," Mendenhall said. "We need a lot better emphasis on rush lanes and pocket awareness. It's been really good work for the defensive line. They've already been stung by it once, now they get a chance to work on it again."

BYU sophomore wide receiver McKay Jacobson said he and his teammates are ready to put the Florida State loss behind them.

"It's a long season, and you can't dwell on the past whether you win or lose," he said. "The win or loss doesn't effect our next game. We just have to move on, focus as a team and just remember what our goals are."

• Get over it: BYU fans weren't the only ones to have a hard time coping with the Cougars loss to Florida State the day after.

"For me, the next day I woke up and thought, 'Did that just happen?' " Jacobson said. "It's just a thing you never thought would happen. We were confident going in, we just didn't play as well as we could have. And you have to give credit to Florida State."

• Ode to the familiar: BYU and Colorado State have met 56 times, with BYU leading the overall series 37-27-2. The Rams and Cougars played in the first event for the Mountain West Conference back on Sept. 16, 1999. BYU won that game 34-13.

Cougars from the state of Colorado include Nick and Terrance Alletto (Parker), Brett Denney (Thornton), Andrew George (Englewood) and Blake Morgan (Greeley).

Colorado State's backup quarterback is Jon Eastman, who prepped at Hillcrest High School in Sandy and last played at Snow College. CSU sophomore offensive lineman Paul Madsen, who served an LDS mission to Lubbock, Texas, lists his hometown as Provo. He is the younger brother of NBA player Mark Madsen.

• Extra points: BYU has won 12 straight MWC home games. ... Colorado State's last win over a ranked team was in 2002, a 19-14 victory over Colorado. ... The Rams own the nation's seventh-longest win streak at six games.

• Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson can be reached at 801-344-2555 or by e-mail at ddickson@heraldextra.com. Read his blog at http://www.heraldextra.com/sports/college/byu/darnell-dickson

Colorado State (3-0) at No. 19 BYU (2-1)

• When: Today, 4 p.m. MT

• Where: LaVell Edwards Stadium (64,045)

• TV: The Mtn. (James Bates, Todd Christensen and Sammy Linebaugh)

• Radio: KSL 1160 AM and 102.7 FM (Greg Wrubell, Marc Lyons and Nate Meikle)

• The Word: BYU has won five straight games against Colorado State. ... Both teams are receiving votes in the AP Top 25.